DIY Home Energy Review: From Simple Steps to Expert Insights
Keep your home operating at peak efficiency with a do-it-yourself energy review.
January can be a real shock when those post-holiday energy bills arrive. But instead of just digging deeper into your wallet, why not take practical steps to trim waste and improve comfort? A home energy review is a simple, do-it-yourself version of an energy audit—not as comprehensive as what a professional could do, but still helpful for finding ways to save money while making your home more snug. Let's explore how, with options for every skill level and time commitment. One step this week could be to choose your level and complete an energy review of one room. Just getting started will teach you a lot about how your home uses energy.
Easy: Simple Steps Anyone Can Take
Do an easy 30-minute walkthrough to identify obvious energy waste:
Look for Light: Stand inside on a sunny day with lights off. See daylight around doors or windows? That's a sign of air leaks that you can fix with weatherstripping.
Test with Bills: Close a door or window on a dollar bill. You should have to tug a little to pull it out; otherwise, you're losing heated air. Another opportunity for weatherstripping to stop drafts and save money.
Clear Your Vents: Are furniture, rugs, or clutter blocking heating vents or returns? Walk through each room, ensuring vents are open where they should be (and closed where you don’t want heat). Air blows out through vents and gets sucked back through returns—a clear path helps deliver heat more efficiently.
Check Your Bulbs: How many old incandescent or halogen bulbs do you still have? An easy way to test is to put the back of your hand near (but don’t touch!) a bulb right after you turn it on. If it feels very hot immediately, it’s super wasteful. Each individual bulb replaced with an LED can save up to $10 per year, depending on how many hours it’s on and the price of electricity. That adds up quickly.
Touch Your Water Heater: Is your water heater losing heat? Carefully touch your water heater tank. If it feels warm, adding an insulating blanket could save energy. Insulating any hot-to-touch water pipes can also save energy and deliver warm water quicker to sinks and showers.
Intermediate: Careful Review for the Curious Homeowner
Set aside two to three hours for a deeper dive.
Inspect Your Heating System:
Verify thermostat settings. Note what temperature each thermostat should be set to, and make sure it is actually set to that temperature.
Check filters; clean or replace them if they are dirty.
Listen for unusual noises when pumps or fans are operating. If you cannot determine the source, call a repair technician.
Record the make, model number, and age of all heating equipment. Note the expected useful life so you can plan for replacement.
Hunt for Air Leaks: On a windy day, hold a lit incense stick near windows, doors, electrical outlets, and pipe entries. Smoke movement reveals air leaks that you can fix with fresh caulk. Over time, building materials move and degrade, so leaks can appear one year where they didn’t exist in the past.
Look In the Attic:
Check insulation depth with a ruler: current recommendations are at least 10 inches in mild climates and 14 inches in hot or cold climates.
Look for gaps around pipes and vents; seal them with foam.
Verify that the bathroom fans vent outside and ducting doesn’t sag; if necessary, replace flexible ducting with a straight, rigid duct that slopes slightly down so condensation drains outside.
Check that the attic door or hatch is insulated, can be pulled tightly shut, and has weatherstripping all the way around that snugly holds a dollar bill when the hatch is shut.
Test Your Hot Water:
Turn on full hot water at each faucet and shower. If the water is hotter than necessary, set the temperature of your hot water tank back.
Check pipe insulation. Hot water pipes should be insulated, starting at the water tank and continuing until they are no longer accessible. This will keep the water warmer and ensure that your hot taps deliver warm water faster.
Assess Your Windows:
Make sure blinds, screens, and shades are being used appropriately. Open them to let in the sun and close them to keep out the heat.
Make sure exterior summer screens are removed in winter.
Make sure exterior or interior storm windows are in place.
Look for failed seals (fogging between panes). Note windows that will need to be replaced.
Check for window openings that are out of square. If windows cannot be fully closed, that may be due to movement in the wall or foundation of a building. You may need to call a builder or contractor to examine the situation and give advice.
Advanced: For the Home Performance Enthusiast
This half-day review requires some tools and knowledge, but it can yield big dividends in energy savings and improved home performance.
Inspect Your Ducts:
Visually inspect all accessible ductwork for damaged sections, detached fittings, or evidence of leakage (e.g., patterns of dust).
Verify that heating ducts that go through an unheated basement or attic are insulated and that the insulation hasn’t fallen off.
Inspect ducts attached to bathroom fans, kitchen hoods, and clothes dryers. Clean out any debris that has accumulated, and make sure that exterior flaps open freely and close fully.
Survey Your Moisture:
Check crawl spaces and basements for signs of water. Determine the source of any water you find.
Inspect attics for signs of leaks. Pay special attention to any areas where ice dams form on your roof. An ice dam is a section of ice that forms along the roof's edge as the snow melts above heated areas and then refreezes over the eaves (the lower sections of the roof beyond the exterior walls). If ice dams form on your roof, consider talking with a building professional about ways to prevent them.
Verify that exhaust fans are installed and working properly in all bathrooms and kitchens; showering and cooking produce water vapor that should be vented outside. Plan to install fans and ducts in any unventilated bathroom or kitchen.
Manage Your Power Demand:
Use a plug-in ammeter (such as a Kill-A-Watt) to measure the power your refrigerator, television, and other major appliances use. Record this data in a spreadsheet, then use it to decide when to upgrade to more energy-efficient models.
Determine which devices draw standby power (such as a TV with a remote control). Plug them into a power strip so you can turn them completely off.
Review your utility bill history for patterns. If you live in Maine or another state that has mandated “smart” meters, you can download a detailed record of your electricity use and use it to sleuth out opportunities to save.
Expert: Technical Analysis for Maximum Savings
For those ready to invest in tools and learning, you can do some of the work a professional would do for an energy audit.
Thermal Imaging: Use an infrared camera to:
See insulation gaps
Find thermal bridges
Identify air leaks
Check radiant heating systems
Spot overloaded electrical cords or circuits
Data Logging: Use data loggers to:
Monitor temperatures
Track humidity levels
Record electrical flows
System Analysis: Use a handbook, computer program, or online app to:
Calculate heating and cooling load requirements
Evaluate system designs
Assess ventilation adequacy
Consider electrification opportunities for hot water, cooking, and heating
Helping Others With Energy Reviews
No matter what level of energy review you’re comfortable performing, once you’ve reviewed your own home, you can share your knowledge and time to help others.
Family and Friends
Offer to help elderly relatives who might struggle with physical inspections.
Make it fun: host an "energy review party" where friends help each other.
Share your findings and solutions through social media or family gatherings.
Neighbors
Organize a neighborhood energy review day so people can learn and do.
Share tools like infrared thermometers or Kill-A-Watt meters.
Create a neighborhood resource guide with local contractors and suppliers.
Organize a way for neighbors to compare utility bills anonymously to compare how well their homes are performing.
Community Organizations
Religious Buildings:
Form a "green team" and assign people to review the building and grounds on a schedule. Rotate duties so everyone learns how to do a review.
Focus on sanctuary comfort and fellowship hall efficiency.
Keep careful records to document seasonal energy-use variations and track progress in improving efficiency.
Schools:
Engage students and teachers in reviewing their own classrooms.
Create educational displays about findings.
Make improvement projects hands-on learning opportunities.
Small Businesses:
Share review techniques with local business owners.
Focus on customer comfort and operating costs.
Identify utility incentives for businesses.
Next Steps After Your Review
Make a Plan: Sort your findings into:
No-cost changes (e.g., adjusting thermostats, opening and closing window coverings, etc.)
Low-cost fixes (e.g., weatherstripping, plug-in power strips, etc.)
Investment opportunities (e.g., insulation, new appliances, etc.)
Track Results:
Review your utility bills and keep a complete record of energy costs over time.
Keep a weather and comfort journal (i.e., “overnight low of -5 F, the house felt a little chilly but not too bad,” etc.).
Document improvement project costs and savings.
Share Success:
Tell neighbors about effective solutions.
Write a blog about your home improvement projects.
Record and post videos to help others learn from your experience.
Remember: Every joule of energy you save helps others in need. Whether you just fix a drafty door, spend a little to upgrade an appliance, or invest your life savings in a deep energy retrofit, you're making a positive difference for a better planet.
References and Further Reading
Home Energy Checklist, US Department of Energy
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