If your energy bills are much more expensive than your Austin neighbors, that's a good sign that you need an energy audit. Energy audits will identify areas in your home that are operating inefficiently and causing your utility bills to go up. For example, one portion of the energy audit is usually a blower door test, which depressurizes your home by blowing air out of your front door. To balance out the pressure, air will seep in through any cracks, and your energy auditor will identify this air movement with colored smoke. This is an indicator of where hot or cold air may be moving in and out of your home and causing your HVAC system to work inefficiently.

If you'd like an idea of what an energy audit may find in your home, check out our quick and easy online energy audit tool.

We can also get you in touch with an energy auditor in the Austin area who can perform a comprehensive energy audit on your home for as low as $149. This audit will test your home's exterior shell, your heating and cooling equipment and your appliances for their energy efficiency.

When the audit is complete, your auditor will give you a report listing possible upgrades, and you can choose which ones you'd like to see completed in your home to help you lower your utility bills. The report will also give you an idea of how long it will take to recoup their costs through savings on your utility bills. Typically, an audit combined with energy retrofits can save a homeowner around $700 per year.