Local Utility Offering $50 Audits, Worth It?

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Permalink Reply by randy tolowski on February 24, 2012 at 7:50am

For $50 I would say it is worth it. They will probably find some "hidden" issues,  Just ask what their solutions would be for problems they uncover.

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Permalink Reply by Bob Blanchette on February 24, 2012 at 8:11am

They don't specifically say blower door and/or thermal imaging, just that they do leakage tests. Before I shell out my $50 I'll make sure at least one of them is included.

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Permalink Reply by David Meiland on February 24, 2012 at 9:47am

Blower door and IR are great but no use to you unless you either (a) spend the entire time with the technician and learn where/what all the fixes are, or (b) get a detailed report that shows you where/what to do. When I do these inspections for homeowners I provide a written report with detailed instructions, visible and IR images... a roadmap for whoever does the work. Without it, the only person who learns anything is the auditor.

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Permalink Reply by Bob Blanchette on February 24, 2012 at 6:42pm

Of course I'd have to schedule it for my day off so i could see what needed done.

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Permalink Reply by Glen Gallo on February 26, 2012 at 11:13am

For 50 bucks I do not see how you could go wrong. Just out of curiosities sake alone it should  be  worth it. With 30 bucks worth of weather stripping and the other goodies it looks to be free.

I like the fact that this is delivered it show they want more than data and desire action

If you go through with it please post what they did and how and ul whether you thought it was worth the money

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Permalink Reply by tedkidd on February 26, 2012 at 4:37pm

Make sure you either get a report or make note of your blower door CFM50 number.  It's your houses cholesterol number.  It is a really important baseline number to have.  

Hopefully they will also calculate what the building airflow standard is for your home so you'll have a reference point for your number.  

The above information is definitely worth $50, and I'd bet you get a lot more if the program is kicking in the other $300. 

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Permalink Reply by Bob Blanchette on March 6, 2012 at 3:58pm

Just heard from the auditor, they don't have thermal imaging cameras or blower doors. OGE is doing the audit for free with a special promotion, so I have nothing to loose at this point.. He's coming out Thursday morning, hopefully he'll find something I missed.

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Permalink Reply by Randy Swartz on March 7, 2012 at 8:24am

Although I do not believe you will receive a full comprehensive audit for $50, if they truly do use the infrared camera in conjunction with the blower door, it's worth it.  The amount of air leakage that will most likely be found and repaired will offset the $50 many fold.

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Permalink Reply by Bob Blanchette on March 8, 2012 at 9:10am

Just had "audit" done, glad I didn't pay $50 for it. No tempature gun, No blower Door, those are "Level 2 audits" done by a different subcontractor for an extra charge (he didn't know how much) . He said he lived in a neighborhood not too far away from mine and his house was a little newer and 200sq ft bigger. Asked him about his useage and he said he didn't know, his wife paid the utility bills.. He wasn't aware that OG+E smarthours even existed, much less how it works. He's an OG+E customer, and can't believe he hasn't seen the ads on TV. They put notices about smarthours in our bills, but I suppose since his wife pays it he doesn't know/care. He mentioned the OGE smartmeter website, although he states hes never been on it. He offered no opinions of his own, he just mentioned the things they learned in training.The guy appeared to be about 60 or so, didn't seem like he was new to the job. Seems odd that somebody who does audits for a living would be out of touch with their own use, even if they aren't the one paying the bill directly..

One positive thing is he did find where the seam between the drywall and window frames could use some caulking. He mentioned windows had some leakage also due to being builder grade. No mention on how much leakage I'm getting from either source, he said only a blower door could tell that. Doesn't look like there is much to qualifiing for his position, perhaps I should apply for a job there and work my way up over time.

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Permalink Reply by tedkidd on March 8, 2012 at 9:16am

Bob, thanks for following up!

Sounds like a colossal waste of time and energy!  Paying people to run around and suggest caulking seams that may or may not be leaking.  

And that queers people from having they type of audit we perform, because after all, they've had an audit...

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Permalink Reply by Bob Blanchette on March 8, 2012 at 9:27am

I suppose if somebody has some really bad issues that could be eyeballed, he would catch those. He did mention getting the duct work checked, but that wasn't his department either. He climbed the attic stairs to check insulation/ventilation but did no go in the attic. He was here for a total of about 1hr, including consultation...

Later when I get the time I'll have to call OGE back to inquire about the "level 2 audit" to see what it entails.

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Permalink Reply by Joshua Lloyd on March 8, 2012 at 7:33pm

Here in Ohio, Columbia Gas is offering full comprehensive audits for $50 that include, combustion testing, blower door and IR scan.  I am performing these audits and it is definitely worth the customers money for them.  We even leave a list of contractors that are approved for the program to do any of the work recommended.

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