You may be wasting more energy in your home than you realize. This wasted energy can run up your energy bills unnecessarily and make your HVAC system work harder than it needs to. The U.S. Energy Department estimates a typical cooling and heating system accounts for 35 to 40 percent of total home energy usage. By identifying key concerns and energy consumers in your home, you could see big impacts on your home energy usage.
What is a Home Energy Audit?
A comprehensive home energy audit with Larson helps homeowners identify and prioritize the most serious causes of energy waste in their home. This is a multi-step process that includes a homeowner interview, utility bill analysis, inspection of the home’s interior and exterior, ventilation system testing and lighting inspection.
Our recommendations help with shortcomings such as:
- Air infiltration & loss
- Inadequate insulation
- Poorly designed ventilation
- Damaged & leaking ductwork
- Hot & cold spots that affect comfort
- Excessive dust in interior air
- Inefficient lighting
- Pest problems
- Allergies & respiratory distress
- High utility bills
- Inefficient appliance operation
- And more
By identifying and addressing these key issues, you’ll be able to see big differences. Read on to learn six of the reasons scheduling a home energy audit with Larson can make an impact on your home.
1. Save on Energy Bills
The average single-family home spends $2,060 annually on energy bills, according to Energy Star. By identifying energy inefficiencies in your home, you can greatly decrease these annual costs. These savings add up overtime after the initial investment of making the improvements for efficiency. Our qualified professionals will also review past utility bills to identify the costliest areas to optimize your savings.
Some companies may offer additional rebates or discounts for switching to more energy efficient systems or assessing the energy efficiency of your current equipment. After making repairs to eliminate excessive energy use, you can be confident future cooling system upgrades will deliver notable savings.
2. New Equipment Doesn’t Always Fix the Problem
Upgrading to high-efficiency HVAC equipment can be more energy efficient, however this new equipment can’t deliver expected savings if energy loss goes unchecked. Your equipment may have duct leaks or other installment issues which could force your system to work harder than it needs to. By checking for potential issues, you can help extend the life of your HVAC equipment to keep energy efficiency at its highest. When considering the purchase and installment of energy-efficient systems, we recommend first contacting a professional to ensure your systems have proper installation and are maximizing efficiency. Larson’s professionals are here to help homeowners choose the system type, size, efficiency rating and model that is best for your family’s comfort and budget.
3. Increase Home Resale Value
Getting a home energy audit can add value to your home for when you decide to sell. By having an energy inspection completed regularly, you can show prospective buyers the house has been well-maintained and frequently checked for concerns. This will also be a strong selling point by showing the value of an energy efficient system that can save buyers money in the long run. This will generate higher interest from buyers and can set your home apart from other listings on the market. Even if you aren’t considering moving anytime soon, investing in these upgrades now can still help you prepare for the future.
4. Reduce Environmental Impact
The goal of energy efficiency is to accomplish the same job with a smaller impact. By limiting the energy used, you can decrease carbon emissions and reduce your carbon footprint. With Larson’s energy audit, we do not only assess your HVAC systems, but also evaluate the efficiency of other common energy consumers in your home, such as lighting and other appliances. According to the EPA, switching to energy efficient lighting can use 70 to 90% less energy than incandescent bulbs to do the same job. These minor changes can reduce pollutants overtime and prevent carbon emissions from being released into the atmosphere. Resolving these energy-wasters in your home can help you feel you are doing your part to protect the environment.
5. Increase In-home Comfort
With damaged or leaking ducts, you may have a difficult time maintaining level temperatures in your home. An energy audit can help identify these hot and cold spots within your home and recommend adjustments to keep your temperature stable. With a more consistent temperature in your home, you will not have to overuse or add unnecessary strain on your system by continuously adjusting the temperature. This will keep those in your home more comfortable throughout the day. Updating or optimizing your HVAC systems can also improve indoor air quality to allow you to breath cleaner air and help prevent the spread of respiratory diseases and illnesses.
6. Identify Hidden Issues
During your home energy audit, our certified professionals can identify hidden issues within your system that are currently causing deeper problems, or could cause them in the future. Larson’s certified HVAC team recommends homeowners begin with a professional home energy audit to pinpoint and correct the areas of greatest energy loss. We take the time to make sure we are finding the root of the problem, rather than the surface level issues. Upgrades on your home can prove to be costly, so our professional recommendations can ensure the money you are putting towards improvements is going where it’s needed most. Identifying these key issues early-on can also prevent smaller problems from turning into larger costly problems in the future.
Trust Larson’s Home Performance Experts
Larson Air Conditioning is happy to help optimize energy usage in your home so you can save money and keep your systems running at their best. Our qualified technicians are certified by the Arizona Home Performance with Energy Star program, and trusted by families and businesses throughout Phoenix, Scottsdale, and the surrounding areas. Our technicians are experts, not salesmen—so you don’t need to worry about any upsells or dishonest practices. To take advantage of the benefits of a home energy audit, contact Larson and schedule an appointment today!