Essential Inspections LLC.

We offer several different levels and types of audits to serve your every need and budget. Customized services are also available, go to services 

We will perform a complete energy inspection of your home to help determine the cause of any issues you may be experiencing, and recommend clear steps you can take to fix them and reduce your energy bills. The audit is a  assessment of every facet of your home's energy use. We start off by pressurizing your house, and locating all those cold drafts and the air leaks that cause them. We then move on to evaluating your existing insulation In addition to evaluating your appliances, lighting, and anything that uses energy or contributes to overall efficiency.

Energy Audit includes

• Heating system test and evaluation
• Cooling system test and evaluation
• Combustion Safety and Efficiency Tests
• Combustible gas leak & CO Test
• Water heating system inspection
• Air duct system inspection
• Insulation and ventilation inspection
• Door and window evaluation
• Blower Door Test - Air-sealing inspection
• Infrared Inspection Survey
• Appliance and lighting efficiency evaluation

Following the inspection, we will report on the correction of any comfort and performance problems you are having in addition to recommending improvements as part of our report. These may include measures such as: air-sealing and duct-sealing, adding insulation, installation of energy-efficient lighting, adding ventilation and if needed, upgraded HVAC equipment or windows. The best solution for most homes often includes a combination of different types of improvements.

Energy Audit + Weatherization

Now you can utilize an auditor and weatherization expert for a day. With this package, in addition to having the complete audit of your home, Essential Inspections LLC. will insulate, weatherstrip, seal air leaks, and air duct leaks as they are detected. Leaks will be found with the blower door, duct blaster, and Infrared imager that you had no idea existed. In most cases air leaks and air duct leaks cost the least to fix and are the most cost-effective repairs you can make.  They are a primary cause of energy loss and home discomfort. With this package you are likely to see huge gains in efficiency and comfort from the moment the improvement is made.

Often, most cost-effective improvements are not windows or HVAC systems. Installation of any suggested improvements will result in immediate savings on your energy bill. 

• The most common hidden problem in a existing home is air duct leakage.
  
• Sealing duct leakage has an average winter heating savings of 32% in heat pump homes and 19% in gas heated homes.
• Save up to 20% of heating and cooling costs by air sealing your home and adding needed insulation.
• A programmable thermostat can save you about $180 every year in energy costs.
• Americans saved over $1.5 billion in 2007 by
  switching to ENERGY STAR qualified CFL lighting.

                                                                                
Essential Inspections LLC. uses a variety of techniques and equipment to determine the energy efficiency of a structure. Thorough audits often use equipment such as blower doors, which measure the extent of leaks in the building envelope. Duct blasters, which measures the extent of air duck leakage, and infrared cameras, which reveal hard-to-detect areas of air infiltration and missing insulation. Professional energy audits generally go into great detail. We do a room-by-room examination of the residence, as well as a thorough examination of past utility bills.

Preparing for an Energy Audit

Before we visit your house, make a list of any existing problems such as condensation and uncomfortable or drafty rooms. Have copies or a summary of the home's yearly energy bills. (Your utility can get these for you.) We use this information to establish what to look for during the audit. The auditor first examines the outside of the home to determine the size of the house and its features (i.e., wall area, number and size of windows). Next we'll go inside to inspect insulation, HVAC systems, and the thermal envelope.  The auditor then will analyze the residents'  energy consumption behavior:

• Is anyone home during working hours?
  
• What is the average thermostat setting for summer and winter?
• How many people live here?
• Is every room in use?

Your answers may help uncover some simple ways to reduce your household's energy consumption. Walk through your home with your auditor as we work, and ask questions. We'll use equipment to detect sources of energy loss, such as blower doors, duct blasters, infrared cameras, furnace efficiency meters, moisture meters, CO meters, and surface thermometers. It's important for you to understand some of what your auditor is doing in order for you to make the necessary upgrades.

Please view our Services page to learn about our service packages