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Nearly everyone has a list of resolutions they'd like to tackle in 2023 – travel more, learn a new instrument, run that marathon. It may be worth considering a home energy audit that can help you save money and make energy more affordable this year. It's an easy way to identify changes you can make to your home to save that extra cash you'll need to put toward a gift you did not get at Christmas or a vacation to somewhere exciting. 

Professional home energy audits are one of your best bets for identifying major energy savings in your home. You'll need to find a trusted professional auditor who can perform many different tests throughout your home to detect energy leaks. A blower door test, for example, can help you find air leaks in your house that can make heating and cooling unnecessarily expensive. A professional auditor might also conduct a thermographic inspection to find spots in your home that are leaking heat and which may benefit from new or additional insulation. Making improvements identified in tests like these, among others, can help you improve your home's energy efficiency and save you between 5% and 30% on your monthly energy bill.

For those do-it-yourself types, there are also a range of things you can do that might not require hiring a professional home energy auditor. Locate air leaks that commonly form along baseboards or door and window frames. You can also check for gaps around outdoor water faucets, and where the foundation and the bottom of exterior brick or siding meet. Check the insulation in your attic and around the attic hatch. Visit Energy Saver for more information on identifying some simple areas for improvement in a do-it-yourself home energy audit.

Remember, though, that conducting a home energy audit is only the first step – making the recommended upgrades is what will help you realize your New Year's resolution to save money and make energy more affordable throughout the year.