What happens during a home energy evaluation

What is a home energy audit?

The service is commonly called an EnerGuide home evaluation in Canada. An energy advisor, who is trained and licensed under the national programme, models your house, tests it and gives you a written report. It is separate from a general home inspection, which looks at condition and safety rather than energy.

You are paying for measured data and an independent view. That is different from a contractor offering a free quote on the product they sell.

What happens during the visit?

1. Measurements. The advisor records the size of the house, the insulation in attics, walls and basements, the windows, and the heating, cooling and hot water equipment.
2. Blower door test. A fan fitted into an exterior door lowers the pressure inside so that leaks can be measured and located. The blower door guide explains the result.
3. Observation. Thermal imaging or smoke tests may show cold spots, missing insulation or leaky penetrations.
4. Modelling. The advisor enters the data into the national energy model. The visit usually takes a few hours for an average house.

What do you get afterward?

A report with an overall energy number, a list of recommended upgrades and the estimated effect of each. The EnerGuide rating is expressed in gigajoules per year, so you can compare it with other houses and with your own result after the work.

Good reports rank upgrades by effect and cost instead of listing everything. Typical high-value items are air sealing and attic insulation, followed by basement and wall work, windows and equipment. The insulation priorities guide explains the usual order.

What should you do with the report?

Treat it as a menu, not a contract. Pick the top two or three items by modelled effect, then get at least two quotes for each, written against the same scope. If a contractor proposes something the report did not suggest, ask why. Keep a copy of the report with the house records, because a later buyer will want to see it.

If you plan to switch to a heat pump, do the shell work first where possible. A lower heat loss means a smaller, cheaper machine, a point developed in the guide to heat pump sizing.

Why a before and after evaluation matters

Some federal and provincial programmes have asked for a pre-retrofit and a post-retrofit evaluation to qualify for funding. The rules, amounts and whether a programme is open have changed several times. Check the Government of Canada energy-efficiency pages, your provincial energy ministry and your electric or gas utility for what applies today, and book the evaluation only after confirming the terms.

Even with no funding, the second evaluation gives measured proof of what the work achieved, which is useful when selling the home. See also the guide to the Greener Homes Grant for how a past programme was structured.

How to prepare and what it costs

Have recent heating bills, equipment ages and any renovation records on hand, and give the advisor access to the attic, basement and mechanical room. Fees vary by region and house size and sometimes by programme, so ask for the price in writing before booking. Choose an advisor who is registered with a licensed service organisation, and ask whether they sell renovation work, since independence is part of the value.

An audit of an unusual building has long been part of Drake Landing's story too: every house there was built to the R-2000 standard and was tested during construction. The performance results page shows how measured data was used on the community-scale system.

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