Every winter, we see the same pattern. As temperatures drop, Viridiant gets more calls for home energy audits. And it makes sense — high heating bills and cold rooms have a way of turning “we should probably look into this” into calls for immediate service support.
Over the last few weeks, our team has been in homes across the greater Richmond region, seeing plenty of cost-effective opportunities to improve comfort and save money. Most of our findings are the usual suspects… with the occasional surprise (we’ve handed out two “never seen that before” awards recently).
Nearly every audit uncovers at least one (and often several) of these issues:
- Drafts between living space and vented attics/crawlspaces
- Low, missing, or poorly installed insulation
- Duct leakage (sometimes severe)
- Disconnected ducts hiding in attics or crawlspaces
- Heat pumps running on auxiliary heat more than they should
- HVAC and water-heating issues that affect comfort, efficiency, and sometimes safety
What we’re seeing is the same annual phenomenon: air leakage, missing/poor insulation, and underperforming ductwork result in cold homes and expensive bills.
The comfort problem hiding in plain sight: ductwork
It is frustrating how often we encounter unhappy residents even after HVAC service calls. That’s not a knock on every technician — it’s a reminder that these service calls typically focus only on equipment operation (“Does it turn on?”) rather than whole-system performance (“Is the entire HVAC system providing affordable comfort?”). The difference is crucial.
Some duct issues are quick and affordable to fix. Others require more planning. But if your ducts are leaking into an attic or crawlspace, you’re paying to condition the outdoors.
Left image: Sometimes the cause of a cold room is as simple as a disconnected duct.
Right image: Even professional duct sealing can fail without careful attention to detail.
Here are the signs that ductwork might be your main issue:
- One or two rooms are consistently colder than the rest of the house
- Long runtimes but uneven comfort
- Dusty return or supply registers
- Plainly visible leaks at air handlers and joints in ductwork
- Heating equipment that “can’t keep up”
The small leaks that add up
Winter audits also reveal a thousand little comfort thieves, especially where warm interior air meets the cold exterior. If you’re feeling drafts at the floor line, around trim, or near plumbing penetrations, a little air sealing can go a surprisingly long way.
Image: Cold air sneaking under base molding is often an easy caulk DIY fix.
For Cape Cod-style homes with second floors, there may be insulation in the side attics, but the joist cavities beneath the finished upstairs often connect to vented attic space. That allows cold air to circulate where it shouldn’t, stealing comfort (and money).
The fix usually involves air-sealing and properly defining the boundary between conditioned and unconditioned space — something that’s hard to diagnose without getting eyes (and sometimes cameras) into the right places.
Why Viridiant audits look at the whole home
Framing affects air sealing. Air sealing affects insulation performance. Insulation affects moisture behavior. Moisture and temperature affect HVAC loads and comfort. Everything is connected!
When Viridiant staff visit a home, we take a systems approach — because a home’s components don’t fail in isolation. An energy audit can improve the durability, indoor air quality, and safety of your home, too.
4 quick tips
Here are a few easy steps that often help immediately:
Check your air filter. Cold weather means longer runtimes, so filters clog faster. Change it when it’s dirty, not by the calendar.
Mind the fireplace. If you have one, make sure the damper is tightly closed when it’s not in use. No damper? Consider adding one or sealing the opening when appropriate.
Close and lock your windows. Locking helps pull the sashes tighter and can reduce drafts, just make sure the top sash is fully up first.
Watch for “aux heat” on heat pumps. If your bill suddenly spikes, your system may be relying heavily on auxiliary heat. To some degree, that’s normal during the coldest months. But if bills are excessive, there are likely underlying issues worth investigating.
Ready to make a plan?
If you’re dealing with cold rooms and high bills, an audit can save you time and guesswork. Viridiant’s home energy audits include a thorough inspection (attic, crawlspace, HVAC/ducts, water heating, insulation, moisture issues, and more), plus a prioritized set of recommendations — with options for diagnostic add-ons like infrared scans, whole-home air-tightness (blower door) testing, and duct leakage testing.