Your home is probably the biggest investment you'll ever make; make it worth your years and energy. The Building Analysts at Chicago Home Performance perform top-flight diagnostics, pinpoint cost-effective areas of improvement, guide you through the work with referrals to excellent contractors, and help you take advantage of financial incentives and start seeing and feeling the benefits!
High-Tech, Independent Diagnostics
Green Dream Group's Comprehensive Home Performance Assessments utilize high-tech tools and techniques to scientifically pinpoint the areas of weakness in your home's energy systems. A Home Energy Audit can be performed on single family homes, multifamily buildings and townhomes, and on single condominiums and apartments. We offer a few different levels of Home Energy Auditing, depending on your budget and the depth of information you'd like about your home. Starting costs are $300 or $625, depending on the energy audit package you've chosen and the size, features, location, and complexity of your home. Contact us to find out which energy audit package would be appropriate for your particular situation. You can also Download a Sample of our Home Performance Package, at right.
Comprehensive Home Energy Audits include:
Blower Door Testing
The blower door is a precise fan system with which we can test the leakiness of your home. Essentially, we suck the air out of the house and see where outside air is rushing in to replace it. Most homes are leakier than they need to be, while some are too tight, and with the accuracy of these tools, we can increase the efficiency of heating and cooling systems, save you money, enhance indoor air quality, and lessen your impact on the environment. Our Full Energy Audits always include a Blower Door test, usually coupled with Infrared Thermal Imaging.
Infrared Thermography
The Infrared Camera is among our most valuable tools for diagnosing energy efficiency during an energy audit. By scanning the interior of the living space in infrared (like an X-ray for your home), we can pinpoint areas of weakness in your building's envelope, insulation, duct system, windows and doors. These images suggest the most cost-effective points for home improvements, which we help guide our clients to complete after the energy audit.
Combustion Analysis and Safety Testing
Every Home Energy Audit from Green Dream includes Worst-Case Depressurization Testing, which ensures your family's safety from hazards including carbon monoxide and fire. Hidden leaks in your home's natural gas supply pipes are quickly detected and tagged for easy correction. Our nationally-accredited home energy raters also can perform analysis of the CO and CO2 emissions, steady state temperature and efficiency, and gas spillage potential on each furnace, water heater, and boiler in your home.
Computer Modeling
We use nationally recognized software to create a basic simulation of your home, and then simulate improvements to it. This gives you an idea of cost, effect, and simple payback on the recommendations we make.
Utility Bill Analysis
By applying math to your past 12-24 months in gas bills, it's possible to separate your usage into Heating and Base Load (Cooking, Clothes Drying, and Hot Water). Based on average household use in the Chicago area, we can determine whether your combustion appliances are performing at a level that's comfortable and cost effective, or if you'd be better off with repaired (or even new) equipment. Every level of our Home Energy Audits comes with this service.
Every Home Energy Audit from Green Dream includes Worst-Case Depressurization Testing, which ensures your family's safety from hazards including carbon monoxide and fire. Hidden leaks in your home's natural gas supply pipes are quickly detected and tagged for easy correction. Our nationally-accredited home energy raters also can perform analysis of the CO and CO2 emissions, steady state temperature and efficiency, and gas spillage potential on each furnace, water heater, and boiler in your home.
