Our Approach

A contractor meeting with a homeownerHomeowners suffering from rooms that are too hot or too cold, or frustrated with high energy bills can turn to Home Performance with ENERGY STAR to help solve their comfort problems. The program directs homeowners to contractors who are trained to provide comprehensive, unbiased assessments of their homes. This Home Performance with ENERGY STAR assessment includes a prioritized list of improvements that the contractor can perform to make the home more energy efficient, comfortable and healthy.

How does a Home Performance with ENERGY STAR assessment work?
The Home Performance with ENERGY STAR assessment may take three to five hours depending on the size and complexity of your house. The contractor will charge a fee for this assessment. During the assessment, the contractor will test and visually inspect every part of your home. The contractor will provide you with a full follow-up report detailing what improvements should be made in your house. Items that will improve the energy efficiency of the house will be prioritized into levels according to their energy savings. Additional items for improving indoor air quality, health, and safety may also be recommended based on the results of the assessment.

Initial appointment
The initial appointment with a homeowner is a home assessment during which the contractor surveys insulation levels, potential moisture problems, indoor water use, and equipment efficiencies. The contractor also uses diagnostic equipment, such as the blower door and duct blaster, to assess the home's energy use and flaws and make recommendations for improvement. The blower door tests help to determine infiltration (how leaky the house is), and the duct blaster test determines duct leakage. In regards to indoor air quality, the contractor also conducts, when applicable, a combustion safety test to detect the potential for harmful gases being drawn into the living space.

Follow up
After completion of the initial appointment, which can take several hours depending on the complexity of the house, the contractor will provide a set of prioritized recommendations to the homeowner. Some contractors provide this information at the completion of the assessment. Most will take the time to incorporate a software analysis and will provide you with the report as a follow-up after the initial assessment.

Homeowners have the final say
Homeowners can arrange to have any desired improvement work completed by either the contractor who performs the home assessment or another participating contractor. The homeowner is not obligated to choose any of the Home Performance with ENERGY STAR contractors.

Learn how the home energy audit leads to efficient home improvement recommendations.