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Georgia Power Home Improvement Energy Rebates

Southface

Building Performance Institute

Energy Star

The Energy Audit Process

Energy audits usually start with a call from a homeowner that is experiencing high utility bills, uncomfortable rooms, mold and moisture problems, smells, headaches or have environmental concerns about their home. We ask a series of questions about these issues and their house so that we can determine if an energy audit is the right thing to do. We then schedule an audit which can take from four to eight hours depending on the size of the house.

Prior to the audit we will ask the homeowner to remove the ashes from the fireplace and remove any items that are blocking any heating or cooling register vents before we arrive. When we perform the blower door test the ashes from a fireplace can become airborne and make a big mess of that room so vacuuming the ashes from the fireplace before we get there is important.

We arrive at the house and take a tour of the inside and outside while listening to the concerns of the homeowners. If the house has gas we will first perform a combustion safety tests on any gas furnaces or water heaters. If we find that there is a high level of Carbon Monoxide we will postpone the energy audit until the Carbon Monoxide problem is fixed. Safety is always our first concern. Click here to read more about Carbon Monoxide.

We will inspect the attic, walls, crawl space or basement for proper insulation and construction. We will determine the types of heating and cooling systems and their efficiency, water heater, windows, water flow devices inside the house and water management outside of the house.

We will measure the house to determine the square footage and volume of the house which is needed for our efficiency calculations. Then we will conduct a blower door and duct blaster test to determine the air exchanges per hour for the house and the amount of heating and cooling duct leakage.

We will return to our office and compile a report on our findings and recommendations. If you are a Georgia Power customer we will submit the paperwork for the energy audit rebate. We will send you a copy of the report electronically and schedule a time to review the report with you.

Click here to see some sample reports and recommendations.