Housing Counseling Webinar: Home Energy Score and Predicting Energy Costs Accurately

This webinar, published on November 30, 2017, provides information about Home Energy Scores as a way to reduce costs. Monthly energy bills should be an important part of budgeting for a new home. Yet this cost is often overlooked, even though energy bills on average run higher than property taxes or insurance. In some areas of the country, sellers must provide a copy of their utility bills, but even then, savvy buyers know that they need to dig deeper to get a true understanding of likely energy costs because utility bills are a reflection of the occupants of the home, not simply the home itself. To get more reliable and actionable information, homeowners and buyers should consider getting a Home Energy Score, a "miles-per-gallon" type rating from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Generated by a qualified home inspector or other building professional, the standardized Score Report rates the home's efficiency on a 10-point scale and provides a "potential" rating to reflect the home with recommended efficiency improvements customized for that particular home. Join Joan Glickman, U.S. DOE's Home Energy Score Program Manager, for a discussion of the role Home Energy Score can play at point of sale, how important it is to get energy-related information into the hands of homebuyers, and how to get a Home Energy Score.

HUD and DOE