Energy Saved is Money Saved
Ozarks Electric’s Energy Audit Program
We all know that our vehicles need tune-ups every few thousand miles. Our homes work the same way. Have you ever heard of an energy audit? It’s essentially a tune-up for your home. One that helps you save energy and money, immediately. It is the first step to assess how much energy your home consumes. It evaluates what measures you can take to make your home more energy efficient and in turn, possibly save you lots of money.
I began hearing about energy audits when I first started working for Ozarks Electric Cooperative. I heard so many stories of how our energy auditors found inexpensive fixes that could save members hundreds of dollars over a year’s time. My interest was definitely piqued, but I had a small problem at the time. Although I worked for Ozarks Electric, I wasn’t a member. I researched professional audits and discovered they could cost $300-$500.
In October, my husband and I purchased a home on Ozarks Electric’s lines, and therefore became members of the cooperative. I was excited to finally share in the benefits of belonging to a cooperative, but even more excited about the fact that I was now able to take advantage of a home energy audit performed by Ozarks Electric’s trained team of professional auditors, free of cost.
I contacted our energy services specialist, Todd Clouse, to set up a time for an energy audit on our new home. Even though it was during the busiest time of the year, Todd was able to get me in after a cancellation on a very cold day in December. I couldn’t wait to find out my home’s “score” when it came to energy efficiency. Had we purchased a home that was already energy efficient, or did we need to do some work?
Our home was built in 1993, and I was concerned there would be significant issues with energy efficiency. We had received our first set of bills, but since November had been a mild month, I didn’t really know where we stood. I knew that Todd and John Castor, the other half of the energy audit team, would be able to figure out exactly what I needed to make my home as energy efficient as possible.
Todd and John arrived at my home at 9 a.m. and Todd began with a simple walkthrough, while John began setting up. I walked along with Todd and he talked me through exactly what they would be doing. He explained that they would begin with setting up the “blower door” on my front door after sealing off all the air ducts throughout my home.
The blower door looks like a giant fan that fills the hole of an open doorway. With all ductwork sealed off, the blower door sucks air out of the home so that the auditors are able to easily tell where air is coming – or leaking – in to the home. Todd explained that the goal is to have a home at or under 50 percent overall leakage.
When they started the blower door test it didn’t take long for the team to begin showing me where my problem areas were. The opening around a pocket door was pulling in enough air to make my hair blow behind me! I could feel air coming in around the sides of my pull-down attic door. The cold air coming in from the ventilation under my stove was shocking! I could just imagine all the heat that was escaping our home on a daily basis from each of these areas.
by Glenda Graves
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