Conduct a Home Energy Audit

As we watch the price of natural gas soar (we use it to heat our home), we're looking into how we can tighten up the house. We have storm windows that offer some help, but this 1908 house has a lot of "leaks". We've decided to get a home energy audit-- where a professional comes through your house and tells you where and how you can further tighten up. Then we'll negotiate with our landlord what we can do. (We figure it's in her best interest to tighten up the house-- it will improve its marketability, and should she choose to return to it, save her $$ on energy bills.)

While searching for information about such audits, I found the following resources:

• NPR did a story Oct 7, 2005 on How to fight Rising Home Heating Costs. It has a lot of great tips you can implement. Some easier than others.
  
• The Alliance to Save Energy has an online home energy check-up, and they've included a PDF workbook to do the audit with your children (frankly, *I* felt that *I* could learn from this booklet...
  
• The ASE also teamed up with Washington Gas to produce a video about home energy audits
  
• The U.S. Dept of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) hosts a page about energy audits.
  
• The U.S. Dept. of Energy (DoE) hosts a page about Home Energy Efficiency, including a page about home energy audits. They also include recommendations for choosing and preparing for a professional home energy audit. They also say that you can contact your state or local "energy or weatherization office" to find professional home energy auditors.
  
• I found the Washington DC Energy Office. It's "Home Energy Rating System Program (HERS) will establish and promote a home energy rating system for existing homes. Through a home audit, HERS will identify energy efficiency improvements that need to be made to reduce home operating costs and improve comfort. Such improvements and eventual rating will allow homeowners to qualify for lower rate mortgages or energy efficiency home mortgages. The HERS rating should also help home sellers property, to be more attractive to buyers. Energy efficiency improvements will be financed by energy efficiency mortgages offered by financial institutions brought into the program by the DCEO." Unfortunately there is no information provided on the site about how to get such an audit. (I've emailed sharon.cooke AT dc.gov for more info.)
  
• Another helpful web site said that you can find professional auditors through the National Association of Energy Service Companies but I found nothing there (I've emailed them for more info).
  
• Ahh... isn't this sweet? The American Petroleum Institute is also recommending home energy audits.
  

Regarding professional home energy audits, Montgomery County's web site recommends: "To find a professional energy auditor you can contact your local gas or electric utility [I looked on the Washington Gas web site and could not find info on getting someone into the house]; check the telephone directory for residential energy audits under "Energy;" or contact the National Association of Energy Service Companies (NAESCO), 1440 New York Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20005, phone (202) 371-7812. If you use an energy services company, be sure to check company references, insist that the contractor use a "calibrated" blower door for accuracy, and ask for a thermographic inspection. These precautions should allow an effective and helpful determination of your home's energy efficiency needs."

What is very frustrating about all this research is that after an hour of pretty extensive searching, I could find NOTHING that lists specific places to call to request such an audit or to find out how much it would cost.