A Greener Austin One House at a Time

5 Reasons Austin Home Owners Should Get a Home Energy Audit Today

If you are concerned about rising utility bills, your impact on the environment or care about the value of your home, a home energy audit can help.    We have our cars inspected and serviced regularly to insure proper performance.  What about our homes? For most of us, the majority of our time is spent in our home and the majority of our carbon footprint stems from our home.  There are several reasons that now, more than ever, Austin residents should look into having a home energy audit.

1)      Lower your utility bill.   In these tough economic times, one thing that we can control is our spending.  A reduction in your utility bills can be controlled by making some simple lifestyle changes as well as making weatherization improvements to your home. 

2)      Reduce your carbon footprint.  We all need to do our part to protect the environment and reduce the amount of energy we use in our home.  If everyone does a small part to reduce energy consumption, we can have a huge impact on the environment.  Locally, we can work toward making Austin the greenest city in the country.

3)      If you are an Austin Energy customer, there are amazing rebates and zero to low interest loans available on many weatherization improvements for your home thru the Home Performance with ENERGY STAR Program.    Choose from a list of participating companies such as Green Footprint Solutions to perform the audit, make the improvements and file the rebates on your behalf.

4)      Take advantage of Federal Tax Credits in 2009- There are Federal Tax credits available in 2009 and 2010  for energy efficiency improvements  available at 30% of the cost, up to $1500 ( for existing homes only)  for  windows and doors, insulation, roofs ( metal and asphalt), HVAC, Water Heaters ( non-solar) and Biomass Stoves

5)      Make your home more saleable – In this ever increasingly competitive real estate market, it is important to make sure your home is saleable, even if you are not looking to place your house on the market right now.  The energy efficiency of a home is something that buyers will likely take into consideration when purchasing a home.   The City of Austin is encouraging homeowners to participate in energy efficiency programs thru Austin Energy.    In fact, effective June 1, 2009, the Austin Energy Conservation Audit and Disclosure Ordinance, also known as the City of Austin Ordinance  No.  20081106-047 will require that the owner of a home ( non-exempt) must, before the time of sale have an energy audit. The owner of the home must provide a copy of the energy audit to the purchaser or prospective purchaser of the home before the time of sale and the person performing the audit must provide a copy of the energy audit to the city not later than 30 days after the audit is complete.  If you are proactive, and have an energy audit done prior to putting your home on the market, you may be able to identify and improve potential areas in need improvement.  If you make enough improvements thru Austin Energy’s Home Performance with Energy Star rebate programs, you may be exempt from the mandatory audit when your home is sold.  Additionally, you may disclose the improvements to potential buyers making your home more appealing, much like staging.

Even if you are not an Austin Energy customer and the rebates and ordinance do not apply to you, you may still benefit from the Federal Tax Credits, lower utility bills, and a reduction in your carbon footprint.   Get a Green Footprint Plan today and put it into action.  Remember that a home energy audit is a great first step toward reducing your carbon footprint, but the real key is to take action and  make the recommended improvements to save energy.