Energy Audits and Assistance

To help identify issues that might be preventing customers from getting the biggest bang for their energy dollars, CWLP offers home energy audits, commercial facility technical assistance and a generalized technical assistance that can address a specific problem or provide answers to energy-use questions.

Money-Back Home Energy Audit

The Money-Back Home Energy Audit can help CWLP's residential electric customers become more energy efficient in two ways. First, the audit, along with its accompanying blower door test, will identify the sources of unwanted heat loss and gain in your home and help you determine the most cost-effective ways to fix them. On top of that, it can also help you better afford to make many of the improvements recommended in your audit report.

The fee for the Money-Back Home Energy Audit is $25, which is applied to your CWLP electric bill after the audit has been completed. However, by following the steps outlined in your audit, you can earn a full refund of your audit fee, plus up to another $25 in special rebates.

To take advantage of the money-back offer, follow these easy steps:

Request a home energy audit by filling out our pre-audit form below or contac the CWLP Energy Services Office by phone 217.789.2070 or email nrgxprts@cwlp.com (please provide your name and daytime telephone number).
Make any of the improvements recommended in your audit report within one year of your original audit date. Be sure to save your receipts.
Contact the Energy Services Office to schedule a free follow-up audit within one year of your original audit date.

CWLP's home energy audit is available to anyone owning or residing in a residential property that receives metered electric service from CWLP. It takes about two hours to complete in the "average" home. The first step of the audit involves an attic-to-basement inspection of your home, during which the Energy Expert will check the existence, condition, quantity and type of the home's various energy features, including insulation, caulk, weatherstripping, doors, windows, and lighting and other appliances.

The next step is the blower door test, which helps identify sources of air infiltration that can allow unconditioned air to enter the house and conditioned air to exit it. After the audit is complete, the Energy Expert will provide you with a customized packet of efficiency products selected based on the needs identified by your audit.

In addition to reviewing the findings with you as the audit and blower door test are in progress, the Energy Expert will give you a number of improvement recommendations and provide savings estimates achievable from each.

The $25 audit fee will be added to your CWLP electric bill, which also covers the cost of a follow-up audit, made at your request, to check the success of the efficiency improvements you make. As noted above, if you follow-through with any of the recommendations in your audit report and request the follow-up audit within one year of the audit date, you could be eligible for a refund of your initial audit fee.

Commercial Facility Technical Assistance Program

CWLP offers a free facility technical assistance to commercial electric customers upon request. Included in a commercial facility technical assistance is a "walk-through" evaluation of the business' energy systems, including lighting, HVAC and thermostat operation, water heating, food preparation and other specialized equipment that can draw and/or consume a significant amount of energy. The CWLP Energy Expert also provides the customer with three years of electric and water billing history in both table and graphical form and explains the components of their electric bills and how the costs of each impacts the bills. Comparisons of weather-related data, including heating degree days (HDD) and cooling degree days (CDD), for the same period can also be provided, allowing the customer to understand the impact weather can and has had on energy consumption.

During the walk-through, the Energy Expert also addresses specific concerns the customer might have about the energy use of their particular equipment and provides tips on equipment or operational changes that could be made to reduce energy usage, as well as information about rebates, grants and other incentives for improving energy or water efficiency that might be available from CWLP and other sources.

For more information about or to schedule a commercial facility technical assistance, call 217.789.2070.

General Technical Assistance Program

The general Technical Assistance (TA) program offered by CWLP is designed to help customers who are experiencing efficiency-related problems in their homes or businesses or who have any type of energy efficiency question. TAs, which are free of charge to CWLP electric customers, can be conducted on-site, over the phone, by mail, or by email—depending on the circumstances and needs of the customer.

Some TAs are investigatory in nature, such as those provided to customers who call with high-bill concerns. Some are educational in nature, such as those that teach customers how to use automatic setback thermostats and provide advice about insulation, weatherstripping, caulking, choosing a heating and cooling contractor, or making economic comparisons of energy systems. Our Energy Experts can even help you design energy efficiency into the structure when you're ready to build a new home or commercial facility.

To learn more about or to take advantage of our Technical Assistance program, contact the CWLP Energy Services Office by calling 217.789.2070, or emailing nrgxprts@cwlp.com.