PSA: I paid $55 for a home energy audit kit and it was just a checklist and a shower timer

Felix Butler · 2026-10-22T11:20:03.98411+00:00

So last month I saw this "DIY Home Energy Audit Kit" at a green fair in Sacramento and figured 55 bucks was a fair price to spot where my house was leaking. Got it home and opened the box and it was literally a printed checklist, a stick-on shower timer, and one of those outlet testers you can grab at any hardware store for about 8 bucks. The checklist was generic stuff like "check for drafts around windows" with no numbers, no baseline, nothing you could actually compare month to month. The shower timer fell off the tile after two uses and my kid thought it was a toy and lost it behind the toilet. Meanwhile my actual drafty spot, the attic hatch, wasn't even mentioned on the list. My neighbor borrowed a thermal camera from the library here for free and found his gaps in an afternoon. Am I crazy for thinking the library loaner is the move and these boxed kits are just recycling a brochure? What cheap or free way did you actually catch air leaks in your place?

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PSA: I paid $55 for a home energy audit kit and it was just a checklist and a shower timer | Climate Action - Free To Speak