It’s no secret that summer is in full swing in Phoenix, Arizona. With summer temperatures rising comes also the rise of people’s SRP and APS bills. So how do you know if your home is energy efficient? Here are a few signs to look for that may indicate your home needs some help in the energy efficiency department:

  1. Your energy bills cost you over 10 cents per square foot. For example, your home is 2000 square feet and your SRP or APS bill is $260 in the peak of the summer. That is 13 cents per square foot. This home has good potential to save some money off of their energy bills by making the home more energy efficient by completing some energy efficiency measures like duct sealing, air sealing, insulation, variable speed pool pump  upgrade, exterior window shading, or even a new AC system. Determining what the best measures are for this home can be discovered by having Ideal Energy perform a full energy audit  on the home! 
  2. There are certain rooms in your home that are hotter or colder than others. This common issue is often overlooked by homeowners as people tend to just get accustomed to living in an uncomfortable, hot home. Often times, comfort issues and temperature differentials in a home can be a result of leaking or poorly designed ductwork and improperly installed or inadequate insulation levels. If your home has such issues, there’s a high chance it’s lacking when it comes to energy efficiency and can likely benefit from having our company perform an energy audit!
  3. Your return where you put the filter in is loud and sucks the filter up fast. In our Phoenix, AZ housing stock, returns are often severely undersized, which decreases the airflow of an air conditioning system and can raise static pressure. These types of issues are detrimental for a home’s SRP and APS energy bills and can lead to serious comfort issues. If this sounds like your home you’d likely be a great candidate for an energy audit! 
  4. Your AC vents have dust streaks coming out of the sides of them. A duct system should be a closed loop system if it’s sealed right, which means there should be no way dust can enter or leave the ductwork. If you have streaks on the walls by your AC registers, it can mean that you have some duct leakage. We can find out for sure with a duct leakage test, which is one of the tests performed during our energy audits.
  5. You put your hand up to the ceiling drywall and the drywall feels hot. If your drywall feels hot, it is very likely the attic has some missing insulation up there. If you want to know exactly what the temperature is of that area, you can always purchase a heat sensing gun from your local hardware store.
  6. Your temperature split is way too low. If you went to the extent of purchasing a heat sensing gun, you can check what we refer to as temperature split. To start, set your thermostat as low as it’ll go and let it coast there for a while. Take your heat sensing gun and measure the output at a supply register that is relatively close to where the return is. Then take this same reading at the return. The difference between those two numbers should be 20 degrees. If it’s 15 degrees or lower, you likely have some issues with your air conditioning system not being able to adequately cool your home. If this sounds like your home, you’re best off calling us for an AC check up to determine the exact cause of the issue.

These are just some of the key indicators to look out for to determine if your home is energy efficient or not. With utility prices rising, now is the perfect time to start taking control of your bills to ensure your home is optimized and performing properly. If you have questions or want an expert to take a look for you, give us a call at 480-839-0082!