What Are The Benefits Of An Energy Audit?
When is the last time you had an energy audit performed on your home or commercial building? If you’re like most home and business owners, the answer is never or a long time ago. The truth of the matter is that your building and wallet could benefit from an energy audit. This article will explain an energy audit and tell you the benefits so that you can get one scheduled with Luminous Electric.
Understanding Energy Audits
Energy audits are primarily done on commercial buildings in order to identify areas and systems that are using too much electricity. However, homeowners can also take advantage of an energy audit by hiring a licensed electrician or contacting their local power provider and scheduling the service. The energy audit helps determine how much energy you’re using every month for your lights, water heating, laundry and heating and cooling systems. Then, the report recommends upgrades or changes that you can make to lower your consumption and your energy bills.
Benefits of Energy Audits
If you’re concerned about the cost of your energy bills, you’re not alone. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the average price for residential electricity will rise to 14.9 cents per kilowatt-hour, which is an 8 percent increase over the costs of electricity in 2021. Getting an energy audit and implementing the cost-saving recommendation can help mitigate this increase.
1. Identify Issues That Are Causing an Increase in Energy Consumption
Energy audits can help find equipment that is malfunctioning and using too much energy or causing a health concern. For example, if you have a machine leaking exhaust gas, it could be using more energy than it needs, according to its design specs, and it could be leaking carbon monoxide.
2. Identify Areas Where Energy Efficient Improvements Can Be Made
New energy-saving technologies are being developed and implemented all the time. Some technologies you may have heard of include low-flow faucets, showerheads and toilets as well as LCD lights.
3. Increase the Comfort of Your Building
An energy audit can help you take control of your heating and cooling system. It can recommend ways to keep your building comfortable while still saving energy, like controlling the number of air exchanges per hour, reducing air leaks in the air ducts and programming specific temperature settings for when the building is occupied and when it’s mostly empty.
4. Increase the Greenness of Your Building
Implement energy-saving technologies to help your building achieve a LEEDs or Energy Star rating. Once you have these designations, you can advertise them to potential employees, customers and even tenants, who may feel strongly about environmental conservation and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
5. Increase the Property Value of Your Building
According to Freddie Mac, homes with energy-efficient improvements sold for 2.4 percent more than buildings that did not have energy-efficient improvements. To break this down further, 83 percent of homebuyers want a home with Energy Star windows, and 81 percent of buyers want to purchase homes with Energy Star rated appliances.
Energy Audits with Luminous Electric
If it’s been a while since you’ve gotten an energy audit, now is the time to schedule one. Our energy audits consist of three parts, including an evaluation to determine the power costs and historical power usage. A chart detailing the energy performance of the building, and a report that recommends changes that can be made to lower your energy bills. In addition, we’ll also provide the estimated annual savings for the changes and the cost of implementing those changes.
To schedule an energy audit for your home or business, give us a call at 941-727-0272.
