More people are turning to the green life every day. Not only to help the environment, but to reduce their utility costs.
“I really want to make sure I conserve all the energy that's going inside my house,” Karen Carrillo says.
Carrillo is hoping that making her Valley home as energy-efficient as she can will not only reduce her carbon footprint, but bring some relief to her electrical bills.
“There’s something so thorough the way they do it, it's high-tech for me,” Carrillo says.
She’s getting help from Proenergy consultants. The company's mission is to provide consumers with solutions when it comes to saving energy, saving the environment and more pressing for some, saving money.
“We help people solve problems they have in their home, particularly those having some pain of high energy costs,” Vince Hunter says.
Hunter is the co-owner of the company. He and his business partner Alan Hart help people create an action plan by conducting an energy audit.
“We want to find out what's going on with the house first, get that envelope working properly, get the thermal barrier working properly, making sure the house is safe,” Hart said. “We think that’s where all the money should go first.”
“One of the tools they use to identify energy wasters is with this blower door test.
“We set a large fan in the front door of the house that exhausts air out,” Hart explains. “It puts a little bit of negative pressure on the house and allows us to better see the leaks that may be in the envelope of the house.”
Another tool for finding leaks and other problems is a thermal imaging camera. “The thermal imaging camera can tell the difference in temperature.” Hart says. “You can basically see through the walls, see through the ceiling.”
A smoke pencil also comes in handy. “If we puff the smoke and it hangs there or floats, no real leaks there,” Hart continues.
Once the audit is completed, Proenergy consultants give recommendations for the homeowner to consider. In Carrillo’s case, she was told some of her improvements could save her more than $600 a year.
“We work with the customer whether they want to do some of the improvement themselves, whether they would like us to do them or we will help them find someone,” Hunter says.
“I was amazed that he said I could do it myself,” Carrillo admits. “So that's a plus because the way things are now, a lot of people can't afford expensive things.”
