What is a Home Performance Energy Audit?

A Home Energy Audit is an approach to identifying the primary sources that are making your home energy usage inefficient and uncomfortable. A Certified Energy Auditor will perform an examination of your home to assess its overall performance and energy efficiency. The auditor will complete a series of tests to assist in revealing any concealed energy leaks or unhealthy conditions that are reducing the efficiency, comfort, and safety of your home.

Services Offered with an Energy Audit:

• Infrared Scanning
• Draft Testing – Mechanical Inspection of Carbon Monoxide back drafting
• Blower Door Testing
• Check for Insulation/Proper Insulation in Attic and Walls
• Ventilation

What are the benefits?

Understanding the specific conditions that are affecting the performance and comfort of your home is necessary to maximize the overall impact of energy-focused home improvements. Our Home Performance Energy Auditors utilize a whole-house approach to assess how specific improvements can work collectively to provide maximum comfort and energy savings.

A comprehensive energy audit will identify home energy improvements that:

• Increase energy efficiency
• Reduce energy usage
• Improve quality of indoor air
• Produce consistent interior temperatures
• Reduce air leaked (Cold Drafts)
• Improve humidity and ventilation

How do I prepare for an energy audit?

The following items will help you prepare for your Home Performance Energy Audit:

• Have one year of energy usage from utility provider and account number.
• Look for broken or defective windows and doors
• Write down any areas in your home that are either too hot or too cold
• Remove any obstructions around water heater, air conditioner, and furnace
• Clean debris from fireplaces
• Make sure all areas of your home are accessible

Getting new insulation for the home is an important step in maintaining an energy efficient environment. Whether old insulation is being replaced, additional insulation is being added, or insulation is being installed for the first time, at Zander Solutions, we now offer quality services by our team of professionals to help ensure the efficiency of your home.

BENEFITS OF INSULATION
A well-insulated home provides benefits in many ways. Insulation provides a comfortable interior, lowers heating and cooling costs, and increases the value of the home.

COMFORT ZONE
Insulation works as a barrier to help reduce heat loss out of the home during cold winter months as well as heat coming into the home during the hot summer months, keeping your home a consistent temperature so you can stay comfortable from room to room, all year round.

LOWERING ENERGY BILLS
The U.S. Department of Energy notes that 49% of a homeowners’ monthly energy bill is dedicated to cooling and heating. The high-cost may be due to insufficient or degraded insulation, or improperly installed insulation. It is the transfer of heat into and out of the home that directly affects energy costs.

It is important to note that each homeowner’s situation differs and the savings on energy costs may vary based on the insulation currently installed, the efficiency of the systems in the home, the home itself, and the insulation products used.

MARKET VALUE
The interior integrity of a home is just as important to potential buyers as the exterior curb appeal. Studies show homes that are up-to-date with appropriate insulation are apt to have a positive market value versus homes with limited or under par insulation.

INSULATION PROCESS
The area of the Wisconsin homes that often needs the most attention and new insulation are attics.

For attic insulation, our insulation experts can see areas where the insulation has degraded or deteriorated. Our technicians will install new insulation to fill in gaps or areas where the damage has occurred. They do this by installing the blown-in insulation that reinforces and fills gaps to create an air tight seal. The new insulation and air sealing can also be installed directly between the joists in the attic to achieve the appropriate R-value for a specific house.

INSULATION FEATURES
Our insulation is designed to keep the outside temperature from impacting the temperature inside your home and to keep your desired temperature inside. This effective insulation will not only allow you to better control the temperature throughout your home but will provide energy cost savings, minimizing overexertion of your home’s heating and cooling systems.

Our materials and process are designed specially to meet the recommended R-value, or level of insulation efficiency. For information about R-value, check out the information at the U.S. Department of Energy website.

Insulation also helps to reduce noise disturbances. Whether residents are talking, kids are playing, televisions and stereos are turned up, or appliances are cycling on and off, insulation helps to reduce noise from room to room within the interior of the home. It also helps to provide a barrier from exterior noise such as traffic, construction or neighbors to create a more peaceful environment.