Although we have already decided to buy a solar air heater, it has become very clear that in the world of renewable energy, you can never be too informed. To that end, and during my research into tax incentives and federal and state rebates, I scheduled an energy efficiency audit. The waiting list was long, and apparently we were lucky to have our guy arrive within six weeks of my scheduling the appointment.

In Massachusetts, the energy audit is actually the gateway to 0% interest loans to replace inefficient heating and hot water systems. And, the audit is free! I found my way to MassSave from the Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency.

I'll admit, I had my fingers crossed when our energy auditor arrived, carrying a large tool bag and a laptop. The first thing we did was to go over the changes we had just made in our large sunroom. We discussed the number of incentives currently offered through our electric company, National Grid, and he pulled out his drill and a couple of other pieces of equipment and asked us to take him to the furnace!

Sadly, I am fairly clueless about most of the systems that run my home. I figure, as long as they work, I don't really need to worry about them. I admit I was wrong! First of all, despite the relative newness of my furnace (2002), I did not know that it needs to be serviced every year. I know, I know, I'm hopeless - but in my defense, this is my first house and my first furnace.

So, Mr. Auditor found the part of the system he needed to meter with his instrument and probe and simply drilled a small hole into the pipe coming out of the furnace. He asked me to turn on the heat and then we waited a few minutes while the instrument collected the relevant data.

After collecting sufficient data, the instrument revealed that out furnace, despite not having been recently serviced, was running at approximately 82% efficiency which is what one would expect from a newer furnace and is actually considered fairly good. Of course, 82% seems kind of lame to me - I mean 82% is like a B-, but this is what one needs to expect of an oil burner.

Mr. Auditor now ran a plastic hose out of the basement and up into the garage. He explained that he was measuring airflow and environmental differences between the basement and other parts of the house. The basement, with sealed windows and poured concrete was deemed snug and relatively efficient. He also examined the duct work of our forced hot air heating system and identified that the age and method by which it was put together made it a candidate for sealing to prevent heat loss.

Next, we moved to the hot water heater which again was measured with an instrument and specialized probe. In the case of the hot water heater, Mr. Auditor was measuring the temperature of the system and the efficiency. Out hot water heater temperature spiked at over 800 degrees, which is why we have such great "rebound" once we use hot water. This means that as we use the hot water, it is replenished very rapidly because of the sheer heat of the hot water heater. He also said, at 75%, it was working at sufficient efficiency. We did discuss though, that an oil heated hot water heater is not the most efficient way to go. He also explained though, that it wasn't the worst scenario he had seen either and that I probably shouldn't "retire" the system until it fails.

His recommendation to me was to start looking at On Demand hot water heating solutions that basically flash heat hot water as it flows into the house. These can be powered by propane, which I have access to since that's what we use to power our stove. This type of system means no hot water tank, which makes for a much more efficient system. While doing some research myself on the topic, I also learned that you can choose an on demand water heater with the option of working in tandem with a solar hot water heater! But more on that later, back to Mr. Auditor!

While we were down in the basement I took the opportunity to ask him some additional questions. Since my husband and I have become insulation fiends, I asked him if we should be insulating the ceiling of the basement. He explained that we didn't need to do that because the basement stayed at a relatively warm (50 or so degrees) for most of the time and he gave me a good lesson about heat.

I've always known that heat rises but I didn't know that heat could also sink. So, for example, if my basement was improperly sealed or had a broken window, I would want to insulate because in that case heat would actually sink to the basement to push out the cold. In our situation, though, the basement was just fine.

We also had a short discussion about my husband's dehumidifier. He picked it up at a Salvation Army for a great price, but what we learned was that we had probably lost money in what we had paid for it in electricity since. I had no idea that an inefficient dehumidifier used as much energy as a window air conditioner. Mr. Auditor explained that since our system was sized for a basement vent that it should be opened slightly and by using simple electric fans we could achieve the same goals and significantly reduce our energy consumption.

Then it was time to go upstairs. Mr. Auditor knew we had put in R14 and R39 insulation in the newly renovated room and he then popped up into the crawl space to look at the existing insulation in the other part of the house - above the bedrooms, above the kitchen and sitting room and in the walls. We learned, and were not surprised that the insulation in the ceilings of the rest of the house was pretty light - probably R19, which is to code, but not ideal. He did feel the insulation in the walls was sufficient though.

He also looked at all of our light fixtures and went out to his car and brought me a boat load of compact fluorescent light bulbs. And these weren't even that washed white light - some were small, traditionally light bulb shaped and quite warm in light. I was thrilled!

Finally, he sat down with all of his data and started writing up his report using his laptop and portable printer. He created an estimate of what we could do and pay, with rebates, to have cellulose insulation blown in above the bedrooms and in the primary attic over the kitchen and sitting room, have the seams of the ductwork sealed and to have the ceiling of the garage (which sits beneath the bedrooms) insulated as well. With a $2000.00 rebate, the price was right - but we had to decide what projects we might want to complete in the future (including potentially vaulting bedroom ceilings) before we could move forward.

Nonetheless, I learned a lot about the overall efficiency of my home. I was relieved to know the furnace is in great shape, although I look forward to offsetting its use. I was also happy to learn that the hot water heater looks solid - but I probably won't wait to replace it - another renewable energy adventure to explore!

Related Reading:
My Adventure In Renewable Energy: Heating
Energy: How Constraints Will Drive New Technology