Lacking good information, many homeowners miss opportunities to reduce their home's energy use and associated costs. The U.S. Department of Energy's Home Energy Score is a credible, nationally recognized product to help you understand your home's energy performance and how to improve it cost-effectively.
What is the Home Energy Score?
Like a miles-per-gallon rating for vehicles, the Home Energy Score allows homeowners to understand their home's energy efficiency compared to homes nationwide, regardless of location and occupancy. Each Home Energy Score Report provides a list of recommended energy improvements and their estimated cost savings to help take the guesswork out of determining smart and cost-effective investments.
To learn more about the Score, see our About The Score and Score's Methodology pages.
The Home Energy Score Can Tell You:
- Cost-effective recommendations to reduce the amount of energy your home wastes on inefficiencies
- The amount of money you could save each year on energy costs by implementing recommended improvements
- The percentage of carbon dioxide emissions that could be eliminated by implementing recommended improvements
- Facts about your home's energy systems and estimated energy use
- Your home's current Score based on its energy systems
- Your home's Score if all recommended improvements were implemented
If you are buying or refinancing your home, the Home Energy Score can help you qualify for a larger mortgage or more financing options. If you complete improvements that increase your home's Score, the Home Energy Score can help express market value for those improvements at time of sale.
How Do I Get A Home Energy Score?
To generate your home's Score, a Home Energy Score Assessor visits your home and collects about 40 pieces of information about your home's structure and energy systems. The time it takes to generate a Score varies depending on the Assessor and what services he or she is providing other than Home Energy Score.
There are many different types of organizations offering the Score throughout most of the country. See our Partner Map to see which organizations offer the Score in your area. If the Home Energy Score is not currently offered by your utility or state energy office, we recommend reaching out to them to see when the Home Energy Score will be offered in your area.
More Energy Efficiency Resources
- The Be a Smart and Engaged Homeowner guide covers what you should know before starting work on your home.
- Energy Saver from the Department of Energy provides tips and in-depth information on improving various systems in your home.
