Blower door test
A calibrated fan depressurises the house and reports how leaky it is as a measured number, so improvement can be proven later rather than claimed.
Most people buy the cure before the diagnosis
A house is uncomfortable and the bills are high, so something gets bought. New windows. A bigger furnace. Another layer of insulation rolled over the top of an attic that was never sealed. Sometimes it works. Often the money goes to the thing that was easiest to sell.
An audit reverses the order. You find out what the building is actually doing — where the air moves, where the heat goes, whether the ducts leak, whether the appliances are venting safely — and then you decide what to buy.
The most common outcome we see: the fix costs less than the homeowner expected, and it isn’t the thing they were about to pay for.
What we test
Two to three hours in the house, with equipment rather than opinions.
Thermal imaging
With the house under pressure, a thermal camera reveals air tracking through paths invisible from either side of the wall, plus missing and slumped insulation.
Combustion safety
Draft and spillage testing on gas or oil appliances, plus ambient CO readings. This is the test that decides whether a house can be tightened safely at all.
Duct leakage
Where ductwork runs through an attic, crawl space or garage, we check how much of what you paid to heat never reaches a room.
Insulation inspection
Actual depth and condition in the attic, walls, crawl space and rim joist — measured, not assumed from the year the house was built.
Moisture and ventilation
Humidity readings, evidence of past condensation, whether bath and kitchen fans actually exhaust outside, and whether the attic ventilation path is intact.
What you get afterward
A written report, ranked by what each item is worth — not a quote with everything in it.
Example findings
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Do first
Attic plane air sealing — top plates, chases, hatch
Largest measured leakage path. Cheapest item on this list.
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Do first
Bath fan terminating in the attic
Safety and moisture issue, not an energy one. Fix regardless of budget.
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Next
Rim joist insulation and sealing
Small area, disproportionate effect. Good candidate for next season.
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Next
Attic insulation topped up to current target
Worth doing after sealing, not before — order changes the result.
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Not yet
Window replacement
Smallest measured contribution on this house. Revisit when the windows fail, not for energy reasons.
Illustrative example. Your report reflects your house, and sometimes the top item is one we don’t sell.
We install insulation. So why trust our audit?
It’s a fair question and you should ask it of anyone who audits and installs. An insulation company that finds insulation problems in every house it visits is not running diagnostics, it’s running lead generation.
Three things we do about it. The report is written before any pricing conversation, and it ranks findings by measured impact rather than by what we’d be paid to fix. It includes items outside our scope — ductwork, ventilation, appliance issues, drainage — because those are often the real answer. And it’s yours: take it to another contractor, get three quotes off it, or do the work yourself.
If you want complete independence, hire an auditor who doesn’t install anything. That’s a legitimate choice and we’ll tell you so. What we won’t do is pretend the question doesn’t exist.
The test nobody asks for and everybody needs
Older gas and oil appliances that vent up a masonry chimney rely on natural draft — hot exhaust rising on its own. That draft is weak, and it competes with everything else in the house that moves air: bath fans, the dryer, a range hood, and the stack effect itself.
Tighten a house without checking this and you can end up with an appliance that spills exhaust into the basement instead of up the flue. It’s uncommon, it’s well understood, and it’s entirely preventable — but only if someone tests for it before the work, not after.
That’s why combustion safety testing is part of every audit we do, and why on a small number of houses our recommendation is to address the venting before doing any sealing at all.
What an audit costs
Standard home audit
Quoted by size
2–3 hours on site
Credited toward work
100%
If you hire us within 90 days
Blower door only
Lower rate
Test and number, no full report
Free estimate instead
$0
If you already know the scope
You may not need one. If you know the crawl space is the problem and you want it priced, book a free estimate instead — that costs nothing and takes half an hour. An audit is for when the symptoms don’t point anywhere obvious, when you’re planning work in stages, or when a rebate program requires the numbers.
New Jersey and Pennsylvania both run home energy programs, and some require a test-in and test-out by a certified contractor. Requirements and certifications change, so we confirm what applies to your address at booking rather than promising it here.
Book an auditAudit, or just a quote?
When testing earns its cost
- Bills are high and you don’t know why
- One room misbehaves and nobody has explained it
- You’re planning work over several years and need an order
- You just bought the house and want a baseline
- A rebate program requires before-and-after numbers
- You have older atmospheric-vented appliances
You get: measured numbers, a ranked report, and it’s credited if you hire us.
When a free estimate is enough
- You already know which area you want done
- The problem is visible — bare crawl space, uninsulated rim joist
- You’re comparing prices on a defined scope
- New construction, where there’s nothing yet to test
You get: an on-site look and a written fixed price, at no cost.
Energy audit questions
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Do I need an audit, or can I just get a quote?
If you know what you want done, get the free estimate — it costs nothing and we’re not going to upsell you into diagnostics you don’t need. The audit is for houses where the symptoms don’t point at an obvious cause, where you’re sequencing work over several years, or where a rebate program wants measured numbers.
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You install insulation. Isn’t the audit just a sales tool?
It would be, if the report only ever recommended insulation. Ours is written before any pricing discussion, ranks findings by measured impact, and routinely includes items we don’t sell — duct sealing, ventilation, appliance venting, drainage. The report is yours to take anywhere. And if you want a fully independent opinion, hire an auditor who installs nothing; that’s a reasonable choice and we’ll say so.
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Is the audit fee credited if I hire you?
Yes, in full, if you go ahead with work within 90 days. There’s no obligation attached to that — plenty of audits end with the homeowner doing the work themselves or hiring someone else, and the report is still theirs.
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Do I need to be home, and what do I need to do first?
Someone should be home, because half the value is in what you tell us — which room is cold, when it started, what you’ve already tried. Before we arrive: make sure the attic hatch and mechanical room are reachable, and don’t light a fire in the fireplace that day. We’ll need to close all exterior doors and windows for the blower door, so the house may feel drafty for an hour.
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What is combustion safety testing and why does it matter?
Older gas and oil appliances venting up a masonry chimney rely on natural draft, which is weak and competes with every fan in the house. Tightening a home without checking that draft can leave an appliance spilling exhaust indoors instead of up the flue. It’s uncommon and entirely preventable, but only if it’s tested beforehand. On a small number of houses our advice is to sort the venting out before sealing anything.
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Will the audit qualify me for rebates?
Sometimes, and it depends on the program, your state and the certifications the contractor holds. Some New Jersey and Pennsylvania programs require a test-in and test-out by a specifically certified contractor, and those requirements change. We’ll tell you at booking exactly what applies to your address and whether we can perform it — rather than implying eligibility here and having you find out later.
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Is a thermal camera enough on its own?
No, and it’s worth knowing why, because “free thermal scan” is a common lead offer. A thermal camera shows surface temperature differences. Without the house under pressure from a blower door, and without a decent temperature difference between inside and out, those images are easy to over-read. The camera is genuinely useful, but as one instrument in a test, not as the test.
Get your free estimate
Tell us which part of the building is the problem. We’ll come out, measure, and give you a written fixed price. No obligation to proceed.
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What happens next
- We call you back within one business day to ask a few questions.
- A free on-site assessment — usually 30 to 45 minutes.
- A written fixed price before any work starts. No obligation.