Add To Your Home's ‘Green' Factor

Before you jump on the green bandwagon, take time to have an energy audit performed on your home. An energy audit outlines the energy use and leakage (or waste) in a home by measuring various systems and components. Local utility companies usually offer free or discounted energy audits to customers, or you can hire a home-energy professional.

Energy audits help you prioritize making improvements to your home as well as creating a list of areas to address in order to market your home as "green" when it comes time to sell. Here is what to expect with an energy audit.

Prepare

Before the energy audit, note all energy issues and concerns you have with your home, listing drafty window/door locations, condensation problems, multi-pane window seal breaches, etc. (This also is a great to-do list before you put your home on the market.)


Collect utility bills from the entire previous year or two for review. (This info is also valuable to potential buyers of your home; make it available if you list your home for sale. Be sure to include usage units, as well as dollar costs.)


Think about your lifestyle -- how high and low the thermostat is kept in various seasons; how many people are home during the day; how different parts of the home are used or not used; etc.

Perform
The auditor will analyze physical features of the home, including wall area and number and size of windows.


Equipment such as blower doors and infrared cameras may be used to determine energy leakage.


If possible, accompany the auditor during this analysis.
Process

The final energy audit report provides valuable information about your home:
Your home's energy-related shortcomings.


What energy-saving improvements can remediate the problems.


The costs involved.

Top Dollar Sale Is Proof Positive
When you're thinking of selling your home -- now or in the future -- an energy audit is a useful tool to boost the value of your home in buyers' eyes. This is especially true if the final report shows the home is already energy-efficient or that you have made significant upgrades to increase its energy efficiency.