The 3 Biggest and Most Common Issues Found During Home Energy Evaluations

How does your residential heating and air efficiency stack up?

Noticed that your energy bills have gone up lately? One of the reasons may be because your HVAC system is losing efficiency. Efficiency rates for residential heating and air equipment decrease over time, by several percentage points every year.

However, you do have some control over that loss of efficiency. Many of the factors that contribute to efficiency loss, when caught early, can be reversed. So how do you catch the factors that are lowering your HVAC system's efficiency?

Simple: a home energy evaluation. An affordable home energy evaluation could help you save up to 30% of your utility costs every year by finding the energy leaks and inefficiencies in your home and making recommendations as to how you can fix or improve your energy usage. Here are just a few common problems that are lightening the pockets of some homeowners:

1. Outdated Bulbs, Fixtures, or Appliances

There have been a tremendous number of advances in the last 10 years, and the majority of homes in America are missing out on them. Everything from light bulbs to dishwashers have been redesigned to use less electricity and to be more convenient. If your current appliances or fixtures are wasting tons of energy, a simple upgrade could save you on your bills every month.

2. Compromised Insulation

When was the last time you lifted yourself up into your attic or wiggled down into your crawlspace for an in-depth look? If you haven't in a while, you could have compromised insulation, which could be creating drafts, leaking conditioned air, and raising your utility costs. This is one problem you should be concerned about, as it can directly impact your health. Wet insulation, one of the more common versions of compromised insulation, can breed mold and bacteria, which in turn release myco- and endotoxins into your indoor air.

3. Gaps Around Doors and Windows

While people regularly upgrade doors and windows, they aren't always focused on the right parts. Instead of worrying about the seals of your window or your door's weather stripping, consider the gaps that might exist around their frames. This is a common source of air leakage missed by a surprising number of contractors. Perhaps most frustrating is the simplicity of the solution to the problem: adding a line of caulking around the framework.

Solving energy leaks is much easier than finding them. Hire a professional HVAC technician to help you identify problems around your home so you don't waste time fixing them. Contact GSM Services today to schedule a residential heating and air inspection or home energy evaluation.