Meet Chris Your Local Home Energy Auditor

During the month of October, Arbour Realty has teamed up with Chris Conway to give away a free home energy audit to a home owner or future home owner in Northern Virginia.  To enter, just send and email to info@arbourrealty.com with Green Gobbler in the subject line.

Working at Arbour Realty, I hear about home energy audits quite a bit, but was curious as to what exactly they entailed and the benefits a home owner should expect to receive. To answer these questions I had the opportunity to speak with Chris Conway (aka The Green Gobbler) President of Conway Construction, LLC, who specializes in home energy auditing and green building.

Chris has an extensive background in building but wanted to focus on the next generation of high performance home building and optimizing energy efficiency.  Chris studied at Southface Energy Institute and became a Certified Home Energy Rater through Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET).  He then partnered with EarthCraft House Virginia, a regional authority of green building.  Since its inception in 1999 over 500 homes have been certified under the EarthCraft House Virginia program and typically can save upwards of 30% in energy efficiency savings.

A typical home energy audit costs between $450-$600, and what I really wanted to know was what kind of savings a typical homeowner could see from making this initial investment. Chris demonstrated to me that most improvements are very low cost with a great rate of return.  They can easily be done by a homeowner with a little get up and go.  For example, even in 2009 in a time when environmental issues are at the forefront of many people’s mind, it is estimated that 90-95% of builders do not consider air leakage when building new homes.  During the energy audit if air leakage is identified it can be rectified for as little as $300 and this alone can save around $200-$300 a year in energy costs. Chris described other energy saving measures that can be implemented as a result of the energy audit which have significant long term financial savings, and which would pay for the initial audit in less than a year.

Chris recently performed a home energy audit for Ross Atkinson, a home owner in Alexandria Virginia.  Ross described the audit as “eye opening, fun, and incredibly educational with practical solutions for today and insight to longer term opportunities.  Truly motivating!”

Chris explains that the single most important benefit of a home energy audit is the homeowner education. Too many homeowners don’t understand the importance of a tight building envelope and its long term return on investment. I wasn’t surprised when Chris stated that when most people think about energy efficiency they think about appliances, but according to the Department of Energy only 9% of your total energy bill comes from appliance usage, whereas 43% comes from heating and cooling.  With the right information you are empowered to make decisions that will provide the biggest bang for the buck.

According to Chris, energy efficiency is the foundation towards reaching your overall goal when building a green home. Energy efficient homes are estimated to cost around 3-5% more to build, but depending on which building standards the home is built under it can save the owner between 15- 30% in energy savings.

Chris recommends an energy audit for anyone interested in making home improvements, improving air quality, saving money on energy bills, increasing comfort, mitigating moisture problems, or reducing your carbon footprint. During our conversation he mentioned a startling fact that recent EPA data states 1 in 5 families have a member with respiratory problems and a typical home can actually have up to 3 to 4 times more contaminates on the inside compared to the outside. This could explain why a large percentage of today’s children seem to have allergies and breathing issues. A simple home energy audit can address these types of environmental issues.

After my discussion with Chris, it seems to make smart financial sense to invest in a home energy audit. Naturally finding a good auditor is important. Some energy auditors are happy to conduct the audit, tell you that your home is not energy efficient and then walk away with your money leaving you dazed and confused. A good auditor like Chris Conway will spend the time to explain what changes need to be made and educate you on the efficiency of your home.

Chris hopes to see building codes improve within the next 3 years, becoming more focused on environment standards and energy efficiency. He also predicts that through education the home owner will have higher expectations and will not buy from builders who do not convey. It is time for everyone to pay close attention to where their hard earned dollars are going.

My conversation with Chris was very enlightening, I appreciate him taking the time out of his busy day to educate me on the basics of a home energy audit, and now I completely understand why home energy efficiency and the future of green building is his passion.

Contact Chris Conway for information about home energy audits and EarthCraft House Virginia standards.

*The Green Gobbler*
Conway Construction, LLC
M: 540-818-2437
F: 866-786-2609
Web:  www.conwaygreenconstruction.com