What Is an Energy Audit and Why Does It Matter?
An energy audit is a comprehensive, science-based assessment of how your home uses and wastes energy. Unlike a casual walkthrough or a utility-provided home energy report, a professional audit uses calibrated diagnostic equipment to measure actual air leakage rates, identify invisible insulation deficiencies, quantify duct system losses, and evaluate the real-world efficiency of your heating, cooling, and water heating systems. The result is not a vague set of generic tips but a precise, data-driven map of where every wasted dollar is going and exactly what to do about it.
Arkansas homes face a unique set of energy challenges. Our hot, humid summers drive air conditioning costs that can exceed $300 per month for poorly insulated homes, while our cold winter stretches push heating systems to their limits. The state's housing stock includes a significant number of homes built before modern energy codes took effect. Even homes built in the 2000s and 2010s frequently have installation defects, air sealing gaps, and duct leakage rates that far exceed acceptable levels. These issues are invisible to the naked eye but painfully visible on your monthly utility bill.
At Energy Future Arkansas, we have conducted over 900 residential energy audits since 2017. Our auditors are BPI (Building Performance Institute) certified and use professional-grade equipment including calibrated blower door systems, FLIR thermal imaging cameras, duct blaster testing apparatus, and combustion analyzers. Every audit follows a standardized protocol that ensures nothing is missed, and every report includes specific, prioritized recommendations with projected savings, estimated costs, and available rebate information for each improvement.
Our Audit Process: Five Diagnostic Steps
Our comprehensive energy audit follows a rigorous five-step protocol designed to identify every significant source of energy waste in your home.
Step 1: Blower Door Test. We install a calibrated fan in your front door that depressurizes your home to a standardized 50 pascals. This test measures your home's total air leakage rate in cubic feet per minute (CFM50). The average pre-1990 Arkansas home leaks 3,000 to 5,000 CFM50, meaning the home's entire air volume is exchanged with outside air every one to two hours. Modern energy codes target 1,500 CFM50 or less. While the blower door runs, our auditors use smoke pencils to trace exactly where air is entering the building envelope, identifying leaks around windows, doors, plumbing penetrations, electrical outlets, recessed lights, and attic access points.
Step 2: Thermal Imaging. Using a FLIR professional thermal camera, we scan every wall, ceiling, and floor surface in your home. Thermal imaging reveals insulation voids, missing insulation sections, thermal bridges through framing, moisture intrusion patterns, and HVAC supply duct locations within walls and ceilings. The camera produces high-resolution images that clearly show temperature differentials invisible to the naked eye. We photograph every anomaly and include annotated images in your audit report.
Step 3: Duct Leakage Testing. Using a duct blaster apparatus, we pressurize your HVAC duct system and measure total duct leakage. Leaky ducts are one of the most significant and most overlooked sources of energy waste in Arkansas homes. A typical home with unrepaired ductwork loses 20 to 30 percent of conditioned air before it reaches the rooms it is intended to heat or cool. Duct leaks in unconditioned spaces like attics and crawl spaces are especially costly because you are essentially air conditioning or heating the outdoors.
Step 4: Appliance and HVAC Analysis. We evaluate the efficiency ratings, age, and condition of your major energy-consuming systems including your furnace or heat pump, air conditioner, water heater, refrigerator, and clothes dryer. We measure actual HVAC airflow, check refrigerant charge indicators, inspect filter condition, and evaluate thermostat programming. For gas appliances, we perform combustion safety testing to ensure safe operation and proper venting.
Step 5: Insulation Assessment. We physically inspect accessible insulation in your attic, walls (via thermal imaging), basement or crawl space, and around rim joists. We measure existing insulation depth, identify R-value, note any compression, moisture damage, settling, or gaps, and compare your current insulation levels to the Department of Energy's recommendations for Arkansas's climate zone (Zone 3). Many Arkansas homes, even those built in the 2000s, have insulation levels well below current recommendations.