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The energy audit guy is here and finishing up his stuff. He has a laptop and printer and will print out a report for me when he's done. Right now he's putting weather stripping around our front door (and will put some CFLs in the few places that don't have them).
All in all this was a neat experience. I guess a lot of what he'd be doing would be insulation related, so this is taking less time than planned (since our insulator is coming in 2 weeks anyway). Windows are good, appliances are good. Furnace is 9 years old and water heater 10 years. He told me that last month the rebate from National Grid went up for insulating, so we'll get $2k back rather than $750 - score! I have a short list of some things that were suggested, but nothing major.
He asked that I e-mail him to share how our energy useage has changed once the insulation is in, since he doesn't have a lot of hard evidence to share with people (given that our house had nothing, ours would be a good test).
Totally worth doing for free if your energy company covers it like mine does. If you're really concerned at your energy useage, I think it would be worth the $200 or $300 that they'd normally charge if it wasn't subsidized by your utility.
All in all this was a neat experience. I guess a lot of what he'd be doing would be insulation related, so this is taking less time than planned (since our insulator is coming in 2 weeks anyway). Windows are good, appliances are good. Furnace is 9 years old and water heater 10 years. He told me that last month the rebate from National Grid went up for insulating, so we'll get $2k back rather than $750 - score! I have a short list of some things that were suggested, but nothing major.
He asked that I e-mail him to share how our energy useage has changed once the insulation is in, since he doesn't have a lot of hard evidence to share with people (given that our house had nothing, ours would be a good test).
Totally worth doing for free if your energy company covers it like mine does. If you're really concerned at your energy useage, I think it would be worth the $200 or $300 that they'd normally charge if it wasn't subsidized by your utility.
no subject
Date: 2008-10-21 05:12 am (UTC)I'm curious: what kind of insulating did you do? And is there a minimum amount or a certain kind you must do to qualify for rebate as high as $3K that might make the cost worth it?
Home Insulation
Date: 2008-10-21 12:50 pm (UTC)We're going to have cellulose insulation blown in the walls/attic floor and will have some foam sheets in the crawlspace roof. We chose it because its a recycled material (paper), isn't carcenogenic (like fiberglass), and for the same thickness is a better insulator than fiberglass. They'll also use a spray foam around the perimeter of the foundation at any spot where there are things coming into the house and resulting gaps (pipes, wires, windows, etc).
The rebate for National Grid is 75% of your cost up to $2000, so since our cost is $8k, we'll max out the $2k. The Keyspan rebate differs (if your gas comes from them instead). The utility websites have a lot of good information about their programs that you can probably find if you poke around a bit. :)
Re: Home Insulation
Date: 2008-10-21 10:49 pm (UTC)And Keyspan (gas) -- which I have -- is now called National Grid, or so my new bills and their flyer tell me. (I've no clue if it was bought out or just changed names/identity.) So it's odd if they're operating separately. But I'll check into it. Thanks again, very useful info! I've been putting off looking into it, too many other $$ irons in the fire right now. (Like, next year I'll HAVE to paint the house exterior, and no clue how long my roof will hold out until it has to be replaced. Oy!)