What services might be included in a
home energy audit ?

The project will start with a comprehensive assessment, including an interview with you and a thorough walk-through—both indoors and out. The technician will use an infrared camera to get a visual on temperature differences in different areas and conduct a blower door test to depressurize the house to assess air leakage levels.
At the end of the comprehensive whole-home assessment, your home performance contractor should be able to provide you with a scientific, objective view of the situation. They should be able to help you prioritize repairs in order—from must-do to nice-to-do—so you can solve the biggest problems without making smaller problems worse. These repairs may include:

• air sealing the building envelope, including compartmentalizing
  the attic or basement from the conditioned living space
• weather stripping doors and/or windows
• adding insulation
• sealing ductwork
• upgrading to energy efficient HVAC equipment and/or
  ENERGY STAR® rated appliances
• upgrading to ENERGY STAR® rated doors or windows.

The Home Performance with ENERGY STAR® initiative from the Department of Energy (DOE) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has developed a great series of videos providing an overview of the home performance process.

Can a home performance project help make
my house more comfortable?

Yes. In fact, that’s one of the primary reasons to start a home performance project. Drafts, uneven temperatures (including hard to heat or cool rooms) and extreme (too damp or too dry) or inconsistent humidity levels are all problems best solved with a whole-home approach that examines the interaction between different systems in the house. Can a home performance project help me lower my energy bills?

Yes. The house-as-a-system approach to improving the performance of existing homes is proven to reduce homeowner annual utility bills by as much as 20% or more. (See U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Energy, Home Performance with ENERGY STAR® Brochure, EPA 430-F-09-001, January 2009) Frequently, indoor air quality and safety solutions lead to energy reduction and lower energy bills.

I’m worried about mold and indoor air quality…can a home performance project help protect my family?

Yes. One of the common problems home performance retrofits correct is uncontrolled air leakage through the building envelope. Warm, moist, conditioned air passes from the living space though the walls on its way outside. When that warm air reaches the cooler temperatures within the wall cavity or inside a window frame, it drops the moisture on condensing surfaces, which can help contribute to mold.
The American Lung Association® Health House® guidelines require homes to be more airtight to improve energy efficiency and prevent unplanned moisture movement and state: "...Although many stories in the media attribute indoor air quality problems to houses being built too tightly, the reality is that homes need to be as tight as practical. Air leaking into and out of homes has created many of the problems.
Moist air leaking out in cold weather can condense on wall and attic surfaces, creating mold growth and in some cases structural decay. This is a direct result of the home not being tight enough. Moist air leaking into a home in hot humid weather can have the same effect on finished surfaces of walls.
Air leaking into a home from an attached garage has been shown to be a significant source of carbon monoxide in homes..." Your BPI contractor will use a blower door to depressurize the house and locate air migration pathways as part of the whole-home assessment. Air sealing to close those pathways will be done as part of the retrofit improvement project.