Home Energy Audit in California

Licensed & insured Every company we put you through to holds current licensing and insurance.
Know what to ask You are told what actually decides the price, so you can judge a quote.
Someone local You are put through to a technician who works your area, not a call center three states away.
Calls answered 7 days Someone picks up seven days a week, weekends included.

Is it urgent?

Can wait

Never urgent, and nearly always worth doing first. It is the least expensive item here and it is the one that tells you which of the others you actually need — including, sometimes, none of them.

Two things override everything on this page. If anyone has symptoms of carbon monoxide exposure — headache, nausea or dizziness that improves outdoors — leave the building and call the gas utility or the fire service, not a duct company. And if you can smell burning while the dryer is running, unplug it and leave it.

Signs to look for

Several quotes for different work and no way to compare them
High bills on a house that has already had work done
Comfort problems in specific rooms that nobody has explained
Buying a house and wanting to know what it will cost to run
Applying for a utility rebate or a program that requires a pre-work assessment

How the work is done

A blower door test to measure the whole-house air leakage, as a baseline number rather than an impression
Thermal imaging under a pressure difference, which is what makes missing insulation and air paths visible
Measuring duct leakage separately, because in California it is often the single largest item and it is testable
Delivering a prioritized list with the measurements behind it, so the work can be staged and compared against quotes

In California specifically

California's Mediterranean on the coast, hot and dry inland climate and its housing stock — stucco ranch and bungalow, tile or composition roofs, slab in the south and raised crawlspace through the Bay Area and the north — decide what is worth doing first. California is also the one state where duct leakage is routinely tested: Title 24 requires a HERS-verified duct test on most furnace or air-conditioner changeouts, so a duct problem here often surfaces as a failed test rather than as a complaint.

Before the technician arrives

Four things worth doing — and the first one is usually the thing people get wrong.

Get the audit from someone who is not bidding on the work where you can, or at least read the recommendations skeptically. An audit that recommends exactly what the auditor sells is a sales call with instruments.
Gather twelve months of utility bills beforehand — they are the context the measurements get interpreted against.
Make sure the attic and crawlspace are accessible on the day, or half the audit cannot happen.
Ask for the raw numbers, not only the summary. They are what a second contractor can quote against.

What the work looks like

Photographs of home energy audit being carried out, so you know what to expect on the day.

How it works

Three steps, and you decide at the end of them.

1
You call and describe the problem

Tell us what you have noticed and where — the room, the smell, the noise, how long it has been going on. Give us your ZIP code and we will match you to a licensed company covering your area. There is no form to fill in.
2
A local company takes it from there

They discuss the problem with you directly, arrange a time to inspect, and agree the work and the price with you before anything starts. That conversation is between you and them.
3
You decide whether to go ahead

You are under no obligation. If the quote or the approach is not what you wanted, you are free to say no and call someone else.

Home Energy Audit — FAQs

Do I actually need Home Energy Audit done?

Never urgent, and nearly always worth doing first. It is the least expensive item here and it is the one that tells you which of the others you actually need — including, sometimes, none of them.

What does Home Energy Audit involve?

Measuring the house — blower door, thermal imaging, duct leakage, insulation levels — so that the work is chosen from data rather than from whatever the contractor sells.

What makes this different in California?

California's Mediterranean on the coast, hot and dry inland climate and its housing stock — stucco ranch and bungalow, tile or composition roofs, slab in the south and raised crawlspace through the Bay Area and the north — decide what is worth doing first. California is also the one state where duct leakage is routinely tested: Title 24 requires a HERS-verified duct test on most furnace or air-conditioner changeouts, so a duct problem here often surfaces as a failed test rather than as a complaint.

Are the companies licensed and insured?

Yes. We only pass calls to licensed, insured operators working in California, and you are welcome to ask to see a license number on arrival.

What does Home Energy Audit cost?

It depends on the property, the size of the system and what the inspection finds, so we do not publish a price — a figure quoted on a web page is not one the attending company has agreed to. You get a price before any work starts.

Home Energy Audit near you

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Call about Home Energy Audit

What happens when you call

Worth having to hand