Give your home an energy score

The Energy Department announced on Jan. 9, its first major software update to the Home Energy Scoring Tool, developed by the Department’s Building Technologies Office and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). The Home Energy Score allows homebuyers to compare homes on an “apples-to-apples” basis and ­provides recommendations for energy ­efficiency improvements. In addition, homeowners and homebuyers receive a cost-saving estimate of how these improvements could reduce utility bills and improve a home’s score.

Through the Home Energy Scoring Tool, more than 8,500 homes have been scored by the Energy Department’s growing network of more than 25 partners and 175 qualified assessors. After more than a year of implementation and feedback from program partners, the Energy Department made significant improvements to the scoring tool’s calculation methodology and user interface. The tool also provides more detailed and cost-effective recom­mendations to help consumers save money.

In Illinois you can find out more and locate a qualified assessor by going to the Illinois Home Performance website illinoishomeperformance.org and clicking on Get Started.