Trusted Home Energy Audit for Pasadena Homeowners
A home energy audit in Pasadena typically costs between $150 and $450 depending on the size of your house and how many tests you need, and it’s the fastest way to find out where your money is leaking out through the walls, attic, and ductwork. Since 2000, Walt’s Insulation has run thousands of these audits across the San Gabriel Valley, and our technicians know exactly what Pasadena’s older housing stock hides: unsealed top plates, disconnected duct runs, and attic insulation that’s compressed down to nothing. We answer the phone live, 24/7, and we can usually get a technician to your Pasadena home within 48 hours. Call (626) 606-2964 and we’ll walk you through what an audit covers before you spend a dime.
What Our Home Energy Audit Service Includes
Blower Door Test
A blower door test measures how much air is leaking through your home’s envelope by mounting a calibrated fan in an exterior door frame and depressurizing the house. When we run this test in Pasadena homes, especially in neighborhoods like Bungalow Heaven or the Craftsman districts near Old Town, we routinely find that older houses leak 40% to 60% more air than modern construction standards allow. Walt’s Insulation uses the blower door numbers to pinpoint exactly where those leaks are, then we show you the biggest offenders, usually recessed lights, attic hatches, and the gap where your walls meet the foundation. The test itself takes about an hour, and you’ll walk away with a room-by-room leak map instead of guesswork.
Thermal Imaging Inspection
A thermal imaging inspection uses an infrared camera to see temperature differences inside your walls, ceilings, and floors. When we scan a Pasadena home after a blower door test, the camera makes missing insulation and air leaks visible because they show up as hot or cold streaks on the screen. This matters a lot in Pasadena, where summer afternoons push 95 degrees and any gap in your attic insulation turns your upstairs bedrooms into ovens. Our technicians are trained to read these scans so you’re not just told your house leaks, you see exactly where, with real images from your own walls.
Insulation Inspection
An insulation inspection tells you what’s actually sitting in your attic and walls, how deep it is, and whether it’s doing its job. In Pasadena, we regularly find homes built in the 1920s through the 1950s that still have the original insulation or, just as common, insulation that’s been chewed through by rodents or flattened by decades of foot traffic from cable installers and handymen. We check your R-value against what Pasadena’s climate actually calls for, and we’ll tell you honestly if your existing insulation can stay or needs to come out. If it needs replacing, we carry Owens Corning, Johns Manville, and Knauf products, so you know exactly what’s going in.
Duct Leakage Test
A duct leakage test measures how much of the air your HVAC system pushes through the attic and crawl space escapes before it ever reaches your living room. We pressurize your duct system and read the loss; in Pasadena homes with original galvanized ducts, we commonly see 25% to 35% leakage, which means you’re paying to cool your attic or heat your crawl space. Once we have the number, we can tell you whether duct sealing makes sense as a standalone fix or whether your system needs a more involved repair. For older Pasadena houses near the Arroyo Seco, this test often explains why one bedroom never gets cool even when the AC runs all day.
What happens when you call
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A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
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You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
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A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
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You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Brands We Service for Home Energy Audit
When we find insulation problems during an audit, we’re ready to match whatever’s already in your attic or upgrade it. We install and service Owens Corning fiberglass batts and blown-in products, and our crews have been working with their material in Pasadena attics since we opened in 2000. Owens Corning pink batts hold their R-value even after years of Southern California heat, and we cut and fit them around your existing framing so you don’t get gaps at the eaves.
We also work regularly with Johns Manville blown-in fiberglass and Knauf batt insulation. If your audit shows your existing insulation has settled or been torn up by rodents, we can blow in fresh Johns Manville material over the top, or remove the old stuff and start clean with Knauf. Whether your house has Owens Corning, Johns Manville, Knauf, or some unknown material from the 1970s, we’ll tell you exactly what’s up there and what it’ll take to fix it. And if you have spray foam and you’re wondering whether it was installed right, we can evaluate that too.
Signs You Need Home Energy Audit Right Now
- Your upstairs rooms run 10 degrees hotter than downstairs in summer. Pasadena’s summer sun beats directly onto your roof, and if your attic insulation is thin or your attic ventilation is blocked, that heat pushes down into your upstairs living space. An audit with thermal imaging shows us exactly where that heat is entering.
- Your energy bills spike every July and August even though your habits haven’t changed. Pasadena Water and Power rates have climbed steadily, and a leaky house makes every rate hike sting harder. If your bill jumped 20% or more year over year without more usage, your envelope is probably the culprit.
- You feel a draft near windows, outlets, or baseboards on winter mornings. Even in Pasadena’s mild winters, a 45-degree morning makes air leaks obvious. Those drafts are usually the same leaks that let 100-degree air in during July, and a blower door test will hunt down every one of them.
- One bedroom never cools down no matter what you set the thermostat to. Uneven temperatures usually point to disconnected or leaking ducts running through your attic or crawl space. Our duct leakage test gives you a hard number instead of a shrug.
- You see dust streaks on your insulation or dark smudges around ceiling registers. Those marks are where air is pushing through the insulation and carrying dust with it. It’s a visible sign your attic floor isn’t sealed, and every pinhole adds up to a bigger leak than you’d think.
Our Home Energy Audit Process - Step by Step
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We walk your house with you. We start by asking what you’ve noticed: hot rooms, high bills, dusty air, whatever sent you looking for an audit in the first place. We walk the interior and exterior, checking for obvious gaps, disconnected ducts, and attic access points. This takes about 30 minutes and gives us a map of where to focus the testing.
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We run the blower door and thermal imaging tests. The blower door goes into an exterior door frame, usually the front or back door, and the fan depressurizes your house to a standard reference pressure. While the house is under pressure, we scan every wall, ceiling, and floor with the infrared camera so the leaks show up bright and clear on screen.
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We inspect the attic and crawl space. We physically go into your attic and, if you have one, your crawl space. We measure insulation depth, check for rodent damage, look at your duct connections, and photograph everything we find. You’ll see the photos, not just hear a summary.
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We test your ductwork. We cap your registers and pressurize the duct system to measure how much air escapes between your HVAC unit and your rooms. This is the test most Pasadena homeowners have never had done, and it’s often the one that explains the biggest complaints.
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We sit down and go over the findings. Before we leave, we walk you through the numbers: how leaky your house is, where the leaks are, what your insulation looks like, and what your ducts are losing. You get a written summary plus our recommendations, in plain language, with no pressure. If the fix is something we do, we’ll quote it right then. If it’s something you can fix yourself, we’ll tell you that too.
How Much Does Home Energy Audit Cost in Pasadena?
What drives the price up is the size of the house, the number of attic access points, and whether your ductwork is accessible or buried under blown-in insulation. What drives it down is combining the audit with insulation work, we often roll the audit cost into the job when you hire us for the repairs we find. Every audit includes a written report with photos and specific numbers, not a verbal summary. And if you’ve got a written estimate from another Pasadena company, bring it in and we’ll give you a free second opinion. No trip charge for homes in our service county. Call (626) 606-2964 and we’ll give you a firm price before we schedule anything.
Home Energy Audit Near Pasadena - Our Service Area
Walt’s Insulation runs home energy audits throughout Pasadena and the surrounding San Gabriel Valley, from Altadena and La Cañada Flintridge in the north down to South Pasadena, San Marino, and San Gabriel in the south. We’re in East Pasadena weekly, and we regularly work in Irwindale, Commerce, La Puente, and Whittier. Most Pasadena homeowners get a technician on site within two to three days, and our home office is close enough that we don’t charge a trip fee for anywhere in our service county.
Serving Pasadena, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Pasadena area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
Frequently Asked Questions - Home Energy Audit in Pasadena
What is a home energy audit?
A home energy audit is a series of tests that measures how much air leaks through your house, where your insulation is failing, and how much of your heated and cooled air escapes through your ductwork. In Pasadena, where homes range from 1920s bungalows to 1980s tract houses, the audit gives you a clear picture of what’s wrong instead of guessing. We run a blower door test, thermal imaging scan, insulation inspection, and duct leakage test, then hand you a written report with the numbers and the fixes.
How long does a home energy audit take?
A full home energy audit on a typical Pasadena house takes about two to three hours from start to finish. The blower door test runs for an hour, thermal imaging takes 30 to 45 minutes, the attic and crawl space inspection takes another 30 to 45 minutes, and a duct leakage test adds 30 minutes. Larger two-story homes or houses with two HVAC systems can run closer to four hours. We’ll give you a specific time window when you book.
How much does a home energy audit cost in Pasadena?
A basic blower door test in Pasadena runs $150 to $250, and a complete audit with thermal imaging, insulation inspection, and duct leakage testing typically costs $400 to $600 depending on house size. We roll the audit cost into the insulation job if you hire us for the repairs, which often makes the audit effectively free. Call (626) 606-2964 for a firm quote before you schedule, estimates are free and there’s no trip charge in our service county.
Do you service homes with spray foam insulation?
Yes, we audit homes with spray foam, fiberglass, cellulose, and whatever else is up there. If you have Icynene or Demilec spray foam and you’re not sure it was installed correctly, we’ll check the depth, look for gaps and shrinkage, and tell you whether it’s performing. Our technicians work around all insulation types, and if your spray foam needs repair or removal, we can handle that too.
Can you come to Pasadena today?
In most cases we can get a technician to your Pasadena home within 48 hours, and for urgent situations like a suspected gas leak or a completely disconnected duct system, we’ll do our best to get someone out same day. Our phones are answered by a live person 24 hours a day, so if you call at midnight with a question, you’re talking to a real human, not a voicemail. Call (626) 606-2964 and we’ll tell you honestly when we can be there.
Is the work guaranteed?
Every service we perform is covered by the Done Right Promise: if it’s not done right, we make it right, no runaround, no arguing, for as long as you own the home. That’s a lifetime workmanship guarantee, and it applies to the audit itself as well as any insulation or sealing work we do afterward. Walt Brenner has owned this company since 2000, and he still answers for the work personally.
How do I prepare for a home energy audit?
You don’t need to do much, but it helps if you close all your windows and exterior doors before we arrive, and make sure we can access your attic hatch and your HVAC unit. If you have pets, keep them in a room we’re not testing, the blower door fan can be loud and the front door will be open for a while. We’ll handle everything else, and we’ll walk you through each step as we go.
Schedule Your Home Energy Audit Service in Pasadena Today
If your Pasadena home is hot upstairs, drafty in winter, or just costing more to cool every summer, let’s find out exactly why. Call (626) 606-2964 and we’ll schedule your audit, give you a firm price over the phone, and get a technician out to you, usually within 48 hours. The estimate is free, the audit comes with a written report, and every job is covered by the Done Right Promise. One call, real answers, no pressure.
Written by Walt Brenner, Owner at Walt’s Insulation, serving Pasadena since 2000.