Energy Assessment 101

The point of having a domestic energy assessor comes into your home is to determine not only what part you may play in saving the environment but also how you might save money on home energy bills such as air conditioning, and hot water heating. A domestic energy assessor can not only advise you on where you are wasting money but what contractors and what equipment such as appliances can help save you money while you help save the environment.

So, the first step, of course, is to have the domestic energy assessor determine where you and your family are wasting energy. The certified domestic energy assessor will come into your home and inspect it. She or he will measure and evaluate, looking at things such as your homes size, the efficiency of the appliances you use, your homes insulation, how drapty your rooms might be, and how efficient your cooling and heating system is.

Once the domestic energy assessor has gathered the necessary information he or she will then use specialized energy audit software to produce a very comprehensive report. This report will show the recommendation for improvements in energy efficiency, whether it would be practices, or new products or services, or both. It will show how much each cost and how much they should save. It will also show how your home will be more comfortable as a result of these improvements. Each domestic energy assessor is familiar with local fuel prices, weather and cost of implementation. This information will be included in the report as well.

The report by the domestic energy assessor, then, will contain an estimate of what the homeowner can save, what she or he will need to spend initially to put the savings into play and any other positive results of the energy-efficient implementation. Whats most important about the report is that it details the improvements that absolutely have no cost. When funded their implementation saves more than their installation expenses. The report details the break even points as well.

The recommendations spelled out by the domestic energy assessor report also help contractors. They can view the report and provide a preliminary estimate of their cost without having to come to your home. Some savings may be spelled out in the report as well that are simple no-installation things you can your family can do to save energy costs and cut down on harmful carcinogens at the same time.

One domestic energy assessment firm we looked at offers online access to a database of contractors at no charge. You can simply enter your zip code and peruse the various professionals and their services. Included in the database are reviews by other local homeowners of the services and products of the contractors, as well as your opportunity to review as well once you've engaged someones services. From the site you can link to the contractors own sites and can enter information about your own needs and solicit a quote from the various contractors right on the Web site.