The Home Energy Saver is designed to help consumers identify the best ways to save energy in their homes, and find the resources to make the savings happen. The Home Energy Saver was the first Internet-based tool for calculating energy use in residential buildings. The project is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), as part of the national ENERGY STAR Program for improving energy efficiency in homes, with previous support from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the US Department of Housing and Urban Development's PATH program, and the California Energy Commission's Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) program.
The Home Energy Saver quickly computes a home's energy use online based on methods developed at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Users can estimate how much energy and money can be saved and how much emissions can be reduced by implementing energy-efficiency improvements. All end uses (heating, cooling, major appliances, lighting, and miscellaneous uses) are included.
The Home Energy Saver's Energy Advisor calculates energy use and savings opportunities based on a detailed description of the home provided by the user. Users can begin the process by simply entering their zip code, and in turn receive instant initial estimates. By providing more information about the home, the user will receive increasingly customized results along with energy-saving upgrade recommendations.
The results pages provide a list of recommendations--ranked by payback time--tailored to the particular home being evaluated. The user can vary the energy efficiency assumptions in many cases, as well as the retrofit costs and then recalculate the table. The results can be viewed on line, and via a detailed printable report that includes retrofit description and other details as well as links to additional information.
To access the Home Energy Saver and perform your own FREE web based energy audit, go to http://hes.lbl.gov/hes/vh.shtml.
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