San Francisco Bay Area Home Energy Audits

Energy Beyond Design - Home Energy Upgrades and Rebates for PGE Customers

Lower Utility Bills

A home performance retrofit is the most cost-effective way to reduce utility bills.

Thinking about Solar? Consider this:

Improving a home’s energy efficiency tends to be the more cost-effective way to trim carbon emissions and lower energy bills. Before investing in a expensive solar system, consider maximizing your home’s energy efficiency first. Energy efficient homes require smaller and less expensive equipment to heat or cool the home – hence lower overall operating costs. These low hanging fruits will reduce your utility bills, enhance your comfort and offer faster return on investment.

According to Go Solar California: “The first step in applying for California Solar Initiative incentives is to complete an energy efficiency audit for your home or business. Energy-saving actions are the best way to save energy, reduce your energy bills and provide real, lasting benefits to the environment. Plus, you reduce the size solar system you need, saving thousands in up-front installation costs.”

Energy is an essential and unavoidable part of modern life. In our homes we use it for lighting, running appliances and electronics, and for heating and cooling. Most consumers don’t think much about their energy use until a power outage, or when they are “shocked” by a high utility bill. On a national level, over the course of roughly 50 years, energy prices in the residential sector have maintained the highest cost in relation to other well known sectors such as transportation, industry and even commercial buildings. The state of California is ranked amongst the top states in the nation for highest energy costs – only coming in lower than some east coast states and Hawaii.

While the concept of controlled conservation is amongst the best methods of reducing high energy costs (e.g. shutting off lights, taking shorter showers and using energy at “off peak” times), it is also the toughest to do as it can and will affect our lifestyles. At Energy Beyond Design, we will evaluate your home and provide solutions that will allow you to maintain a comfortable lifestyle and stay within your means while saving money that would normally be paid to your utility company.

The information below shows some of the many cost savings and comfort improvement measures we can identify with our Home Performance evaluation – As identified by Energy Beyond Design, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) & Home Performance with Energy Star: (HPwES)

Air Sealing:

The EPA estimates that the average home can save up to 20% of heating and cooling costs (or up to 10% of total energy costs) by air sealing and adding high performing insulation. Air sealing opportunities are found all over the home, but due to the forces of stack effect, it’s important to seal high first, then low, followed by interior and exterior walls. Why pay this extra expense to the utility company when you can save the money and at the same time, improve your comfort and health.

Heating & Cooling:

Depending on your climate, as much as half of the energy used in your home goes to heating and cooling. So making smart decisions about your home’s heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) system can have a big effect on your utility bills — and your comfort. Often, systems that are 10 years and older could be performing very inefficiently and depending on where you live, replacing your old heating and cooling equipment with properly sized (ACCA) ENERGY STAR qualified equipment could cut your annual energy bill by nearly $200

Insulation:

Heat flows naturally from a warmer to a cooler spaces. In winter, heat will move directly from all heated living spaces to the outdoors and to adjacent unheated attics, garages, and crawlspaces/basements – wherever there is a difference in temperature. During the summer, heat moves from outdoors to the house interior. To maintain comfort, the heat lost in winter must be replaced by your heating system and the heat gained in summer must be removed by your air conditioner. Insulating ceilings walls and floors decreases the heating or cooling needed by providing an effective resistance to the flow of heat. Most homes in the United States have either less than optimal insulation or no insulation, and older homes tend to have higher heating and cooling costs than newer homes. Installing proper insulation can help keep these costs down while improving the comfort of your home. Good insulation could save 20 to 35 percent in heating and air conditioning costs

Duct Sealing:

Did you know that the average home’s heating and cooling ducting system (which moves air to-and-from a forced air furnace, central air conditioner, or heat pump) are often big energy wasters. By sealing and properly insulating your home’s ducts, we can improve the efficiency of your heating and cooling system by 20 percent on average and help limit the amount of pollutants which are drawn in through the duct system from the attic and crawlspace.

Additional DIY tips for reducing energy consumption:

Programmable thermostat:

A programmable thermostat is ideal for people who are away from home during set periods of time throughout the week. Through proper use of pre-programmed, or custom programmed settings, a programmable thermostat could save you nearly $180 every year in energy costs.Unplug: Disconnect the items in your home that are not used often. An old refrigerator in the garage could be costing you nearly 10$ extra a month.

Phantom Loads:

Unplug your chargers when you’re not charging. This includes Cell phones, PDA’s, digital cameras, cordless tools and other personal gadgets. Keep them unplugged until you need them. Use power strips to switch off televisions, home theater equipment, and stereos when you’re not using them. Even when you think these products are off, together, their “standby” consumption can be equivalent to that of a 75 or 100 watt light bulb running continuously.