Professional Energy Audits
Understand your energy before you invest. A professional energy audit reveals exactly where your home or business is losing energy and money — and gives you the data needed to size a solar system that delivers real, measurable results.
Know Your Energy Before You Invest in Solar
Most solar companies will size your system based on your last 12 months of utility bills. That is a starting point — but it is not sufficient if you have a leaky building envelope, outdated HVAC equipment, or inefficient lighting that is artificially inflating your consumption.
Installing a larger solar system to cover wasteful energy use means spending more money than necessary. An energy audit first identifies where that waste is coming from — so you can address it, then size a solar system optimized for your actual efficient energy needs.
The result is a smaller, less expensive solar system that still meets your goals, with a faster payback period and better long-term return on investment.
- Right-size your solar system — not oversized, not undersized
- Identify quick efficiency wins that reduce bills immediately
- Establish a reliable baseline for calculating solar savings
- Uncover hidden energy drains affecting your monthly bills
- Support smarter decisions about HVAC, insulation, and upgrades
What Our Energy Audit Covers
Our professional energy auditors evaluate every major energy system in your home or commercial building, giving you a complete picture of your energy profile.
Utility Bill Analysis
We analyze 12–24 months of utility bill history to identify usage trends, seasonal patterns, and abnormal consumption spikes that point to underlying inefficiencies.
Load Evaluation
A detailed breakdown of how your energy is distributed across circuits, appliances, and systems — identifying which loads dominate your bill and which can be reduced or shifted.
HVAC Assessment
Evaluation of your heating and cooling system's age, efficiency rating, ductwork condition, and operating patterns — the largest energy consumer in most Pittsburgh homes.
Lighting Review
Inventory and assessment of all interior and exterior lighting, identifying opportunities to replace outdated fixtures with energy-efficient LED alternatives that reduce consumption with no impact on comfort.
Appliance Evaluation
Review of major appliances including water heaters, refrigerators, washers, dryers, and dishwashers — assessing age, efficiency, and whether upgrades would meaningfully reduce energy consumption.
Building Efficiency
Analysis of the building envelope — insulation levels, window quality, air sealing, and weatherstripping — to identify where conditioned air is escaping and where improvements will have the highest energy impact.
Savings Recommendations
A prioritized list of efficiency improvements ranked by estimated cost, projected savings, and payback period — so you can act on the most impactful changes first and see results quickly.
Solar Readiness
Assessment of your property's solar potential, including roof orientation, available space, shading factors, and recommended system size based on your audited actual energy needs — not inflated pre-audit consumption.
Thermal Imaging & Diagnostics
Infrared thermography scans of walls, ceilings, floors, and the building envelope to detect heat loss invisible to the naked eye — including gaps in insulation, air leakage paths, moisture intrusion, and thermal bridging through framing. Thermal imaging takes guesswork out of building efficiency improvements by showing exactly where heat is escaping.
Load Profile Analysis
Detailed mapping of when and how your energy is consumed throughout the day, week, and season. Understanding your load profile reveals opportunities to shift high-consumption activities to off-peak hours, maximize the value of a solar system, and determine whether battery storage would improve your financial return.
Your Complete Energy Audit Report
After the audit is complete, you receive a comprehensive written report — not a sales pitch. Every finding is documented with data, every recommendation is explained with projected impact and estimated cost.
Current Energy Overview
A clear summary of your current energy consumption, broken down by system and usage category, with comparisons to regional averages for homes or buildings of similar size and type.
Areas of Energy Waste
A documented list of inefficiencies identified during the audit, including estimated cost impact for each — so you know exactly what each problem is costing you per month and per year.
Prioritized Recommendations
A ranked action plan covering low-cost behavioral changes, moderate-investment upgrades, and longer-term capital improvements — each with projected savings, estimated cost, and approximate payback timeline.
Estimated Annual Savings
Projected dollar savings from implementing the recommended changes, including both pre-solar efficiency improvements and the combined impact when a solar system is added to an optimized energy profile.
Solar System Size Recommendation
A data-backed recommendation for solar system size based on your audited actual energy needs — ensuring your investment is precisely sized for optimal performance and payback rather than based on unoptimized consumption alone.
Energy Audits Are Right for You If…
An energy audit is valuable for any property owner who wants better control over energy costs — whether or not solar is the immediate next step.
Homeowners
- Your electric bills are high and rising without a clear explanation
- You are planning a solar installation and want accurate system sizing
- Your home has older HVAC equipment, windows, or insulation
- You want to understand your home's energy profile before any major renovation
- You are preparing your property for sale and want to document efficiency
Businesses & Properties
- Businesses looking to reduce operating costs and improve margins
- Commercial property managers responsible for tenant utility expenses
- Multi-family property owners evaluating solar for common area loads
- Organizations with sustainability or ESG reporting requirements
- Companies considering EV charging stations or electrification upgrades
Start with Better Energy Data.
Before you size a solar system, before you upgrade your HVAC, before you finalize any energy investment — get an audit. Our professional energy auditors give you the data to make confident, cost-effective decisions for your home or business.