Green Power Living

Discover cost-effective ways to reduce energy usage, improve comfort, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

A Green Power Living Home Energy Audit helps you begin to green your home in several ways:

Identify Sources of Energy Loss

Heating and cooling account for 50 to 70% of the energy used in the average home. Air leakage alone is responsible for up to 40% of the energy used for heating.

• Our Energy Professional evaluates your home's window, insulation, heating, cooling, water heating, lighting, and appliance efficiencies to pinpoint where your house is losing energy.
• We use diagnostic testing to measure and identify causes of air and duct leakage, two major sources of energy loss.
• This information is used in a powerful computer simulation to model your home's energy and evaluate various improvements for cost-effective energy savings.

Solve Common Home Problems

Many symptoms such as dry indoor air or damp basements are caused by problems with one or more of a home's energy systems. For example, uncontrolled air leakage through the home's envelope allows warm humid air to escape and draws in drier colder air.

Our Building Analyst & Envelope Professional is trained and certified to:

• Assess common symptoms of home energy problems such as high energy bills, moisture on windows, drafty rooms, and ice dams.
• Diagnose home energy problems such as air leakage, insufficient insulation, and poorly sealed ducts.
• Recommend applied building science solutions that work.

Improve Indoor Environmental Quality

Hot or cold rooms, cold floors, and drafty rooms are symptoms of home energy problems and result in discomfort. Besides allowing energy to escape from your home, uncontrolled air leakage can introduce excessive dust and other outdoor pollutants.

• We evaluate the components of your home related to thermal comfort such as insulation, and HVAC sizing & efficiency.
• We also measure and identify sources of outside air infiltration.
• After identifying the causes of discomfort we recommend solutions to help maintain a comfortable temperature & acceptable indoor humidity, as well as control pollutants at the source.

Demonstrate Environmental Stewardship

Did you know that a typical home can cause twice the greenhouse gas emissions of the typical car? According to the U.S. EPA, about 16 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions are generated from the energy used in houses nationwide.

• Our powerful energy model uses your home's fuel, energy consumption, and state-specific emissions data to determine the amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions generated by your home's energy usage.
• In addition to providing cost-effective solutions for reducing energy consumption, we can also provide solutions for maximum emissions reduction.

Choose The Building Science Specialists

A home energy professional should be familiar with the energy properties of different types of home construction, and understand how different components and appliances in your home work together as a system.

• Green Power Living's energy professionals are RESNET-certified Home Energy Rating System (HERS) Raters.
• Our building analyst is certified by the Building Performance Institute (BPI) as a Building Analyst & Envelope Professional.
• Our principal green building consultant is a LEED Accredited Professional & RESNET-certified Green Rater.

The solutions we recommend are supported by research and testing by organizations such as the U.S. Department of Energy national laboratories, the Building America* program, and the Southface Energy Institute.

*Building America is a private/public partnership that develops energy solutions for new and existing homes.

A Green Power Living Home Energy Audit includes on-site inspection & testing of your home by a residential energy professional.

You'll receive a comprehensive audit that covers more than20 areas, including:

• Wall, floor, and ceiling insulation
• Air & Duct leakage
• Windows and Doors
• Heating and Cooling systems
• Water Heating
• Lighting & Major appliances

You'll receive a home energy report that includes the following:

• Analysis of your home's energy profile, with respect to economic and environmental impact.
• Description of the energy features of your home
• Prioritized list of recommended improvements
• Cost-benefit analysis for recommended improvements
• List of no & low cost energy-saving measures

Support Local Green Economy

Contribute to your local green economy by hiring a sustainable energy auditing firm to recommend solutions, and local home improvement contractors to implement the solutions.

Do you live in the DC-MD-Northern VA area? Schedule an Audit>.