A home energy audit report lists what the tests found and what to fix. The Department of Energy lists the usual recommendations: air sealing, more insulation, sealing ducts in unheated spaces, fixing moisture, and more efficient heating, cooling and water heating.
Safety first
If the combustion safety test found a venting problem or carbon monoxide, have a heating contractor look at it before any other work. Air sealing can make a venting problem worse.
Then the shell, then the equipment
Seal and insulate first. A tighter house loses less heat, so a heat pump sized afterward can be smaller. Xcel adds $600 when rebate-qualifying insulation and air sealing are invoiced before a rebated space-heating heat pump, within two years of each other.
Planning three or more upgrades with Xcel? Enroll in Whole Home Efficiency before any work starts. In a house heated by Xcel gas, three qualifying upgrades finished within two years of enrolling could add 25% of each one's standard rebate. For other homes Xcel's sheet doesn't say, so ask Xcel before you count on it.
Who does what
- Air sealing and insulation: Xcel's participating contractors. We don't do this work.
- Heat pumps and heat pump water heaters: send us the report. We send back a price after rebates, then confirm it in person.
What to send us
- The report pages with the blower door number, insulation levels and the equipment recommendations.
- Photos of the furnace, the water heater and its vent, the electrical panel, and the spot outside where a heat pump could go.
Common questions
Does sending you my report enroll me in an Xcel program?
No. It gets you a price. Whole Home Efficiency enrollment is a separate form on Xcel's site.