Our homes are marvelous machines that keep us warm and dry, protect our stuff, and contain the devices that make our lives easier and more pleasant. They’re built to last, but it’s all too easy to take their performance for granted. 

Look after your home and it will look after you. One of the wisest investments you can make in your home is to have a professional home energy assessment done. Garfield Clean Energy provides free energy coaching to hundreds of households each year, and we always recommend starting with an energy assessment.

Are your energy bills too high? Is your house less comfortable than it ought to be – drafty in winter, sweltering in summer? Do you have concerns about ventilation or indoor air quality? Is your heating system getting old? These are all good reasons to get an energy assessment. It’s a standardized professional process that will help you get a handle on your home’s issues and identify the most appropriate and cost-effective measures for your situation. Best of all, it’s the gateway to qualifying for potentially thousands of dollars in financial aid to pay for those measures.

I had an assessment done for my home a few years ago, and it was probably the best investment of $100 and two hours of my time I’ve ever made. I gained a much better understanding of how my house works and got a bunch of useful money/energy-saving tips – some of them so sensible and cheap they were worth the cost of the assessment alone.

I could have gone for a free “virtual” visit through my electric utility, but I’m glad I went for the in-person service. Charles, a professional energy analyst, was a fount of information. He walked me through each area of the house, running through a standard list of inspection points. It was great to be able to follow behind and geek out.

But there’s more to the process than just a visual inspection. Home energy professionals have two cool diagnostic tools that they typically use when doing in-person assessments. The first is a blower door test, where a special fan is set up in a door opening to draw air out of the house to reveal hidden gaps where air is leaking in. The other is an infrared camera that’s used to scan the walls and “see” where heat is leaking in or out.

In the case of my house, Charles’s testing revealed two primary sources of air leakage. The first was the attic access door, which was completely uninsulated; Charles recommended installing an attic door “tent” to stop the air flow while also providing insulation. The second was a drain in the floor of the mechanical room, which was allowing a free exchange of air with the outside. The solution? Pour a bit of water down the drain to fill the bend of the “p-trap” below. Cost: $0.

These were easy, cheap fixes that instantly improved the comfort of my primary bedroom and my basement apartment. Other recommendations that cost a bit more included beefing up insulation in the attic and replacing the 25-year-old fridge with an Energy Star-rated one that uses half as much electricity.

And by the way, Charles’ inspection of my mechanical room revealed major corrosion in the exhaust ductwork that posed an imminent safety hazard. So, besides saving me energy and money, the home energy assessment might have also saved my life.

The end product of a home energy assessment is a written report that summarizes the analyst’s findings and lists recommended measures. In a way it’s like a 100-point inspection report on your car, except that this report is your ticket to getting some or all of the work paid for.

The rebates and financial incentives available for energy upgrades in our region are at an all-time high in 2025. Local partners are now covering a significant portion of the cost of energy-saving projects in Garfield County, and that funding can be stacked on top of traditional utility rebates. But to qualify for most of these incentives, you’ll need to show that the measure is recommended in your energy assessment report.

Also new in 2025: the cost of a home energy assessment for all Garfield County households has been reduced to $100 – a service valued at $500 – again thanks to contributions from local partners and utilities. And if $100 seems like too much, your household income may qualify you for a free assessment.

Knowledge is power, and knowing how your home works is empowering. Having the information laid out in a report with a prioritized to-do list is actionable intelligence. Add in free energy coaching from Garfield Clean Energy to help you get all the financial aid you’re entitled to, and you’ll be on the path to a safer, more comfortable, more efficient and more affordable home.

Dave Reed is communications director for CLEER (Clean Energy Economy for the Region), the nonprofit that manages the programs of Garfield Clean Energy.