MAY 25, 2011
Home energy check-ups for $99 save big bucks
Certified Home Energy expert Mike Britton opened the ceiling grate for a Phoenix home’s air conditioner earlier this month and immediately spotted a gap where hot air from the attic was being sucked into the air conditioner.
Instead of supplying the air conditioner with air from inside the home, which is much easier to cool, the unit was working double time to cool the super hot attic air and blow cool air into the house. This small gap was costing the homeowner $60-$90 a year in wasted energy.
A home energy check up is designed to help homeowners make the most of cost-efficient home energy upgrades and is currently $99 which is a discount from the $400 or more normally charged. Why would the electric companies try to get customers to buy less of their product you might ask? Utility officials agree it is better and cheaper to conserve electricity than to build new power plants to supply power as demand increases.
Most energy check-ups pay for themselves without any repairs at all. Both SRP and APS provide participants with 10 CFL light bulbs, 1-low flow showerhead, 2 low flow sink aerators, and a kitchen aerator which save the average homeowner over $175 per year. Apple Energy Pros also showed this homeowner that reducing the run time on their pool pump from 9 hours a day to 6 can save them about $200 a year based on their utility bills. Do the math and that’s a savings of over $375 per year from a $99 investment, not bad.
The homeowners have no obligation to make any repairs or pay anything more than the $99. The check up report will outline how many years it will take to pay off the investment of any work that is done to help homeowners determine if the work is worth the investment. Apple Energy Pros statistics say, the average homeowner takes advantage of over $750 in rebate money and saves over $400 per year through this program.
Call 480-352-0200 to schedule your check-up today!