The inspector arrived at nine on a Tuesday morning in early May, carrying a clipboard, a tablet, and a flashlight the size of a rolling pin. Pepper barked at him exactly twice, then lay down by the front door to supervise. Within ten minutes the man was halfway into our attic hatch, and I was standing at the bottom of the pull-down ladder holding his clipboard, feeling oddly nervous, as if the house were about to be graded.
In a way, it was. Our utility offers a free home energy audit to customers, and I'd been meaning to sign up for it since we bought this 1958 brick ranch four years ago. Last summer's bills finally pushed me. Here's what the visit involved, what he found, and what we're planning to do about it.
How we set it up
I requested the audit through our utility's website in March. The wait was about six weeks, which I'm told is normal heading into spring, when everyone starts worrying about summer. There was no charge and no sales pitch, though he did leave a short list of rebate programs at the end. The visit took about two hours.
Before he came, I gathered a few things he'd asked for:
- A year of electric bills, which our utility's online account made easy
- The age of the heat pump (2016, from the sticker on the outdoor unit)
- Access to the attic, the electrical panel, the water heater, and every room
What he checked
He started outside, walking the whole house and looking at the brick, the windows, the soffits, and the heat pump. Then he worked through the inside methodically.
- Windows and doors. He held a thin strip of tissue at the edges to look for drafts. The back door and the door to the carport both fluttered.
- The heat pump and air handler. He checked the filter (dirty, embarrassingly), the airflow at a few vents, and looked over the unit outside. He said the system itself seemed in reasonable shape.
- The attic. This is where he spent most of his time.
- Water heater and lighting. Quick checks. We'd already switched most bulbs to LED.
What he found in the attic
This was the real news. He came down the ladder with dust on his shoulders and said, kindly but plainly, that our attic had two problems.
Leaky ductwork
Our heat pump's ducts run through the attic, which is common in houses of this age. Several of the joints had separated or were only loosely taped, and one section near the hall had a visible gap. He held his hand near it with the system running, and I could see the insulation fibers moving. Cooled air we were paying for was blowing straight into the hottest part of the house.
Thin insulation
The attic insulation was old, settled, and thin. In some areas it barely covered the ceiling joists. In a couple of spots near the eaves, it had been pushed aside entirely, probably by someone running wiring years ago. He said it was well below what's recommended for our climate.
"Your heat pump is working hard to cool the attic," he told me. "And the attic is winning."
The smaller findings
- Weatherstripping is worn on two exterior doors.
- The air filter needs changing more often, especially in summer and during pine pollen season.
- A couple of outlets on exterior walls are drafty and could use foam gaskets, which cost pennies.
- The water heater is fine, though he suggested turning the temperature down slightly.
What we're doing next
We sat down that evening after Lila was in bed and made a plan, ordered roughly by cost and impact.
| Fix | When |
|---|---|
| New filter, outlet gaskets, water heater setting | Done this week |
| Door weatherstripping | This month |
| Duct sealing (hiring it out) | Getting quotes now, hoping for early summer |
| Attic insulation | Fall, when the attic is bearable to work in |
Ben was tempted to tackle the duct sealing himself, and he's handy enough to try. But crawling around a South Carolina attic in June is dangerous, honestly, and getting at some of those joints means squeezing into the low corners near the eaves. We're going to get quotes and probably hire it out.
I'm also hanging blackout curtains in the bedrooms before the real heat arrives. They won't fix leaky ducts, but the west-facing bedroom gets punishing afternoon sun, and anything that helps is welcome.
Was it worth it?
Absolutely. It cost us nothing but a morning, and now we know exactly where our cooling dollars have been going. Four years in this house, and I'd never once climbed into the attic to look. It took a stranger with a giant flashlight to show me.
Lila, who watched the whole visit from the hallway, has since started holding tissues up to every door in the house to check for drafts. The bathroom door, she reports, is "very breezy." I've added it to the list.
