Imagine your home when it is fully electrified, has no gas burning inside, has minimal utility bills, is running on renewable energy, and is comfortable with great indoor air quality. Many homeowners would love to go green and to convert their home to an affordable and sustainable place to live. But where do you start?
It is often overwhelming to figure out all these rebate programs, what to do first, and what makes a difference for your hard-earned money, among other things. It becomes so frustrating that often people throw their hands up and end up doing nothing. But I can promise you, there is an easier way forward!
In this short article series, we are going to tackle exactly how to go about your sustainability and electrification journey. There are thousands of dollars in rebates out there, but you must follow a game plan. There’s a way to go fully net zero (you use as much energy as you produce through renewables), but we must do it efficiently.
It starts with an energy audit.
The benefits are many, but an energy audit is where you want to start. It’s like an X-Ray of your home, or like a visit to your primary doctor as a first step when you have a medical issue. It sets you up for success for all subsequent decisions and home upgrades. And the results allow us to focus on exactly what your home needs, because every home is different.
An energy audit allows us to tackle the most cost-effective measurements of home efficiency – mainly air sealing and insulation levels. Air sealing is what we do to seal up the gaps and cracks in your home, so air doesn’t leak as fast, while insulation is more like a blanket that surrounds you when it’s cold or hot outside.
Both of these combined allow all your home as a system to run smoother, less often, and it will cost you less to run these as well. Your utility bills go down if done right. They are also on the cheaper spectrum of projects, which is why we tackle them first.
An energy audit includes a full scan of the home, which includes all rooms, your attic, garage, and your basement or crawlspace if you have one. We also do what is called a blower door test, which measures the air leakage of your home with incredible accuracy. The audit also includes gas and combustion safety testing, because safety comes first! Combined with an infrared camera scan during the blower door test, we can see behind your walls, into the ceiling, and zone in on exactly what your home needs.
An energy audit must be done by an approved Xcel Energy contractor. We are then able to get the $200 rebate for you, which usually helps with about half the cost. The City of Edgewater Sustainability department also has special energy audit rates, so be sure to check with them. Learn more about their Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Programs at https://www.edgewaterco.gov/living-here/sustainability/energy-and-solar-programs.
The 20-30 page energy audit report takes a few days to do once the home visit is done. Now that you’ve done it, you’re also able to sign up for Xcel’s Whole Home Efficiency program, which is their 25% rebates bonus program if you do three upgrades within a two-year time frame from the date of your energy audit.
Once you have the energy audit report, you are now empowered to focus on the low-hanging-fruit projects that will make the biggest impact in your utility bills, comfort, and overall home performance with some air sealing and insulation. This would then involve getting a few quotes from good local air sealing and insulation companies so that you know exactly what to do.
In our next article in the series, I will focus on some impactful typical air sealing and insulation upgrades that exist in almost every home, and we will start to tackle what to do with your mechanical systems (water heaters and HVAC) as well. Stay tuned for next time!
