Every homeowner in Knoxville, TN is eligible for an eScore evaluation from TVA – so hop on board to find out your home’s eScore for some hefty cash rebates, thanks to TVA! You can you can complete an eScore Self Audit yourself, or you can schedule an appointment with one of TVA’s professional energy advisors to evaluate your home’s eScore!
What Is Exactly Is an eScore?
“Make your home a 10!” –TVA
Simply put, an eScore is an energy home evaluation. It is a program that was launched by TVA relatively recently – in November of 2014 – to save conscious homeowners money for living energy-efficiently, and to encourage and assist those of us who are thinking about/gearing toward working our way to an energy-efficient home! Your eScore is rated on a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest eScore a homeowner can score. The higher your eScore, the more money you save! There are, of course, various factors that come into play when evaluating your home’s eScore – here is a ten-point checklist of the factors that comprise your eScore:
1. Air sealing
2. Attic insulation
3. Duct system
4. Lighting
5. Heating/cooling
6. Appliances/electronics
7. Water heating
8. Refrigerator
9. Windows and doors (and skylights!)
10. Wall insulation
How Can My Home’s eScore Save Me Money?
Remember, the higher your eScore, the more money you are eligible for in terms of home maintenance rebates from TVA! The more energy-efficient you make your home, the more comfortable it is for you and your family to live in, and you are being a conscious citizen of the planet! These factors are directly correlated to monetary savings for homeowners from TVA because TVA is able to provide the most energy-efficient and economically-efficient services to our community when members of our community are living energy-efficiently. Living energy-efficiently ends up saving everyone money. The eScore program was put in place to encourage homeowners to maximize the energy-efficiency of their home by offering incentives via home maintenance rebates – it saves everyone money, energy and costly repairs when members of our community are living in homes that are, for example, properly sealed and insulated.
Indirectly, as a homeowner, by making these energy-efficient upgrades to score the highest eScore possible, you are also saving money on utility bills. Additional money-saving perks include becoming eligible for free CFLS and low-flow shower heads installed by TVA’s professional energy advisors, directly saving you money on your water and wastewater bills!
Five Tips from TVA: Breaking Down the eScore Checklist
1. Upgrading Your Attic Insulation and Air Seal
• Sealing all penetrations in your home can save you up to 10% or more on your energy bills.
• Heating and cooling account for at least half of your home’s energy usage.
• Your home’s ceiling plane is where most of your air-conditioned air escapes.
• Make sure your floor plane is properly sealed – doing so will prevent air loss and critters from entering your home.
• For your attic: You want to be sure you have a continuous boundary between the air-conditioned space and the un-conditioned space.
• A properly insulated attic can save you up to 20% on your energy bills.
• Air sealing and attic insulation reduce outside noise, improve indoor air quality and humidity control, keep out allergens, dust, contaminants and insects.
• Slowing down heat loss and heat gain conserves energy.
2. Upgrading Your HVAC Unit and Sealing Your Ducts
• If your HVAC system is over ten years old, it likely time to upgrade.
• Cracks in ductwork under the house can cause air-conditioned air to leak.
• Cracks in return-air system cause dirty air to circulate in your home.
• “The typical home loses 20%-40% of the conditioned air in duct work.” –Energy Star
3. Upgrading Your Windows and Doors (and Skylights!)
• If your windows are over 15 years old/single-pane, it may be time to upgrade in order to avoid drafts – upgrading to Energy Star windows, doors and skylights will not only keep your home more consistently comfortable, it can lower your energy bills by 15%.
• Energy Star offers numerous options for energy-efficient solutions, such as Low-Emissivity (Low E) coatings on their glass to allow visible light to pass through while retracting UV rays and heat.
4. Upgrading Your Lighting
• Roughly 11% of your home’s energy bills are attributed to lighting.
• Switching out incandescent bulbs for energy-saving LEDs and CFL bulbs can save you an average of $6 per year, per bulb! Over a lifetime, that is a savings of $40 per light bulb per year! For example, on average, in a home with 32 bulbs, this means you are looking at a savings of $1,280!
• Energy-saving LEDs and CFL bulbs produce 75% less heat than standard incandescent bulbs, last 25 times longer and use 75% less energy – all while producing the same amount of light, and all Energy Star bulbs are backed by manufacturer warranties.
5. Upgrading Appliances
• Combined, your refrigerator, computer, washing machine and dryer, dishwasher, television and other electronics account for almost 30% of your home’s energy usage.
• You can reduce the energy consumption from electronics in your home by upgrading your appliances to Energy Star certified models.
• Generally, front-load washing machines use 50% less energy than top-load washing machines.
• Energy Star certified refrigerators use 15% less energy than non-certified models. The same goes with computers, but you are looking at cutting down your energy consumption by 65% with Energy Star certified computers!
• Check your appliances’ settings for power management features to save even more!
How Do I Get Started?
First, create an account by registering via TVA’s link at 2eScore.com. Then either complete an eScore Self Audit (online), or schedule an appointment for a TVA energy advisor to come out and perform an eScore evaluation in your home. From there, select a trusted TVA-contractor from their list of Quality Contractor Network (QCN) members to get started on making energy-efficient improvements to your home for instant savings! Energy-efficiency is a win-win solution for everyone!
With TVA’s eScore program, you may be eligible for cash rebates on future upgrades, so becoming more energy efficient may be easier than you think! So find out today, “What’s Your eScore?” –TVA
Visit 2eScore.com, or call 1-855-2ESCORE (1-855-237-2673).
Photo: Owen Moore