As winter approaches, creating a warm and cozy home becomes essential. If you rely on a heat pump for heating, maintaining its efficiency is key to ensuring both your comfort and your budget.
Routine maintenance and optimal thermostat settings are essential, but the key to achieving perfect comfort and energy efficiency lies in effective weatherization. This involves sealing air leaks and investing in quality insulation. A drafty home makes your heat pump work overtime, as it struggles to reach the temperature you’ve set. This can lead to increased spending, higher heating bills, and more frequent servicing of your heat pump than would typically be necessary.
Where should I start?
The initial step in determining whether your home is adequately weatherized is to arrange a home energy audit with Building Energy. Energy audits provide significant benefits, as they offer valuable insights about your property. You might discover that you’re losing heat from areas in your home that you never thought could be linked to heat loss! In areas that are linked to heat loss, you may discover that it’s worse than you thought!
One of our BPI Certified Energy Auditors will begin with a 2-3 hour building inspection. This includes a review of your insulation, heating and cooling systems, appliances, and “thermal envelope” (i.e., basements, attics, windows, doors, crawl spaces). We use specialized equipment such as infrared cameras and blower door test equipment. An infrared camera helps us detect heat loss, air infiltration, and moisture problems. A blower door depressurizes the house helping us locate and measure the volume of air leaks. We also do an inspection and test of the boiler/furnace and test the efficiency of the heat distribution systems in your home. After our inspection and testing, we spend another 4-6 hours writing a complete report of our findings (most other auditors do not provide a detailed written report of the same caliber). Our reports include a detailed list of recommended work and estimated costs, with projected energy savings for each recommendation. The audit report ensures that any dollars you invest in improvements will be spent where they’re needed most.
The audit is also your first step to taking advantage of Efficiency Vermont incentives. We send an additional report to Efficiency Vermont that summarizes improvements that may qualify for rebates up to $9,500. As part of the audit process, we collect all required information and submit the application for incentives from Efficiency Vermont. Any rebates will be mailed directly to you.
Then what?
The second step, Insulation! Set up an appointment with us to get the job done! Properly installing insulation in crawl spaces, attics, walls, and basements is crucial for maximizing your heat pump’s efficiency. These areas often have inadequate insulation, forcing your heating system to work harder to keep temperatures consistent. This approach is the smartest way to retain warm air and prevent cold air from entering during the winter months.
If your thermal envelope is securely sealed and your heat pumps are functioning well, you’re well on your way to enjoying a warm and cozy winter! If you know anyone who could benefit from similar solutions, encourage them to reach out to Building Energy for all their heating, cooling, and energy efficiency requirements!