Mike Ward was not really thinking about energy efficiency when he bought his home, but now he is.
“In the winter time, it’s very cold in this house regardless of what I have the thermostat at,” Ward said. “I know my gas bills are always high.”
Ward called Columbia Gas to perform a home energy audit on his 71-year-old home, 10TV’s AJ Smith reported.
Kimberly Barnhart, an energy advisor, performed the test on Ward’s home.
She started the $50 task with a test that sucked the air out of the home. The blower door test determined potential leaks. Then, she checked every room inside the home.
Finally, she used an infrared camera to see drastic temperature differences.
“If I’m seeing that the walls are colder because it’s a little colder outside, it’s telling me that the cold air is infiltrating into the home,” Barnhart said.
Barnhart then recommended actions to make Ward’s home more energy efficient and cheaper to heat in the winter.
As part of the $50 fee, a homeowner’s thermostat will be replaced with a new, programmable one. Up to three high-efficiency shower heads will also be replaced, Smith reported.
Ward said that he still needs to fix his fireplace, add insulation to the walls and reseal the windows but he hopes the effort will leave him more comfortable with his energy bill.
“We’ve got a total energy savings of $867 a year,” Barnhart said.
“Hopefully I won’t have to sit around with my coat on,” Ward said.
On top of the yearly savings, homeowners who make the recommended changes can receive rebates from Columbia Gas of up to 60 percent.
A spokeswoman for American Electric Power said that it hopes to launch an energy audit program later this year.
Stay with 10TV News and 10TV.com for additional information.
