Did you leave the window open? Maybe that’s why your home feels drafty in the winter and hard-to-heat in the summer… What’s that? You checked all your windows and they’re closed? Sorry, I meant a metaphorical window. According to Dan Guse, owner of Home Energy Solutions, all of the tiny gaps in your house’s ‘building envelope’ added together can form a substantial hole in the side of your home. After doing a blower door test, a home energy assessor, will be happy to tell you whether that hole is the size of a quarter, a sheet of paper, or even a car door. That’s a big opening for heated or cooled air to escape through!
Being able to find and close all of those tiny gaps is only one reason you should consider scheduling a home energy assessment. Focus on Energy recently rolled out the Home Energy Rebate program (known as HOMES) and getting a home energy assessment is the key. This program (part of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022) provides instant rebates for home efficiency and electrification projects. Registered home energy assessors (see link below) will be able to create an energy “model” of your home and then present a series of recommendations for making your house more efficient. Depending on your income, many or all of those recommendations will come with instant rebates attached. In some cases, the rebates can be for as much as 100% of the project up to $14,000!
But home energy assessments aren’t just about heat loss and efficiency. Assessors can also check for gas leaks, carbon monoxide, and other threats to your family’s health and safety. Access to clean air is important to the health of you and your family.
Assessments aren’t free, they tend to cost between $400 and $700. However, there is a tax credit that will cover 30% of the expense (up to $150). And if your family qualifies as low-to-moderate income, you will receive up to $500 to pay for one. Assessments provide an enormous amount of value. Not only could they quickly pay for themselves in savings on your heating/cooling bill, but they could also be important for the health and safety of your family.
For more information and to find home energy assessors registered with the HOMES rebate program, go to https://focus-ira.clearesult.com. If you have any questions about this or anything else related to clean energy and energy efficiency programs, please feel free to reach out to me.