Deciding to Have an Energy Audit

December '07 began with not only Christmas shopping but also preparing the house for our first party, set for New Year's Eve. We replaced the kitchen faucet with a shiny chrome Delta model with a sprayer since the old one leaked and the plumber said the model was too cheap to fix! A friend came over and commented how cold it was downstairs. I thought, "It'd be nice if our party guests were warm enough to enjoy the decorations..." That led me to search for "energy audit Maryland" so we could put our money toward the right effort.

In our quest to save money, energy and the environment, we'd replaced 23 lightbulbs so far among several other efforts which I will comment on later. In 2007 we used 17% less energy than in 2006. In Sept. we switched to 100% wind power at a slightly higher rate. So we were ready for the next step, but wanted expert advice to get the most bang for the buck.

I found the MD Energy Administration site and chose a contractor, Energy Services Group, because they had the most experience in Maryland of the ones listed, and left a message. MDhomeperformance.org is an easy way to find the approved contractors including mine.

We bought sustainable rubberwood bookcases (Target online) for the office to finally unpack several more boxes, a new futon cover, a couple of fresh wreaths and a cut Christmas tree. We also bought a steamer to clean (tile especially) without harsh chemicals, but so far we can't get the top off to put in any water. We ran out of time on doing any home performance improvement before the party and just turned up the heat for our guests this time.