Typical Day
Sam Sparks is loving life. Just two years out of high school and the ink is barely dry on his associate's degree. For the past six weeks since he started working for the local power company, he's gotten some valuable insight and on-the-job training. Now he's ready for his first solo home energy audit. Today is going to be great.
Sam clocks in just before 8:00AM, grabs a cup of coffee, and fires up his computer. He has about thirty-five minutes to check messages, update his calendar, and print directions to the house he'll be auditing this morning. Sam's heading the new Go Green Wright program for the Wright County Electrical Co-op.
The program helps homeowners use less energy and find assistance to upgrade old, outdated HVAC systems, water heaters, and even appliances. Starting up the program has been a great experience, and he can't wait to get out there and put it into action.
James, the chief of engineering and Sam's on-the-job trainer, walks in. "Morning. Are you all set?"
"Almost. I'm just checking my messages and updating the social media pages. Program's getting lots of hits and interest."
James rolls his eyes. "Ugh. Don't even talk about social media to me. I know it's the way of the world now, but I don't have time for all that Instabook stuff."
Sam tries not to laugh. "It's Instagram. Facebook. Twitter. They're free, and they're great ways to show people what we're doing. Speaking of which, I need a release form for Mrs. Perkins to sign. I'm hoping she'll let me use photos of the audit on our social media pages to give others an idea of what it's all about."
"Good idea. We have a photo release form in the shared media folder. Let me know if you have any problems."
Sam grabs the directions then prints a few copies of the release form to keep in his assigned vehicle. All set. Time to get this party started.
At the Perkins home, Sam briefly explains the process and gives Mrs. Perkins a program folder with more information. She signs the photo release form (yay), so Sam scans it with his phone and emails a copy to her and his office.
Then he begins setting up his equipment. As he trails a fan cord across the room, two fluffy kittens appear and start chasing the cord. Losing interest quickly, they start jumping on each other, play-fighting with all they've got.
Sam watches for a few seconds and laughs. "I think I've already spotted a major energy leak with those two. I'm getting tired just watching them."
Mrs. Perkins chuckles "When they're not fighting, they're sleeping or eating. "
Sam nods and asks her to gather up the kittens so they don't get hurt while he's working. He'll do the blower-door test first for leaks, then check individual equipment and do a carbon monoxide reading.
Sam turns on the fan in the blower-door, then monitors the air pressure gauges. Lowering air pressure inside the home is a great way to find where leaks are. Sam then uses a smoke pen around window frames and doors so he can see the air movement.
Mrs. Perkins raises her eyebrows. "Is that smoke you're shooting around?"
Sam smiles. "It just gives me a visual on the leaks. It's not harmful."
"Oh, good. Because I've got to tell you, my Bob—when he was alive, of course—used to smoke like a chimney, and…"
As Mrs. Perkins talks all about her former husband's smoking problem, Sam makes notes and pictures. He only stops working to reassure Mrs. Perkins that her address won't be made public. "She knows even less about social media than James does," he thinks. He doesn't mind explaining things, though; it's all part of his job.
An hour later, the blower-door test is over and Sam starts going over his inspection checklist to make sure his audit will be thorough. From attic to crawlspace, front to back, side to side, and every major appliance in between, Sam checks, makes notes, and prepares his preliminary report for the homeowner.
"Mrs. Perkins, I'll have a final report for you in a few days; I'll mail you a copy. Off the bat, I can tell you that it looks like some energy-efficient windows, an attic fan, and an upgrade on your central system could save you roughly twenty-five percent on your utility bills."
Mrs. Perkins winces. "Oh, dear. That sounds pretty expensive."
"Maybe not. There are programs to help you pay for going green—and there are tax breaks, too." Sam hands her a folder with the notes he's taken. "Look through this when you have a chance and give me a call if you have questions, okay?" Sam's pretty sure he'll hear from her—maybe even before the day ends. Nobody can resist the siren song of tax breaks.
Sam packs his gear quickly, grabs a drive-through lunch, and eats at his desk—he's really excited to get working on his report. While his pictures upload from his camera to the computer, Sam eats lunch and checks the social media sites again. More hits—yesss.
His desk phone rings just as he's finishing lunch. "Hello, Go Green Wright, this is Sam Sparks, how can I help you?"
"Hello. Are you the young man who was at Lilly Perkins' home this morning?" Without waiting for an answer, the lady on the line gives her name (Mrs. Speake—how fitting) and every detail of her home before asking (finally) if Sam could come and save money on her power bill.
Sam grins. Another talkative lady. There must be something in the water in that neighborhood. However, he's not about to say no to an eager customer. He sets up an appointment for the audit, briefly explains the process, and promises to send a letter with the details.
Analyzing the numbers from the Perkins audit and writing the report takes up most of Sam's afternoon, which is annoying. With a little more practice, Sam knows he could streamline some of the documentation and be able to complete each audit faster. He needs practice.
Fortunately, he's going to get plenty in the next week. By the end of the day, Sam's had a few more phone call inquiries about the program and has scheduled another audit.
Around 4:30PM, just before it's time to pack it in, Sam checks social media one more time to see if anyone's got questions. No one does, but that's okay. Sam's not expecting to go viral with pictures of smoke tests and crawl spaces. He knows it'll take some time to generate interest.
He sends a draft of his audit to James so he can look it over. At 5:00PM, he packs his bag and heads home to his extremely energy-inefficient apartment. Sam's looking forward to the day when he's saved enough to make all the changes he wants to the place. Maybe he should approach the building manager, he thinks as he heats up some soup and makes toast. He could probably save his landlady a bundle.