During a pre-upgrade evaluation, your energy advisor will:

  • Ask you about your goals for your home and any efficiency or comfort issues you’d like help solving
  • Measure the size and heated volume of your home
  • Document the existing insulation levels throughout your home
  • Record the make and model of your space and water heating systems
  • Perform a blower door test to identify air leakage problems and calculate your air changes per hour and your home’s equivalent leakage area (how big a hole the air leaks in your home would make if all combined together)
  • Use HOT2000 to build an energy model of your home
  • Explain relevant rebate programs
  • Provide you with a Renovation Upgrade Report which gives you customized recommendations about which energy saving upgrades make the most sense for your home, and what energy savings you can expect from each upgrade.
  • Issue you an EnerGuide rating, which demonstrates the energy performance of your home, and the EnerGuide Label which is the proof of that energy rating.

During a post-upgrade evaluation, your energy advisor will:

  • Return to your home and check your home’s energy performance after completing your upgrades and renovations
  • Document the changes in your home since your pre-upgrade evaluation and calculate your new EnerGuide rating. The data will be used to create an updated label and Homeowner Information Sheet.

If you are planning to access rebates, ensure that you have all of the necessary documentation for your application at this stage. If you are selling your home, consider including your EnerGuide rating in the MLS listing for your home to show a third-party verified confirmation of your home’s energy efficiency.

For more details or to schedule an energy evaluation, contact a program-qualified energy advisor.

Did you see a building science or energy efficiency term you did not understand? Check out our glossary.