This article was revised and updated in July, 2026.
A home inspection is one of the best tools a buyer has for judging whether a house is truly an energy efficient home. Before you close, an inspection can reveal missing or thin insulation, failed window seals, air leaks, and aging heating equipment. In Northern Michigan, those findings translate directly into what you’ll pay to heat the house every winter.
I’m Scott Frakes, a Certified Master Inspector® based in Gaylord. Since 2013, I’ve inspected more than 2,000 properties across Northern Michigan, from Petoskey and Harbor Springs to Charlevoix, Boyne City, and East Jordan. Buyers often ask me about roofs, foundations, and furnaces. Far fewer ask about energy efficiency. That’s a missed opportunity, because the same inspection that protects you from big-ticket surprises can also tell you a lot about the true cost of owning the home.
Read on to learn how your home inspection can help you find and maintain the energy efficient home you’ve always wanted.
At a Glance:
- A home inspection is a buyer’s best tool for judging whether a house is truly an energy efficient home, because it reveals insulation gaps, failed window seals, air leaks, and aging heating equipment before you close.
- In Northern Michigan’s long heating season, these findings are part of the home’s real cost of ownership, not just a comfort issue.
- Energy problems and moisture problems travel together here: heat escaping into the attic is what drives the ice dams that damage roofs and ceilings.
- A home inspection is not a formal energy audit, but for a buyer it’s the practical tool, catching the issues that matter most while you still have room to negotiate.
- Adding thermal imaging shows heat loss directly, including problems hidden inside walls.
Why Energy Efficiency Matters When Buying a Home in Northern Michigan
Our heating season is long, and Gaylord sits in one of the snowiest parts of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. Snow can arrive in November and hang on into April. That means heating is the dominant energy cost for nearly every home here.
Two houses can look identical on a listing and cost very different amounts to live in. An energy efficient home holds its heat. A leaky one sends your heating budget through the roof (literally!) all winter. When you’re comparing properties, energy efficiency is part of the real price tag, right alongside taxes and insurance.
There’s a second reason buyers should care about having an energy efficient home: in our climate, energy problems and moisture problems work together. Heat escaping into the attic doesn’t just raise your bill. It melts roof snow, which refreezes at the eaves and forms ice dams that can force water into the house. Poor efficiency today often predicts water damage tomorrow.
What Makes a Home Energy Efficient in a Cold Climate?
In Northern Michigan, an energy efficient home comes down to a few fundamentals:
- Insulation. The attic matters most, since heat rises. Wall and rim joist (the part of the basement that is exposed above grade) insulation matter too.
- Air sealing. Gaps around penetrations, hatches, and framing let warm air escape even when insulation is present, from the attic down to the crawl space.
- Windows and doors. Intact thermal seals, weatherstripping, and storm protection.
- Heating equipment. The age, condition, and maintenance history of the furnace or boiler.
Notice what’s not on the list for our region: solar panels and shade trees. Those get plenty of attention online, but for a Northern Michigan winter, the house that keeps heat in beats the house with extras every time.
What Does a Home Inspection Reveal About Energy Efficiency?
A standard home inspection is a visual examination of the home’s major systems. Along the way, it addresses most of the issues that separate an energy efficient home from one that’s expensive to heat and cool:
- Attic insulation levels. I check depth, coverage, and condition, and note gaps, compression, or moisture damage. The attic tells the story of the whole house.
- Window condition. Older single-pane windows in disrepair, failed thermal seals, and damaged weatherstripping all get called out in my reports.
- Air leakage points. Attic hatches, service entrances, and other penetrations where conditioned air escapes.
- Heating system condition. Age, visible condition, and signs of neglect or deferred maintenance.
- Moisture clues. Staining, frost patterns, and condensation that often trace back to heat loss.
Homes of any vintage in Northern Michigan can have energy efficiency issues. But if you’re considering an older home, it’s especially important to check on insulation levels. As you can see from the turn-of-the-century attic in Petoskey pictured above, many of these homes were built before insulation was even considered a vital element of home construction.
Not every home has easy access to the attic, so you may not get a chance to take a peek before you make your offer. That’s where your home inspector has your back: I look into every attic where it’s safe to do so. If the home has low or no insulation, it will show up on your report.
How Do I Spot a Failed Window Seal?
Windows are an important feature of an energy efficient home. A failed window seal is one of the most common energy efficiency findings in the homes I inspect. Modern double-pane windows hold an insulating layer of gas between the panes. When the seal fails, that layer is lost, and so is much of the window’s insulating value.
The telltale signs:
- Fog or haze between the panes that you can’t wipe away from either side
- Condensation or water droplets trapped inside the glass
- A milky or distorted look that comes and goes with the weather
One foggy window is a repair. A house full of failed seals is a pattern, and it’s worth knowing before you make an offer. Window findings in an inspection report give buyers real information for planning, budgeting, and conversations with the seller.
In our region, I inspect thermal window of all ages: dating from when they were first manufactured for widespread use in homes in the 1950’s and 60’s to brand new vinyl windows installed this year. I regularly see decades-old thermal windows that are still holding up fine, as well as newer windows that are already failing. That’s why seeing “newer windows” on a listing isn’t always a guarantee that they’ll be energy efficient – and why having a home inspector vet a home for you will give you a much better idea of what you’re dealing with.
What Are the Signs of Poor Insulation?
You can spot some clues on a walkthrough, even before the inspection:
- Rooms that feel noticeably colder than the rest of the house
- Ice dams or thick icicle buildup at the eaves in winter listings, or stains from past ice dams
- Snow that melts off the roof in patches while neighboring roofs stay covered
- Cold exterior walls and floors
- Frost or staining visible at the attic hatch
These are signs of poor insulation, and each one is a reason to pay close attention to the inspection findings. During the inspection itself, I go where buyers usually can’t: into the attic, along the rim joists, and around every accessible corner of the thermal envelope (where the home contacts outside air).
Do Crawl Spaces Affect Energy Efficiency?
Yes, more than most buyers expect. Many Northern Michigan homes sit on crawl spaces instead of full basements, and the crawl space is a common source of heat loss in the homes I inspect.
Here’s what I look for down there:
- Rim joist insulation. The rim joist is the band of framing where the house meets the foundation. When it’s uninsulated, cold air pours in at floor level.
- Underfloor insulation. Batts that are missing, sagging, or lying on the ground aren’t doing their job, and the floors above will tell you so every winter.
- Open or missing vents. A vented crawl space left open through a Northern Michigan winter chills the floor system and puts plumbing at risk of freezing.
- Moisture. A damp crawl space degrades insulation and invites bigger problems, from mold to rot.
Cold floors are the symptom buyers may notice (or not, depending on the time of year you view the home). The cause is usually in the crawl space, and that’s territory you won’t see on a showing. I do.
Not all home inspection findings are scare stories. While I find my share of energy leaks during inspections from Mackinaw City to Roscommon and throughout northern Michigan, I also see homes that are excellent examples of energy efficiency done right. For example, take a look at the crawl space pictured below, observed during an inspection of an energy efficient home near Harbor Springs built in the 1980’s. It’s fully encapsulated and insulated, with vapor barrier in place. A crawl space like this keeps your energy bills down and your comfort level up.
Is Thermal Imaging Worth Adding to a Home Inspection?
If you’re concerned about energy efficiency, yes. For buyers who want to know where a house is losing heat, a thermal imaging home inspection is the most direct way to see it. An infrared camera reads surface temperature differences, which reveals problems the eye can’t catch: missing insulation inside finished walls, cold air infiltration, and even hidden moisture.
Thermal imaging doesn’t see through walls, and conditions affect what the camera can show. But when the temperature difference is right, the results speak for themselves. A cold blue streak across a wall that should be uniform tells you exactly where insulation is missing.
I routinely use thermal imaging as needed during home inspections throughout Northern Michigan (included in the cost of a home inspection), and I’ve had buyers request it as a standalone service as well. If an energy efficient home is a priority for you, it can be a very helpful tool to have in your arsenal during your home search.
Is a Home Inspection the Same as a Home Energy Audit?
No. A formal home energy audit uses specialized equipment, like a blower door test, to measure exactly how much air a house leaks. That’s a valuable service for homeowners planning efficiency upgrades, and it goes deeper on energy than a home inspection does.
But for a buyer, the home inspection is the practical tool. You likely need one anyway, and it catches the findings that matter most at the negotiating table: insulation condition, failed window seals, air leakage, aging equipment, and the moisture problems that follow heat loss. You get the energy picture as part of the full picture, on the timeline of your purchase.
Energy Efficient Home FAQs for Northern Michigan Homebuyers
How can I tell where a house is losing heat?
Look for cold rooms, patchy roof snowmelt, ice dams, and fogged windows. For a definitive answer, a home inspection with thermal imaging shows heat loss directly, including problems hidden inside walls and ceilings.
Can I negotiate based on energy issues found in an inspection?
Inspection findings are yours to use. Many buyers use documented issues, like failed window seals or an ancient furnace, to inform their conversations with the seller about repairs or price. Your real estate agent can advise on the best approach.
Do newer homes in Northern Michigan have energy problems too?
They can. Age raises the odds, but I’ve found insulation gaps, air leaks, and window issues in homes of every era. Every house deserves a look before you buy it.
Know Before You Buy
An energy efficient home is comfortable in January, cheaper to own, and less prone to the moisture problems that plague leaky houses in our climate. The way to know what you’re buying is to have the home inspected by someone who knows Northern Michigan construction and Northern Michigan winters.
I’d be glad to help. Call or text me at (989) 370-3683 to schedule your inspection in Gaylord, Petoskey, Charlevoix, Boyne City, Harbor Springs, East Jordan, or anywhere in between.
Scott Frakes, CMI®, is a Certified Master Inspector® and the owner of North Point Home & Property Inspections, LLC in Gaylord, MI. He has completed more than 2,000 inspections across Northern Michigan since 2013 and holds 24+ InterNACHI certifications.