Here’s another question we hear from customers all the time:

What’s the difference between a free energy audit from a utility company like PG&E, and one that you pay for?

A home energy audit is the first step in understanding how to make your home more energy efficient by uncovering how it uses energy and where it is losing energy. You have a few options when it comes to energy audits:

• Simple do-it-yourself audit: Utilizing a tool such as the ENERGY STAR Home Energy Yardstick, which compares your home’s energy use with others across the country and provides suggestions on improvements
• Free audits offered by utilities, organizations, or companies: A basic assessment conducted by a technician that looks at some of the areas in your home that affect your energy usage and carbon footprint
• Professional audits by home energy companies or raters: A comprehensive assessment performed by a certified auditor that identifies the most cost-effective improvements to address root causes of your concerns and provide long-term solutions

Both DIY and free energy audits are good starting points but vary greatly in process and goals from professional audits. Here’s an illustrative example of how they differ:

Acterra, a local nonprofit organization, offers free audits to homeowners in select areas of the South Bay. Conducted by a team of two trained volunteers over two and a half hours, the “HouseCall” is an introduction to basic energy efficiency and conservation measures. It includes simple upgrades such as changing out light bulbs to compact fluorescents, optimizing refrigerator and water heater temperatures, and installing faucet aerators. Additionally, the volunteers will suggest other tips on other energy-saving upgrades. For renters and homeowners alike, it’s a great first step if you are looking for a simple, no-cost way to reduce your energy usage by up to 10%.

Recurve’s energy audit includes a 20+ point inspection of your home, including blower door testing to assess the leakiness of your home, attic and crawlspace inspections, utility bill data analysis, heating and cooling load calculations (i.e. how much energy it takes to heat and cool your home on the coldest and hottest days of the year, respectively), lighting and appliance audits, and heating, cooling and water heating systems analyses. The result is a comprehensive report on how your home is currently using energy and a roadmap to making your home more healthy, comfortable and efficient. And if you move forward with the improvements, you will often see significant results – most of our customers see upwards of 30-50% in energy reductions.

In sum, free energy audits are a great way to identify easy, DIY fixes to your home and can be utilized by renters and homeowners alike. Professional audits offer a much more thorough look at how your home uses energy and the specific steps you can take to significantly improve efficiency in the most cost-effective path possible.

To clear a few questions/myths up:
• PG&E only offers free audits to businesses, not homes
• If you decide to do the energy upgrades, some professional companies will credit part or all of the audit cost back – making it essentially free
• Beware of free audits offered by companies that are just trying to lure in buyers of their product, instead of relying on a comprehensive whole-home approach

Remember, energy audits alone don’t save energy. Use the information you glean from your home audit to identify the improvements that make the most sense for your energy needs and your budget.

Resources:
• Energy Star’s take on home energy audits: http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=home_improvement.hm_improvement_audits
• Home Energy Yardstick: http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=HOME_ENERGY_YARDSTICK.showGetStarted
• Acterra’s Green@Home program: http://www.acterra.org/programs/greenathome/housecalls.html