Free Home Energy Audit: How Enerly Works

Enerly is a free residential energy audit that takes 5-10 minutes and requires no contractor visit or home inspection. You answer questions about your home's systems and Enerly calculates your energy efficiency score, estimates your annual cost, and ranks every upgrade by payback period using your local utility rates.

What Makes Enerly Different from a Traditional Energy Audit

A professional in-home energy audit costs $200-$600, requires an appointment, and takes 2-4 hours. Enerly delivers the same ranked upgrade recommendations and rebate matching in under 10 minutes, free, with no one entering your home. Our methodology is developed by a Certified Energy Manager (CEM) using DOE BEopt modeling frameworks and ACCA Manual J load calculation principles.

The 7-Step Home Energy Audit

1. Enter your ZIP code: Enerly automatically retrieves your local utility rates, climate zone, and all available federal, state, and utility rebate programs.
2. Create your home profile: Home type, size, year built, and number of occupants. Older homes built before 2000 typically have 2-3x more savings opportunities than newer construction.
3. Lighting assessment: What percentage of your bulbs are LED? Incandescent and halogen lighting uses 75% more energy than LED and is the easiest upgrade to start with.
4. HVAC assessment: Heating system type, age, and fuel source; cooling system; and thermostat type. Heating and cooling account for 43% of home energy use and are the highest-impact upgrade category.
5. Insulation and air sealing: Attic insulation depth and visible air leakage indicators. For homes built before 2000, this is typically the single highest-ROI improvement.
6. Water heating and appliances: Water heater type, age, and fuel source; refrigerator and washing machine vintage. Water heating alone accounts for 18% of home energy use (DOE).
7. Windows and renewables: Window glazing type, solar panels, and any planned upgrades or recent improvements.

What You Get After the Audit

• Energy efficiency score (0-100): A numeric grade for your home's energy performance benchmarked against similar homes in your climate zone
• Ranked upgrade list: Every recommended improvement sorted by annual savings and payback period, from fastest (LED bulbs, days) to longest (solar, 7-12 years)
• Rebate matching: Every federal, state, and utility incentive you qualify for based on your ZIP code and upgrade list
• Annual cost estimate: Your estimated annual energy spend and CO2 footprint based on local rates and your home's systems

Who Should Get a Home Energy Audit?

A home energy audit is most valuable if your energy bills have increased significantly, your home was built before 2000, you are planning HVAC or water heater replacements, or you want to maximize rebates before purchasing equipment. Enerly is free for all homeowners and renters in all 50 U.S. states.