I would like to get an energy audit done on my house in Silicon Valley. Who should I engage and what are the important questions to ask?

My energy costs are not high. I am around the 20th percentile in my area for energy consumption. But I would like them to be lower.
Answer:

In California, Home Upgrade California is the big daddy of all the energy efficiency programs. California has a highly regulated utility market which means that your utility company's rebates and incentives almost surely tie into this initiative. See their site here: http://www.energyupgradeca.org/en/save-energy/home/take-control-for-savings-and-comfort/get-a-home-upgrade-and-increase-comfort Find a participating contractor You can find a participating contractor near you by going to this link. These people are in line with solid industry standards. They can help you with local and utility rebates and incentives. http://www.energyupgradeca.org/en/find-programs-and-assistance/find-contractors-and-raters You can learn more about the value-add of participating contractors here... http://www.energyupgradeca.org/en/find-programs-and-assistance/contractor-rater-overview Rebates and incentives in your area Depending on your location, specific incentives and conditions may vary. You can get a sense of those by typing your zip code here... A participating contractor can help with that. http://www.energyupgradeca.org/en/find-programs-and-assistance/find-a-program Financing for your home upgrades... By going with Home Upgrade California, you also have access to some financing options for solar and energy efficiency. http://www.energyupgradeca.org/en/find-programs-and-assistance/find-financing/financing/statewide-clean-energy-upgrade-finance-program Disclaimer: I co-founded http://SnuggPro.com, one of a handful of energy auditing software approved for use in the Home Upgrade California program. That said, I have no way of knowing whether your contractor will be using our software or not.

Benjamin Mailian at Quora Visit the source

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Other answers

Generally, there are three approach to a home energy audit and each have their pros and cons. The most expensive option is hiring a contractor to do it for you. There are actually quite a few in major cities. They often do this as a full time career and have the necessarily equipment and tools for a comprehensive review. These services generally cost a few hundred dollars. The next option is seeing if your energy provider(s) provide staff or subsidized contractors for energy audits. These reviews, if offered, generally cost $50 - $200 and tend to be quicker than full service review. The final option is doing it yourself. http://www.homeenergychecklist.com/ is a good site to walk you through some of the highlights to look for and can be done in a few minutes.

Dave Rigotti

If you want to do it for free, we have the solution for you. We are building an application for that, and we currently looking for beta testers. If you you are interested please visit http://udit.co and sign up for the beta test. You can also check out our facebook site for more information http://facebook.com/udit.co.

Udit Co

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