Many families feel uncomfortable in their homes or have energy bills that are far more expensive than normal. These issues are typically caused by energy loss, but most people have no idea where they should look in their home to find it.
Our energy audit and assessment services identify where your energy is going in your home and how it may be escaping. With this information, you can take a targeted approach to home performance upgrades like air sealing and insulation. Lakewood Home Energy is a trusted, independent energy audit and insulation contractor in Central Maine, and we offer two types of performance tests to help you improve your home’s efficiency.
Comprehensive Energy Audits vs Energy Assessments
Energy audits and assessments analyze your home’s overall performance and provide details on where it’s lacking and what upgrades would benefit it the most.
At Lakewood Home Energy, we offer two levels of diagnostic services:
Energy Assessments
Energy Assessments are a more surface-level approach. They’re effective for identifying the largest sources of energy loss and creating an immediate plan forward. During these assessments, we will do a blower door test to measure your home’s performance. We’ll then sit down with you at the kitchen table to address comfort concerns and outline a project scope on how to improve them.Building Diagnostics
Energy Audits
Energy Audits are more comprehensive and include:
- A 10-year energy roadmap for people who are planning to continue living in the home for the foreseeable future.
- Four to six hours of in-depth testing, measuring everything from HVAC system performance to energy loss and indoor air quality.
- A data-backed, quantitative report that outlines our findings and discusses improvements,
Blower Door Tests in Rangeley, Carrabassett Valley and Beyond
Blower doors are an essential element of both energy audits and assessments. They’re used to measure the overall air tightness of the home.
During these tests, we close all windows, hatches, vents, and doors in your home. We position a powerful fan in one exterior door, connect it to sensors and a computer, and run tests as we blow air into the home. This allows us to measure pressure changes that indicate air leaks. We then use smoke pencils, infrared cameras, and other tools to pinpoint the exact spots of air intrusion. In addition to blower door tests, we offer duct leakage tests to help you find any air leaks in your ductwork that could be causing you to lose energy.
Blower doors are also an energy code requirement for new construction and large additions in Maine. If you’re a contractor or owner builder constructing a residence, our professionals can check this step off your list. If the tests fail, we can perform insulation or air sealing services to correct the issues and ensure the next test passes.
Learn About Blower DoorsThermal Imaging for Energy Loss
Your home’s construction should serve as a thermal barrier between the indoors and outdoors. When your insulation is lacking or you have significant air gaps, this barrier is compromised. Using infrared technology, our team will highlight heat signatures in your walls, attic, crawlspaces, and basements. We’ll be able to find the exact locations where you have inadequate insulation.
Insulation ServicesSteps After an Energy Audit or Assessment
Efficiency Maine recommends energy audits as a logical first step for reducing energy waste. Once we’ve identified your home’s weaknesses and outlined them to you, the next step is to consider weatherization upgrades for your Central Maine home.
The majority of home performance and comfort issues can be resolved by insulation and air sealing. Our team takes a building science-backed approach to these services. We’re BPI-certified and, unlike other contractors, understand the “why” behind the work we do. We are also a Residential Registered vendor with Efficiency Maine, and can help you qualify for rebates of up to $8,000 (80% of your project costs), depending on your income.
Explore Rebates