audit

A Home Energy AuditWe spend most of our time in buildings -- homes, schools, offices, and stores. But mostpeople hardly notice details about the buildings, such as how they are designed, how theyare built, and how well they are maintained. These details have a strong effect on howmuch we enjoy a building and how much it costs.An "energy-efficient" building is more comfortable than a wasteful building. It needs lessfuel for heat and less electricity for cooling. A building that is badly designed and poorlykept up wastes money. Why? Because it is trying to heat and air-condition the outdoors aswell as the indoors.This activity turns you into an instant BUILDING INSPECTOR. Your assignment:Identify whatever helps or hurts energy conservation in a specific building. You canbecome a kind of detective looking for "bad guys" that waste energy and money.ObjectivesAt the completion of this activity, you should be able to• identify the major construction, maintenance and design features that make a buildingenergy efficient;• define and use each of the vocabulary terms discussed in this unit;• explain energy saving steps to a homeowner.Skills and Knowledge You NeedAbility to make observations and to record themMaterials2 Vocabulary sheets: "Heat Bandits" and "Energy Savers"2 Energy Audit Data Sheets: Interior and ExteriorMaterials to make a draft detector as shown in the diagram: pencil, tape, and tissue paper orthin plasticProcedure1. Go over the ...