In this video, This Old House home technology expert Ross Trethewey shows a homeowner where her energy use is going and how she can save some money in the future.

SUBSCRIBE to This Old House: http://bit.ly/SubscribeThisOldHouse.

Home technology expert Ross Trethewey makes a home visit to help a homeowner figure out her energy losses. After discussing her concerns about energy consumption, Ross proposes a home energy analysis and gets to work.

Start on the outside
A good energy assessment of your home starts outside. The assessor will look at the siding, windows, roof, foundation, chimney, gutters and any penetrations for vents, wires and pipes. They will look for holes or damage, as well as good drainage to ensure the house is as well surrounded as possible from the outside.

Use a Blower Door [https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/blower-door-tests] to check for leaks
Turn off all combustion appliances, close all wall openings, vents or flues, and install a fan door in one of the exterior doorways. Set this blower door to approximately 50 Pascal and let the fan come up to speed. Use a thermal imaging camera and a small smoke machine to find cold air penetrating walls, windows, basement beams, vents and other areas.

Enter the data into the computer model
Enter all data collected during the assessment into the computer model. By following the formula above, the model will determine where most of the energy loss occurs, whether it is the windows, walls, roofs or other areas. Use this information to make decisions about future upgrades.

Where can you find it?
Ross will carry out a full energy assessment of your home. He recommends starting by walking around the exterior of a house to visually inspect the siding, windows and roof.

Siding: What is the condition of the siding? Are there holes in the siding?
Windows: What shape are the windows?
Roof: What is the condition of the roof? Are there shingles missing? Is the attic ventilated or not?
Water: Is there obvious water damage? Are there any signs of pooling? Do gutters/downspouts carry water away from the building? When it comes to the exterior, you want to make sure there are no ways for water to enter the home.

For the internal walkthrough, Ross says he needs to evaluate all major devices and systems. He also recommends checking insulation and taking measurements (such as the length, width and ceiling height of rooms).

To determine where air leakage is occurring, Ross performs a blower door test [https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/blower-door-tests]. A blower door is a machine that measures the airtightness of buildings. It can also be used to measure airflow between building zones, to test the airtightness of ducts and to physically locate air leakage locations in the building envelope.

Looking for more step-by-step guidance on completing projects around the house? Join This Old House Insider and stream over 1,000 episodes commercial-free: https://bit.ly/2GPiYbH

Plus, download our FREE app to stream full episodes to your connected TV, phone or tablet: https://www.thisoldhouse.com/pages/streaming-app

About Ask This Old House TV:
From the creators of This Old House, America's first and most trusted home improvement show, Ask This Old House answers the steady stream of home improvement questions asked by viewers across the United States. It covers topics from landscaping to electrical to HVAC and from plumbing to painting and more. Ask This Old House features the experts from This Old House, including general contractor Tom Silva, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey, landscape contractor Jenn Nawada, master carpenter Norm Abram and host Kevin O'Connor. ASK This Old House helps you protect and preserve your greatest investment: your home.

Follow this old house:
Facebook: http://bit.ly/ThisOldHouseFB
Twitter: http://bit.ly/ThisOldHouseTwitter
Pinterest: http://bit.ly/ThisOldHousePinterest
Instagram: http://bit.ly/ThisOldHouseIG

How to Conduct a Home Energy Assessment Ask This Old House
https://www.youtube.com/user/thisoldhouse/

Please take the opportunity to connect and share this video with your friends and family if you find it useful.