The Arctic Energy Alliance is touting a federal program, new to the North, that subsidizes energy audits for homeowners.

After depressurizing the house, Stephan Fancott reads numbers while Mike Buchanan copies them onto a clipboard. - Darren Stewart/NNSL photo

For $125, an Energuide for Houses auditor will visit your home and perform two hours of tests to find how energy efficient your home is.

The alliance demonstrated the audit process at Leanne Tait's three-year-old house last week.

"I think every house can be more energy efficient," said Tait.

"I love nice big windows and I want to find some way to offset that decision."

On the first visit auditors look for holes to patch up, and windows to caulk.

They will recommends more attic insulation or furnace adjustments.

They also depressurize the house and look for leaks in the insulation and gauge how efficient your heating system is for your home. Homeowners get graphs and numbers cranked out by a computer about the amount of money that could be saved with some investment.

The auditor comes a second time, after renovations have taken place, to do another test to see how much things have improved.

"It's a pretty good deal for what you get," said Stephan Fancott, who will supervise the program.

Fancott said most homes can recoup the cost of renovations within a few years, especially with rising fuel costs.

"People are saving 10 per cent on their heating bills," he said. "That's pretty good if you consider it an investment. You're not going to get that rate at the bank."

The alliance will also make the program available in Hay River and Inuvik.

The Yukon has offered the program for several years and audits about 400 homes per year.