Winter Weather Special: An energy audit can help you save money this winter

With winter weather around the corner, I called Boone Electric to do an energy audit on my home before colder temperatures arrive.

Many electric cooperatives and city utilities will provide this service for free for customers. From there, customers can make changes if needed to save money and energy.

Boone Electric energy auditor Wes Fewell first measured the square footage of our home to get an idea of how much space uses electricity, and how much air potentially moves through the doors and windows.

From there, we looked at our annual electricity usage.

“So you can see it kind of in the summertime, it definitely goes up, so that’s from your air conditioner unit," Fewell said. "In the wintertime, with you having a gas furnace, it probably should be coming down a little more than it is. So for some reason in the wintertime, yours has gone up a little bit more than we want to see. Space heaters play a role. Do you use those at all?"

The basement level of our house can get pretty cold as temperatures drop, so we usually have one going in the office.

Space heater use can add up to a dollar a day to your bill, but surprisingly, Fewell said Christmas lights don't make much of a dent unless you're going Clark Griswold-style for the holidays.

Next came the blower door test. It tests the air tightness of your home by depressurizing it and finding the leaks from openings.

“Three or below is considered a very tight home," Fewell said. "That’s a really good score. And actually, seven or below is where you want to fall in; that’s a good score, too. If you get over seven, eight, nine, 10 mark, there’s probably some things we need to do as far as weather stripping and caulking, just finding the air penetrations.”

Fewell set up the blower door test in my interior garage door since the front door was a bit too tall.

My home had an ACH per hour score of 2.173, which Fewell called "very good."

After taking down the blower door equipment, we headed out to the garage to look at the insulation in the attic, a big factor in determining energy efficiency. Fifteen to 18 inches of insulation is ideal.

My rating was R-38. Fewell said the standard for Boone Electric and Columbia Water and Light is R-50.

Boone Electric offers a rebate for consumers if they get a bid from an insulation company. After climbing down from the attic, we went to the basement to get a look at the air filter.

“An important thing to remember, not just this time of year, but every month or three months is to change out your furnace filter," Fewell said. "We do run into a lot of clogged and dirty furnace filters, and that just really restricts the air flow to your home through the HVAC system. So let’s check right now, see if you’re on top of things. That is looking pretty dirty, so it should be swapped out."

There are some other quick and easy ways to save money on your energy this winter. The most obvious is your thermostat.

“Each degree, you could probably save 3% on that. So by turning down 3 degrees in the summertime or the wintertime and bundling up a little bit more, put a sweatshirt on, but that will see you anywhere from 9% to 10% on your heating and cooling costs.”

You can save money on your gas bill by turning down your water heater a few degrees, run loads of laundry on a cold cycle and making sure your dishwasher is full to maximize the usage.