Winter is almost upon us and this means that temperatures are quickly dropping. Odds are you’ll be making good use of your heater as this occurs. However, how well is your heater actually functioning? If you’re heater isn’t doing a proper job heating your home and your heating bills are sky high, there’s a good chance it’s not actually your heater’s fault. Your home could simply be leaking energy. This is why you should conduct a home energy audit.
While you can get a professional energy auditor to come to your home and do a full home energy audit, you can also do one on your own – all you need is an infrared camera. An infrared camera will detect hot and cold areas throughout your house. You’ll want to use the camera on the walls, the windows, the doors and all the corners of your home. Using your infrared camera, you’ll be able to tell where your home is losing heat so that you can focus on fixing that area. For example, if heat is being lost through your windows, you may want to add caulking or even have the windows replaced.
Another thing you’ll want to do is inspect your duct system insulation. You can use your infrared camera on the ducts to see if heat is escaping. Make sure you wear a dust mask and work gloves before you begin inspecting your duct system insulation. If the insulation is poor, then the reason your home isn’t heating up properly is because the heat your heater is producing isn’t being carried throughout your home properly – it’s leaking out of the ducts. You should also check the attic insulation to make sure your heat isn’t escaping upwards through to your attic where it’s not needed. Inspect the attic floor for gaps and spaces and stuff them with fiberglass insulation. Use expanding foam insulation to seal the top.
These are just a few things you should do when doing an energy audit of your home to ensure that your home is comfortable and your heating bills aren’t incredibly high.
