| New England Energy Audit Home Buyers and Sellers |
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| TIP #7 - FOR SINGLE GLAZED WINDOWS, ADDING DRAPES REDUCES HEAT LOSS BY 37%. ADD THE SAME DRAPES TO DOUBLE GLAZED WINDOWS REDUCES HEAT LOSS BY 30%, ADDING INSULATED DRAPES TO SINGLE GLAZED WINDOWS REDUCES HEAT LOSS BY 56%, 48% FOR DOUBLE GLAZED WINDOWS. BE CAREFUL WITH INSULATED DRAPES THAT YOU ARE NOT TRAPPING MOISTURE BETWEEN THE DRAPE AND THE WINDOW AREA WHERE ROT CAN OCCUR. |
HOME BUYERS
Real Estate buyers are now in control. Use that to your advantage. Buying a home is one
of the important decisions anyone makes. What homeowners’ overlook a majority of the
time, is how much that dream home is going to cost you in energy expenses. How much
heating fuel does that home typically use? What are the typical electricity costs?
Electricity costs really matter when a home utilizes air conditioning. If that home is not
insulated or air sealed properly (for starters) then your electricity costs can add
substantially to annual expenses. Is the heated and/or cooled air going through the roof or
anywhere else for that matter? These are things every potential homeowner must know.
Beyond the obvious, such as your monthly and/or annual expenses, a home that is not
energy efficient may lose value if you seek to sell the same property. If new laws are
enacted, it will require that every home on the market have an Energy Audit to determine
where the weaknesses are as well as the costs. If the windows are leaky, then you will be
required to replace them or price the home accordingly. In other words a home that is not
energy efficient will lose value should new laws be enacted. Many states, cities, towns in
the nation already require a Home Energy Audit be performed before a real estate
transaction occurs and more are sure to follow.
Look at an Energy Audit in the same way as a home inspection. When you determine
inadequacies, it allows you to work with the seller to adjust the price accordingly. After all
these are improvements you will undoubtedly have to make, when you realize just how
much those inadequacies are costing you monthly and/or annually.
Most home inspectors are not trained Energy Auditors. They may view an attic, and
believe the insulation is adequate, totally unaware to the recommended standards. Typical
home inspectors do not realize that the only good thing about fiberglass batts is that it is
better than nothing. That is about the only nice thing I can say about fiberglass batts.
New England Energy Audit is available to work with new home buyers. We take everything
into consideration during our thorough investigation, which includes detailed visual
assessment, Blower Door Testing to determine air leakage and Thermal imaging.
Air leakage can account for a significant amount of heat loss in most homes. This is
something no home inspector can determine without the training and tools. Thermal
imaging helps to reveal what is going on behind the walls – is there insulation in place, how
effective is that insulation? With the information gathered through the Energy Audit we can
give you the predicted usage in heating fuel and KWh for cooling costs. Always, always
ask the seller for heating and electricity consumption records for the prior 12 months, at
least, I prefer 24 months for averaging purposes.
SOME EXAMPLES OF WHERE THIS NEW HOME COULD COST YOU HARD EARNED
MONEY OR NEGATE SOME OF THAT RENTAL INCOME.
COSTS AND COOLING COSTS.
DISCOMFORT.
IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT YOU KNOW HOW ENERGY EFFICIENT OR INEFFICIENT
YOUR NEW HOME IS PRIOR TO SIGNING THAT PURCHASE AGREEMENT.
Real Estate buyers are now in control. Use that to your advantage. Buying a home is one
of the important decisions anyone makes. What homeowners’ overlook a majority of the
time, is how much that dream home is going to cost you in energy expenses. How much
heating fuel does that home typically use? What are the typical electricity costs?
Electricity costs really matter when a home utilizes air conditioning. If that home is not
insulated or air sealed properly (for starters) then your electricity costs can add
substantially to annual expenses. Is the heated and/or cooled air going through the roof or
anywhere else for that matter? These are things every potential homeowner must know.
Beyond the obvious, such as your monthly and/or annual expenses, a home that is not
energy efficient may lose value if you seek to sell the same property. If new laws are
enacted, it will require that every home on the market have an Energy Audit to determine
where the weaknesses are as well as the costs. If the windows are leaky, then you will be
required to replace them or price the home accordingly. In other words a home that is not
energy efficient will lose value should new laws be enacted. Many states, cities, towns in
the nation already require a Home Energy Audit be performed before a real estate
transaction occurs and more are sure to follow.
Look at an Energy Audit in the same way as a home inspection. When you determine
inadequacies, it allows you to work with the seller to adjust the price accordingly. After all
these are improvements you will undoubtedly have to make, when you realize just how
much those inadequacies are costing you monthly and/or annually.
Most home inspectors are not trained Energy Auditors. They may view an attic, and
believe the insulation is adequate, totally unaware to the recommended standards. Typical
home inspectors do not realize that the only good thing about fiberglass batts is that it is
better than nothing. That is about the only nice thing I can say about fiberglass batts.
New England Energy Audit is available to work with new home buyers. We take everything
into consideration during our thorough investigation, which includes detailed visual
assessment, Blower Door Testing to determine air leakage and Thermal imaging.
Air leakage can account for a significant amount of heat loss in most homes. This is
something no home inspector can determine without the training and tools. Thermal
imaging helps to reveal what is going on behind the walls – is there insulation in place, how
effective is that insulation? With the information gathered through the Energy Audit we can
give you the predicted usage in heating fuel and KWh for cooling costs. Always, always
ask the seller for heating and electricity consumption records for the prior 12 months, at
least, I prefer 24 months for averaging purposes.
SOME EXAMPLES OF WHERE THIS NEW HOME COULD COST YOU HARD EARNED
MONEY OR NEGATE SOME OF THAT RENTAL INCOME.
- MISSING OR INEFFICIENT INSULATION - WALLS, ATTIC, CRAWLSPACE,
COSTS AND COOLING COSTS.
- SIGNIFICANT AIR LEAKAGE WILL LEAD TO DRAMATICALLY HIGHER HEATING
- OLD INEFFICIENT APPLIANCE, I.E. REFRIGERATOR, HOT WATER HEATER
- LEAKY, INEFFICIENT WINDOWS, ALTHOUGH THIS IS NOT THE CASE IN MOST
DISCOMFORT.
- UNNECESSARY EXPENDITURE OF HEATING FUELS
- UNHEALTHY AIR QUALITY - THIS IS FOUND WITH HOMES THAT ARE
- MOISTURE ESCAPING INTO YOUR ATTIC AREA, INCREASING THE CHANCES
IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT YOU KNOW HOW ENERGY EFFICIENT OR INEFFICIENT
YOUR NEW HOME IS PRIOR TO SIGNING THAT PURCHASE AGREEMENT.
ADD THE EDGE YOU NEED TO SELL. BY HAVING A HOME ENERGY AUDIT
PROFESSIONALLY DONE GIVE YOURSELF AND YOUR PROSPECTIVE HOME BUYER
THE CONFIDENCE YOU NEED TO SELL YOUR HOME. WHILE YOU MAY STILL WISH TO
BURY ST. JOSEPH TO HELP INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF A SALE, GIVE ST. JOSEPH
A LITTLE MORE TO HELP YOU WITH, WITH AN IN-HOME ENERGY AUDIT.
WHEN YOU FIRST MEET YOUR PROSPECTIVE BUYER YOU CAN GIVE THEM A COPY
OF THE WRITTEN REPORT AS THEY WALK IN YOUR DOOR. THIS GIVES BOTH OF
YOU THE PEACE OF MIND THAT IS NEEDED IN TODAYS MARKET PLACE. FOR THEM
THEY HAVE A VERY GOOD IDEA OF THE STRENGTHS OF YOUR HOME VS. THE LAST
HOUSE THEY VIEWED. FOR YOU, YOU ARE ONE CUT ABOVE THE REST OF THE
MARKET PLACE. BY HAVING THIS REPORT YOU SHOW THEM HOW CONFIDENT YOU
ARE THAT YOUR HOME IS THE BEST.
PROFESSIONALLY DONE GIVE YOURSELF AND YOUR PROSPECTIVE HOME BUYER
THE CONFIDENCE YOU NEED TO SELL YOUR HOME. WHILE YOU MAY STILL WISH TO
BURY ST. JOSEPH TO HELP INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF A SALE, GIVE ST. JOSEPH
A LITTLE MORE TO HELP YOU WITH, WITH AN IN-HOME ENERGY AUDIT.
WHEN YOU FIRST MEET YOUR PROSPECTIVE BUYER YOU CAN GIVE THEM A COPY
OF THE WRITTEN REPORT AS THEY WALK IN YOUR DOOR. THIS GIVES BOTH OF
YOU THE PEACE OF MIND THAT IS NEEDED IN TODAYS MARKET PLACE. FOR THEM
THEY HAVE A VERY GOOD IDEA OF THE STRENGTHS OF YOUR HOME VS. THE LAST
HOUSE THEY VIEWED. FOR YOU, YOU ARE ONE CUT ABOVE THE REST OF THE
MARKET PLACE. BY HAVING THIS REPORT YOU SHOW THEM HOW CONFIDENT YOU
ARE THAT YOUR HOME IS THE BEST.
