Do I need a home energy audit?

Sometimes referred to as a home energy evaluation or home energy assessment, an energy audit is where we find the weak areas of your home. This service will answer any questions and confirm your suspicions regarding energy efficiency. If you’ve lived in your home for a while, you may have a good idea which room gets hot in the summer and chilly in the winter.  The question we answer is “Is this because of air sealing, insulation, or an air handling issue?” The one way to find out is through an energy audit. The good thing to know is if we cannot improve the performance of your home you will receive a gold ENERGY STAR certificate just by having the audit done!

Why should I get an energy audit?

An affordable energy audit makes economic sense. Let’s explore this further: Your home is probably the largest purchase you ever make. Even if you plan to sell your house, you are living in it and it is likely costing you more than it should. New and old homes alike are susceptible to energy failures.  This is where NISEnergy, LLC excels. We look at not just insulation levels and air seal but we also look at your home as a whole, taking into account every element of energy used and where it can be saved.

Why is an audit important?

This is the first step to sustainability and energy independence. Everyone wants to save the planet and this is where we start. Imagine your energy efficient home coupled with a renewable energy system recharging your electric car. “Oh the money we’d save!”

I’ve had an audit. Now what?

A series of retrofit measures will be devised according to a savings to investment ratio set forth by IHP and BPI. Every home is unique and we tailor a specific work order for our home reasonable and within your budget.

What about this investment?

Unlike putting in a new door or replacing windows or even new siding, a deep energy audit and retrofit pays you back in savings, starting on your next electric and gas bill. This payback period is typically 3-4 years, but then continues to save you far into the future. Think about a monthly savings of just 30%, but piled up over decades. What will YOU do with all that money?

Call today and start saving big!

Today it's more important than ever to make our homes more energy efficient. Meanwhile, we increase the comfort and check the safety of these homes. Our most common energy sources are electricity, natural gas, propane and fuel oils. These sources keep getting more expensive for numerous reasons: increased global demand, political instability, environmental concerns and extraction challenges, natural disasters and man made catastrophes.

Improving your homes energy efficiency helps you to be more financially secure by reducing monthly utility bills. At the same time, homes that use less energy help to save the environment by reducing its carbon footprint thus reducing your impact on the environment.

We provide industry-leading home energy audits, and free estimates for a comprehensive range of energy-saving measures.

Performing energy-saving improvements in a haphazard way isn't a good idea. That's why it is important to have a home energy audit done by a skilled energy technician like those at NISEnergy, LLC. A comprehensive energy audit involves testing, inspecting, and calculating to produce a complete energy model.  Everything from air leakage and insulation levels to HVAC system efficiency, lighting, water heating, and appliance efficiency will be checked.

Your home is made up of many systems that serve your needs:  lighting, hot water, comfortable indoor temperatures, healthy air quality, and power for appliances and other electrical devices. All these systems interact, which means that when one system isn't working like it should, it affects the way other systems work. For example: Leaks in your duct system make your heating and cooling systems work longer, wasting energy and costing you money.

The money you pay for hot water depends not only on the condition of your water heater, but also on pipe insulation, the faucets and showerheads in your house, the efficiency of your dishwasher and washing machine, and the number of teenagers you may have.

To save money on your electric bill, you have to consider possible improvements for many systems including lighting, appliances, air conditioning, heating, and water use. Indirectly, air-sealing, insulation, ductwork sealing and HVAC tuning, determine how much you pay for electricity every month.

Wouldn't it be great if you could buy a single improvement, "energy saving in a can," that would solve your home energy saving problems? Saving energy would be a lot simpler if you could "just" add more insulation, or "just" replace an old water heater, or "just" upgrade to a new energy-efficient furnace, or "just" change your light bulbs. That’s where NISEnergy, LLC excels. We take a comprehensive “whole house” approach, verifying energy efficiency levels for all your home’s systems.

The truth is each improvement would definitely result in improved energy performance and reduced utility costs, but your home's energy profile involves many variables. It's not possible to cure your home's energy problems by guessing where to spend your money for improvements. If a contractor or salesperson insists that paying for a single repair or upgrade will solve your home energy problems, you can be sure it won’t. Call today for a complete energy audit today.

Here are five reasons why energy efficiency with Energy Star™ is a good idea: 

Protection against ever increasing utility costs. Electricity rates continue to rise and I’m sure you have had a phone call or two about Illinois deregulation. Consider also that the cost of propane, natural gas, and fuel oils are still volatile. Fuel prices might drop one week and skyrocket the next for any number of reasons: an oil spill, a hurricane, political unrest, or who knows what’s next. Today many homeowners are interested in improving home energy efficiency so they may protect themselves from future spikes in energy costs.

            Sustainable living. People who want to do their part to preserve our planet understand that applying different energy-saving ideas is an important aspect to living greener. When you take advantage of different energy-saving tips, you're helping to reduce air pollution and their carbon footprint which have been linked to climate change.

     Improved salability. When electricity and heating fuel were cheap, real estate agents and home buyers paid no attention to insulation levels and utility bills when dealing with a house. Not anymore. Today home energy efficiency is very likely to be scrutinized, not just by prospective home buyers, but by appraisers and mortgage companies also. People understand and appreciate that an energy-efficient home is a more affordable home to own. A green, energy-efficient home has greater resale value than a comparable home without an Energy Star™   certificate.

            More comfort. In a house that's not energy efficient, you're forced to deal with rooms and spaces that are too hot or too cold at different times of the year. In effect, your living space shrinks because of too little insulation and too much air leakage, or because your HVAC system is outdated or improperly tuned. When you have an energy audit performed on your house by an energy efficiency company, you'll learn what's causing the comfort problems in the home and what steps to take to improve these problems.

            More protection during power outages. Have you noticed how frequently storms, hurricanes, tornadoes and other extreme weather conditions have forced some to cope without electrical service? Another reason to improve home energy efficiency is to minimize the demand on the HVAC system during a power outage. When a home has a more efficient building envelope (thanks to insulation and air sealing improvements), it can remain comfortable longer. Homeowners who depend on electrical generators during power outages have learned that improving home energy performance means fewer hours of "roughing it" because of an over taxed generator that can't supply enough electricity.