These days, it seems like everyone is searching for ways to make their homes more energy efficient, whether it’s because they want to lower their monthly utility bills, make certain areas of their homes more comfortable, or reduce their environmental impact. The question is, where to begin? Old windows and inadequate insulation seem like the obvious choices, but very few homeowners really know how their homes use (and lose) energy.
That’s why Get Dwell works with an innovative company called Green Dream Group, an independent, scientific building performance verification firm, specializing in home energy audits and other services. The company’s advanced audits help homeowners lower utility bills, increase the comfort, durability, air quality, and energy efficiency of the living space, while at the same time do good for the environment.
Green Dream’s home energy auditors perform top-flight diagnostics, pinpoint cost-effective areas of improvement, then Get Dwell uses that information to make real, measurable improvements in the efficiency and comfort of your home.
High-Tech, Independent Diagnostics
Green Dream Group’s Home Energy Audits utilize high-tech tools and techniques to scientifically pinpoint the areas of weakness in your home’s energy systems. They offer a few different levels of Home Energy Auditing, depending on your budget and the depth of information you’d like about your home.
Comprehensive Home Energy Audits include:
Blower Door Testing
The blower door is a precise fan system with which Green Dream can test the leakiness of your home. Essentially, they suck the air out of the house and see where outside air is rushing in to replace it.
Infrared Thermography
The Infrared Camera is among the most valuable tools for diagnosing energy efficiency during an energy audit. By scanning the interior of the living space in infrared (like an X-ray for your home), Green Dream can pinpoint areas of weakness in your building’s envelope, insulation, duct system, windows and doors. These images suggest the most cost-effective points for home improvements
Combustion Analysis and Safety Testing
Every Home Energy Audit from Green Dream includes Worst-Case Depressurization Testing, which ensures your family’s safety from hazards including carbon monoxide and fire. Hidden leaks in your home’s natural gas supply pipes are quickly detected and tagged for easy correction. Green Dream’s nationally accredited home energy raters also can perform analysis of the CO and CO2 emissions, steady state temperature and efficiency, and gas spillage potential on each furnace, water heater and boiler in your home.
Computer Modeling
Green Dream uses nationally recognized software to create a basic simulation of your home, and then simulate improvements to it. This gives you an idea of cost, effect, and simple payback on the recommendations they make.
Utility Bill Analysis
By applying math to your past 12-24 months in gas bills, it’s possible to separate your usage into Heating and Base Load (Cooking, Clothes Drying, and Hot Water). Based on average household use in the Chicago area, it’s possible to determine whether your combustion appliances are performing at a level that’s comfortable and cost effective, or if you’d be better off with repaired (or even new) equipment.
For Get Dwell, Green Dreams Home Energy Audits are invaluable in ensuring we’re deploying your home-improvement dollars wisely and getting you the best bang for your buck. If you’d like to know more about these audits, give Get Dwell a call today.