Last Thursday we got a home energy audit from a service called IAQ Solutions, part of Blue Dot Kansas.  It would have been good to get the audit last fall, but the waiting list was quite long.  The fees were also quite reasonable: the cost of the audit itself is paid by a grant, so we just have to pay for the auditor's transportation from Topeka, which will be about $125, but we haven't got the bill yet.  In any case, the recommendations he made should pay for themselves in a year or two.

I was curious what a professional audit would be like, because the only energy audit I'd had before was from the gas company in Fairfield.  That time, the auditor just took a look at the insulation and made some suggestions about weatherstripping and gave me a handful of compact fluorescent bulbs.  This was completely different -- he didn't look at insulation at all, just at air infiltration.  Partly this was because his infrared camera was in the shop; he promised to return when it's repaired and take a look around at our walls and such... I'm hoping there's enough of a temperature difference at that time to provide something to see!

He seemed to enjoy talking with someone who took an acute interest in what he was doing, and toward the end of his visit he recommended that I get certified as an auditor (which takes a weekend) or an Energy Star rater (which takes a week).  He said there's plenty of business in Emporia that he would gladly share, and it's "recession proof" -- when the going gets tough, the tough get energy audits.  It's worth considering.