What is a Home Energy Audit?
Not all audits are created equal. Click to learn more about what sets our Home Energy Audit apart.
Our Home Energy Audit offers a detailed assessment of the ways that your home uses and wastes energy.
We conduct a series of tests to identify the best opportunities to balance temperature differences, reduce energy bills, and lower your carbon footprint.
These tests take between two to four hours and result in a detailed report outlining your priorities, costs, and available cash incentives.
Here are some of the tests included in our Home Energy Audit:
- Blower Door Test: Measures drafts and air leakage in your home, helping you decide how to improve air sealing and insulation.
- Thermal Infrared Imaging: Uses an infrared (IR) camera to detect temperature variations on surfaces, indicating where your home is leaking or gaining heat or cold air.
- Combustion Appliance Testing: Evaluates the efficiency and safety of combustion appliances, such as furnaces and water heaters, checking for CO and other harmful gases.
- Gas Line Inspection: Uses a device to detect gas leaks in your gas lines, as even small leaks can pose a fire hazard or increase energy bills.
- Visual Inspection: Examines insulation, windows, and solar potential, identifying any issues affecting comfort, safety, and energy savings.
Our technicians are certified by the Building Performance Institute, and our Energy Audit adheres to the strict standards of the Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program.
The U.S. EPA chose EDGE Energy as a six-time winner of the ENERGY STAR Contractor of the Year Award from 1,300+ contractors across the country.
How to Get a Home Energy Audit in 3 Steps
#1. Reach Out
The first step is to give us a call at (888) 586-3343, or send us a message to schedule your Home Energy Audit. The audit takes 2 to 4 hours and includes a series of tests to find exactly where your home is using and losing energy.
#2. Report + Proposal
After your audit, you’ll get a comprehensive report about your home. You’ll also get a proposal for recommended improvements, which includes an overview of pricing and loan options, as well as rebates and tax credits.
#3. Improve Your Home
If you want us to help improve your home, all you have to do is sign your proposal. We’ll take care of the rest. From adding insulation to installing HVAC systems and solar panels, we stand by a satisfaction guarantee for every project.
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Case Study: Maryland Home Energy Audit
In Maryland, income-eligible homeowners can claim up to $10,000 in rebates for home energy upgrades.
Read the case study for Kadir and his family.
We started with a comprehensive Home Energy Audit, then found rebates that covered the entire cost of Kadir’s heat pump, solar PV system, and more.
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Why EDGE Energy?
Our team has more than 18 years of experience with Home Energy Audits and energy-saving projects in the DMV. We know what it takes to even out temperature differences between rooms and floors, fix HVAC systems that never seem to deliver enough air, and more.
Since 2006, we’ve successfully completed more than 10,500 Home Energy Audits in Maryland, Washington DC, and Virginia. It’s fair to say that we’ve seen it all. We have the expertise to find and fix issues with uneven temperatures, aging HVAC equipment, and high energy bills.
In Maryland, a Home Energy Audit is required to access up to $10,000 in rebates from emPOWER Maryland. Over the years, we’ve helped homeowners in Maryland collect more than $9 million in rebates to offset the cost of installing insulation, solar panels, heat pumps, and more. We’ll make sure you get every dollar you deserve.
Unlike most Home Energy Audit companies, we won’t just leave you with a report. We can help you improve your home. EDGE Energy is vertically-integrated, meaning that we have teams of installers for insulation, HVAC, and solar panels. That’s how we’re able to maintain such a high level of quality, offering a 100% satisfaction guarantee for every project.
Common Questions:
Home Energy Audits in Maryland, DC, and Virginia
Home Energy Audits make the most sense for two groups of people.
Homeowners in Maryland
In Maryland, we have generous rebates that cover most of the cost for a Home Energy Audit; you pay $100 instead of $400. Plus, a Home Energy Audit is required to access additional rebates up to $10,000 for home energy upgrades.
So if you live in Maryland and are considering insulation, solar, or an update to your HVAC system (such as installing a heat pump), a Home Energy Audit is a natural place to start.
In Washington DC and Virginia, we don’t have rebates that offset the cost of a Home Energy Audit, and audits aren’t required to access other incentives. A Home Energy Audit may still make sense, but it’s not as straightforward as it is for Maryland homeowners.
Complicated Problems
If you have problems with temperature differences, draftiness, or HVAC performance, a Home Energy Audit can help to uncover the root cause of the problems and the best solutions.
Here are some common problems that a Home Energy Audit can help to solve:
Temperature Differences:
- Uneven temperatures between floors and rooms.
- Specific issues with top floors being too hot in summer and lower floors not retaining heat in winter.
- Difficulty in maintaining comfortable temperatures in a room over the garage.
Drafts:
- General draftiness throughout the home.
- Concerns about air leaks needing weatherstripping on doors and windows.
HVAC Issues:
- Poor airflow to certain rooms, especially bedrooms.
- Inability of HVAC systems to maintain desired temperatures, particularly with AC in summer.
- Concerns about high humidity levels affecting comfort and air quality.
A Home Energy Audit may make sense for your home (see the question above), but it’s not the only option that you have.
Home Energy Consultation
Our Home Energy Consultation is essentially a scaled down version of the Home Energy Audit. It’s a good option for homeowners in Washington DC and Virginia, where the rebates don’t incentivize Home Energy Audits like they do in Maryland.
At a glance:
- Timing: 1 – 2 hours
- Costs: $100
- Tests: Infrared camera, possibly blower door test
- Deliverables: Proposal
The Home Energy Consultation Includes fewer diagnostic tests, so it takes less time and costs less money. You don’t get a detailed report, but you do get a proposal to improve your home.
Free Consultation
We also offer free consultations, which include no diagnostic testing, but are a good option if you need a straightforward solution, such as solar panels or a new water heater. Each consultation comes with a proposal, which breaks down the costs, rebates, and tax credits for your project.
Scheduling is easy! Just give us a call at: (888) 586-3343.
Yes!
Try to schedule your audit when you don’t have meetings or need to pick up the kids. Part of the audit’s value is learning a lot about your home, and your input is important if any questions come up during the process.
At the very least, we ask for about 15 minutes at the beginning and an hour at the end of the appointment. During this time, we’ll give you a thermal infrared tour of your home and go over the results and proposal.
Bottom line: The more available you are, the better and more personalized the results will be.
A Home Energy Audit costs $400, but if you live in Maryland, it’s $100 with the rebates.
Please note that the cost for a Home Energy Audit gets credited towards a project with EDGE Energy. So if you decide to install insulation, for example, you can subtract the cost of the audit from your total.
You can find companies with a quick Google search for “Home Energy Audit Maryland,” “Home Energy Audit Washington DC,” or “Home Energy Audit Virginia.” Make sure to read reviews for any company you’re considering. When you call them, ask these three questions:
- What tests do you include in your Home Energy Audit?
- Does your Home Energy Audit adhere to Home Performance with ENERGY STAR standards?
- Are your technicians certified by the Building Performance Institute to conduct Energy Audits?
It’s also worth asking for case studies that detail their audits or projects, such as our Maryland Home Energy Audit Case Study.
Our Energy Audit is tailored to your home to identify the root cause of your specific concerns, whether it’s a comfort issue, reducing energy bills, or something else.
Additionally, our technicians are certified by the Building Performance Institute, and our Energy Audit meets the high standards of the Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program.