Energy Audit Kits to the Rescue
Bluegrass Greensource provides free Energy Audit Kit’s through the public libraries for checkout. The Energy Audit Kit’s are designed to guide you through the first steps of making your home more energy efficient. By using this kit you can find areas in your home that could use more insulation, are leaking cold air, or appliances that are using energy even when turned off. The Energy Audit Kit’s tools include: kill-a-watt meter, Infrared Thermometer, Foot Candle Meter, Refrigerator Thermometer, and an Instant Read Thermometer. Each of these tools provides information on how energy is used throughout your home. For example, the kill-a-watt meter is used for measuring the energy usage of appliances that generally stay plugged-in such as televisions, radios, and lamps. Many appliances go into ‘stand by’ mode even when turned off and still consume power. After seeing how much energy is consumed by appliances that are turned off, you can consider plugging electronics into power strips and turning off the strip when not in use. This will eliminate appliances using energy while in standby mode. Another example would be the Infrared Thermometer which is used for identifying poorly-insulated areas in walls, floors, and ceilings. By using this tool in the Energy Audit Kit, you can decide where insulation is most needed in your home. Not only does the Energy Audit Kit have tools, it also comes with an Audit Kit manual and a Simple Savers booklet. The manual provides instructions for each tool and how to assess their information, energy saving tips, incentives and rebates related to energy efficient changes in the home, and free to low cost resources in the community to provide weatherization assistance. The Simple Savers Booklet is a DIY manual that will guide you through the energy efficient changes you can make to your home. The purpose of the home Energy Audit Kit is for everyone in Lexington to have easy access to finding out how energy efficient their home is, and then providing them the knowhow on how to make the necessary changes to their home. Energy Audit’s can be expensive and difficult to schedule for busy individuals. The Energy Audit Kit is available to anyone who wants to make changes without spending the money and time to have an energy audit done for you. Also by doing the energy audit yourself; you can save kill-a-watt hours just by seeing how your home uses energy and making behavioral changes. Making energy efficient changes, infrastructural or behavioral, can help you save money this winter on your utility bill and also reduce environmental impact. Make a difference in your home and environment by checking out an Energy Audit Kit from your local library today!