Energy Saving Tips: Energy Audit

A typical family living in a three-bedroom, two-storey home, which is built to the current heating code and has electric heating and hot water, spends $2,500 on their total annual electricity bill. Here's how that breaks down:

Heating: $1,500

Hot water: $500

Appliances: $375

Lighting and other: $125

There are tools to help you better manage your electricity costs. A home energy audit is the first step. It will help you find out how much energy your home consumes and figure out what you can do make it more energy-efficient. In an audit you'll identify:

• Where your house is losing energy
• How efficient your heating and cooling systems are
• Ways to conserve hot water.
• And more ...

Keep a log

The most basic way of finding out how your family uses energy is to maintain an energy log, as in the sample below.

This involves reading your electricity meter weekly for a year, and writing down the numbers as in the example below. Subtract the START figure from WK 1 figure to get that week's usage (in the example, the meter has a multiplier of 10 so the reading of 20 must be multiplied by 10 for a total of 200 kWh for Wk 1)

At the end of four weeks, add up the kWh used each week and divide by the number of days (28) to get your weekly average use. In this case 960 / 28 = 34 kWh electricity used in that period.

Do It Yourself

You can also conduct your own energy audit by walking around and keeping a checklist of areas you have inspected and problems found. Here are some things to look for:

Air Leaks

Potential energy savings that result from reducing drafts may be as much as 30% per year.

Indoor leaks

• Check for gaps at baseboards and where walls and ceilings join.
• Check around electrical outlets, switch plates, window frames and baseboards
• Ensure there are no gaps or cracks in weather-stripping around doors, fireplace dampers, attic hatches, and air conditioners.
• Look for gaps around pipes and wires
• Don't forget mail slots.
• Inspect windows and doors. If you can rattle them or see daylight around door and window frames, then you've got leaks.
• Check storm windows.

Outdoor leaks

• Inspect all areas where two different building materials meet, such as siding and cement foundations.
• Check to ensure doors and windows as well as outdoor outlets, pipes and faucets are caulked properly
• Seal cracks in the mortar, foundation or siding.

Insulation

Heat loss through the ceiling and walls can be huge.

• Check that the level of insulation in attics and walls is up to current standards.
• Ensure there is a vapor barrier (retarder) under the attic insulation.
• In an unheated basement , the floor above will need to be insulated.
• Water heaters, hot water pipes, and furnace ducts should all be insulated.
• Inspect heating and cooling equipment annually
• Check and regularly replace filters on forced air furnaces.

Professional Audits

There are a number of excellent local independent auditors within the Horizon Utilities territory. Visit the Natural Resources site and enter your postal code to locate an energy advisor - http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/residential/personal/new-home-improvement/contact-advisors.cfm?attr=4. Or call the toll-free line 1 800 O-Canada (1 800 622-6232) or 1 800 926-9105 for the hearing impaired.

In a professional audit, the auditor will do a room-by-room examination of your home, as well as a thorough examination of past utility bills. Equipment may be used to detect sources of energy loss, such as blower doors, infrared cameras, furnace efficiency meters, and surface thermometers

You can help the process of a professional home audit by listing existing problems in your home (e.g. condensation or drafty rooms), and have energy bills available for scrutiny.

Some questions to expect:

• What is the size of the house?
• What is the number and size of windows?
• Is anyone home during working hours?
• What is the average thermostat setting for summer and winter?
• How many people live here?
• Is every room in use all the time?

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