How much will I save?
This is the most often asked question and the hardest to put a dollar amount on. I always expect to be asked this question and I'm never sure if I completely answer it. There are so many variables that it is impossible to know exactly how much an improvement is going to save in dollars. Every house is different and there are many factors can change the results, such as; seasonal gas and electrical price variations, a hotter summer, a colder winter, the severity of the leaks before the repairs.
Our most common improvements are leak sealing, duct sealing, water heater blankets, digital thermostat upgrades and insulation improvements to the attic, because the return on investment for these improvements is the greatest and we can usually do them in one to two days.
"EPA estimates that homeowners can typically save up to 20% of heating and cooling costs (or up to 10% of total energy costs) by air sealing their homes and adding insulation in attics, floors over crawl spaces, and accessible basement rim joists." Read the rest of the article at Energy Star.
In order to get the rebate for air sealing, we have to reduce the air leaks by a certain percentage. The percent reduction is directly proportional to the severity of the leaks. So a very leaky house has to see at least a 20% reduction and a tighter house may only need to see a 10% reduction. We won't quit until we have exceeded the percent reduction needed plus a few more percent for a safety factor. At least one out of twenty houses that we improve will be audited for quality by Southface and they have to meet or exceed the final leakage amount that we told them it did.
For a typical Georgia Power customer we will conduct an audit, write a report and file for the audit rebate for them. If contracted to do so we return and repair air leaks, ductwork, upgrade to digital thermostats, install a water heater blanket, add attic insulation, test out and file for the rest of the Georgia Power rebates. A typical cost of all of this is at least $1,400 with rebates of around $700 for a total cost of $700 to the homeowner. This can be recovered from the energy savings in as little as one year and in less than two years. The improvements to the comfort of your home can come as reduce medical bills but it is difficult to put a monetary price on your health and feeling better while in your home.