Energy Auditors are Problem Solvers, Advisors, House Doctors.

For the second time I have attended an Affordable Comfort Institute conference and come away with a stark realization: my desire to have a home energy audit (evaluation or assessment) has almost nothing to do with energy savings.  Reducing my energy bill will be a side benefit (and a huge one, quite possibly helping the assessment pay for itself).  But I want to have someone assess my house so that I can figure out whether it is safe to live in and structurally sound. I want to know what's going on under my roof.

As Steve Tratt noted during a presentation on air sealing, this sentiment is not unusual. He and his company, Zero Draft have worked in reams of houses and multi-family dwellings in which the motivation for the call was an irritant that had nothing to do with the utility bill, and the solution was (wait for it... Air Sealing). 

What motivates the call: We call for help when we are concerned that our home doesn't feel right. Apartment-dwellers complain about the smoke next door. Home-owners worry about mildew, pests or notice that a floor or ceiling has begun to drop as a result of rot. We call when roofers have returned to replace the roof for the third time over a 5 year period. Something is wrong inside, and another new roof is not going to fix it. 

Here is Tratt's list of common household irritants that prompt a call from homeowners:

It is noteworthy that not one of those irritants refers to energy costs. Nevertheless, when they are fixed, the homeowner's energy bill will be significantly reduced. "Conservatively, we're looking at 12-16% reduction in heating and cooling costs," Tratt says.

Who You Gonna Call: We call home energy auditors because they are capable of viewing our dwellings as systems. They recognize that the underpinnings of our roofs may be rotting because of leaks and gaps throughout the house, and the culprit may be a dirt-floored crawlspace or basement. They view our houses through a common-sense but comprehensive lens that, frankly, no other trades-person possesses. Luckily, we have recently posted a resource for finding a home energy auditor in your area.

Home energy auditors are good old-fashioned family practice docs for our houses. General practitioners. They'll refer us to specialists when we need them, but first, they'll give us a clear idea of what's wrong. My inclination to call a roofer about the bulges in our ceiling suddenly feels askew. I wouldn't go to a neurologist with a headache. First, I'd go to the family doc, who will ask what I've been eating, and whether I've had my eyes checked. Getting a new roof is rather like having a CT scan when I what I really need is a new eye-glass prescription. Very expensive, and my headaches won't go away.

Justified. Tratt referred to both the motivation (irritants) and the justification for home energy assessments. How can you justify spending money on a home energy audit, air sealing, insulation or whatever is deemed necessary? Easy. Energy savings. Some of you will start there. Some of you will pull out another, very valuable justification: the planet.

Either way, the end result is a safer, healthier, more comfortable home.