“Audit” may seem like a scary word as we approach the height of tax season, but an energy audit is a great thing to consider for your home or commercial building.
It can identify possible causes of energy waste in a building and suggest cost-effective measures that will make your home or office more comfortable, reduce your energy consumption and save you money. After all, as is often said, the cheapest energy is energy you don’t need to use – and it’s endlessly renewable.
What’s more, the cost of the energy audit itself can be reduced or eliminated thanks to incentives available through NHSaves and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
If you are a homeowner or renter, get started by arming yourself with basic information about your home — its square footage of heated space and the amount of energy used to heat it for the past 12 months. The square footage might be in the information you were given at the time you purchased the home or be found in information maintained by the assessor’s office in your town. For many towns, that information is online in the tax card for your property.
Failing that, you can measure the heated rooms in your home and add up their areas. Compile your energy use from bills sent by your energy company or companies.
Next, visit energyaudit.nhsaves.com and fill out the online form. Submit the form and immediately get a rough evaluation of the energy efficiency of your home. There are two possible results. Either your energy use is found to be low or moderate, in which case you qualify for a free visual audit, or your energy use is high or very high, which qualifies you for a more in-depth audit at a cost of $100, which can be credited to any work you have done that was suggested by the audit.
In either case, you can select the company to perform the audit from a dropdown list on the NHSaves enrollment form or let your electric utility choose the contractor for you. The audit and any follow-up work must be done by an approved contractor to qualify for NHSaves rebates, but IRA incentives apply in any case.
Currently, you can expect to hear from a contractor within 10 business days of submitting the online enrollment form and to have the audit conducted within 60 days of enrollment. During a visual audit, the contractor will inspect your home and suggest ways to improve its energy efficiency, at the same time installing products such as WiFi thermostats, LED light bulbs and pipe wrap, at no charge, if called for. At least one WiFi thermostat must be installed in order for your home to qualify for the program and the free audit and other work.
The in-depth audit takes about two hours, beginning with an interview to learn your concerns. The contractor then inspects the home carefully from attic to basement, inside and outside. An infrared camera will help evaluate insulation in the walls and spot heat loss. A blower door test will reveal areas where air leakage needs to be remedied.
Within two weeks, you’ll receive a detailed report that includes recommendations for any needed energy-efficiency improvements, which could include air sealing and insulation. The Home Performance with Energy Star (HPwES) program under which the audit is performed will cover 75% of the cost, up to $6,000, for qualified customers. Some of the remaining cost may be eligible for tax credits through the IRA, and all the remaining cost will be offset by future energy saving that results from the efficiency measures you have taken.
At present, the Public Utility Commission is interpreting New Hampshire law in a way that will effectively eliminate this NHSaves program for residents (but not businesses) after the end of 2023. Further, the funding pool may be exhausted before the end of the year, so now is the time to act. Why wait to save money?
Bob Haring-Smith is co-coordinator of the Peterborough Renewable Energy Planning team.