Getting an energy audit would be a great first step toward making your Wilmington home less drafty, more comfortable and ultimately more affordable. Energy auditors typically perform a "pressurized blower door test," which blows air out your front door to depressurize the inside of your home. This causes air to seep in through the leaky areas around your windows, doors, exterior outlets, etc., which are responsible for the drafts in your home. The auditor will then use small amounts of colored smoke to make the moving air visible so she or he can seal up those cracks.

This is just one example of the many tests an energy auditor will perform to check your home's energy efficiency. The number of tests performed on your home and different appliances within your home, as well as the size of your house will usually determine the cost of the audit. Contractors in the Wilmington area charge as little as $250 for an energy audit in a small home, which can easily pay for itself in the short term through savings on your utility bills if you seal up all those leaks in your home.

We have more information on energy audits in the Topics + Community section of our site if you would like to further educate yourself about how an audit will be useful in your home. If you'd like to get a quick idea of how efficient your home is, use our online energy audit tool.