Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Sharon Bulova joined Energy Action Fairfax for a home energy audit party in Alexandria Wednesday night.

Home energy audit parties are informal gatherings where residents convene and hear presentations from local contractors about what they can do to make their homes more energy-efficient and save money.

This was the fourth audit party for Energy Action Fairfax, a pilot project funded by a grant from the Department of Energy. Energy Action Fairfax is a public education campaign to help residents save money and make their homes more energy-efficient. 

The campaign's theme is "Step Up To Savings," a theme which will help consumers take the right steps towards energy efficiency no matter what their budget is, said Michael Schmidt, a spokesman for Energy Action Fairfax.

"No matter where you are in the process to make yourself more efficient, we have something for you," Schmidt explained

Energy Action Fairfax is working with seven communities throughout Fairfax County to help educate residents about steps they can take to make their homes more energy efficient. Chairman Bulova believes the audit parties are a great way for residents to be educated so they can tell their friends and neighbors what they learned.

The audit parties are, I think, perfect because people like to see hands-on," Bulova said. "You can talk about energy efficiency, and you can talk about sustainability, but it's most valuable when you can be in someone's home and have some real hands-on examples of what you can personally do, or what you can do in your own home to make your energy consumption more efficient."

Bulova said one of the biggest opportunities to help are in older residential and commercial neighborhoods.