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Easy Sustainability Answers

How can I figure out where my home is using energy? How can I do my own energy audit?

Adriene Hill Jul 30, 2010

Easy Answer: We’ve made a Do-It-Yourself Energy Audit guide for you (with help from the Department of Energy and Consumer Reports).

A home energy audit is the first step in figuring out how you can reduce your energy bills and your energy consumption. Sure, it sounds a little intimidating, but we promise it’ll be more fun then the sort of audits we usually talk about around here. Plus, it could save you some money.

We’ve divided our DIY audit into bite-sized tasks:

DIY Energy Audit: Air Leaks

DIY Energy Audit: Insulation

DIY Energy Audit: Heating and Cooling

DIY Energy Audit: Appliances

DIY Energy Audit: Lighting

We’ve also got a handy tool to help you calculate how much money you might save by making energy upgrades.

And we have info on what a pro can do (that falls outside most of our DIY capabilities).

If you have other tips, ideas, and guides–please share!

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