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Home energy audits offered to Hoosiers

As Indiana continues to suffer through weeks of extreme heat conditions, people are looking for ways  to save money on their energy bills.  Now, the state and its utility companies are offering home audits to help Hoosiers cut costs.

Energizing Indiana is a partnership between the state and its major utility companies.  Hoosiers who are customers of those companies – which is about 90% of the state – can take advantage of home energy audits.  By contacting Energizing Indiana, utility customers can have an advisor come out to their home and evaluate ways to cut energy costs.

Anthony Swinger is the spokesman for the Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor, an Energizing Indiana partner.  He says some recommendations are fairly universal and simple, such as replacing old incandescent light bulbs with new compact fluorescent bulbs. However, he says the home audits also allow advisors to dig deeper based on individual homes.

“You may have cracks around windows and doors that may need to be sealed.  The auditors may take a look also at your heating and air conditioning system.  They may look at your insulation.”

Swinger says advisors provide on-the-spot recommendations and will follow up later with a detailed report on ways consumers can save.  He says implementing the recommendations can relieve strain on heating and cooling systems.

“Energy efficiency is an important thing to be thinking about year-round, especially when you’re dealing with the record heat that we’re dealing with.  But it’s certainly a year-round thing.”

The audits are free for customers of Energizing Indiana’s utility company partners; those who don’t qualify may have other programs within their local utility companies they can use.

More information about Energizing Indiana is HERE.

Brandon Smith is excited to be working for public radio in Indiana. He has previously worked in public radio as a reporter and anchor in mid-Missouri for KBIA Radio out of Columbia. Prior to that, he worked for WSPY Radio in Plano, Illinois as a show host, reporter, producer and anchor. His first job in radio was in another state capitol, in Jefferson City, Missouri, as a reporter for three radio stations around Missouri. Brandon graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a Bachelor of Journalism in 2010, with minors in political science and history. He was born and raised in Chicago.