When thinking about moving away from fossil fuels, and making your home safer and more comfortable, many questions may arise:
When and where should I start?
How much will it cost?
How long will it take?
How will I be able to afford this?
Do the benefits outweigh the costs?
Who is available, and who can I trust to do this work on my house?
You can begin exploring the answers to these questions in our Deep Dive. Our Energy Navigators can help you develop a plan based on the status of your home and your goals. We can also help you understand the available rebates, tax credits, and financing options and find local contractors.
Step by step
A home energy plan alongside an energy audit will help you make plans for each of these key elements:
Our action guides provide step-by-step instructions for each of these. Our finance guide provides tips to make sure you take advantage of rebates and tax incentives.
Once you’ve made your plan, write a testimonial, explaining your experience and encouraging others to do the same! (Note: you will need to be signed in to write a testimonial)
Creating an energy plan can seem daunting at first, but fleshing out a plan can simplify the steps and make the process feel more manageable.
After learning a little about the options and actions that might work for you, you can do in-depth research into each change, using the deep dive tabs on each “Action”. As you decide which actions interest you, you can add them to your To-Do list on this site.
As you create your energy plan, it helps to ask yourself what your main priorities are. They may include saving on energy costs, improving your home’s air quality, reducing your home’s greenhouse gas emissions, and using safer, cleaner energy.
Whether you plan to create your energy plan independently or with the help of an Energy Navigator, it helps to do some preliminary research to familiarize yourself with the possibilities:
A great place to start, whether you’re a curious beginner or a seasoned expert, is this guide from Rewiring America. It provides a comprehensive outline on electrifying, weatherizing, and transitioning your home to renewable energy.
The guide details the process of making ten key transitions, some of which correspond with the Actions on this site:
Going solar (p. 12 and 66 in the guide)
Installing a heat pump (p. 19)
Buying an electric vehicle (p. 52)
If you’re looking for an outline of ideas for your plan, pages seven and eight of the guide outline the costs and benefits of different steps.
If you’re wanting something a little more brief, this article (and quiz) from Seven Days gives a good summary of the topic.
Building a new home or doing major renovations to an existing one? This quick guide from the Department of Energy lists efficient ideas specifically for home construction and design.
Maybe less than you expect.
Making your plan also requires evaluating how much time and money you hope to commit to this project. There are several programs available through Efficiency Vermont and Green Mountain Power that are no or low cost depending on your income. Since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act during August 2022, several new federal rebates and tax credits are available upon taking steps to make your home more efficient.
Learn more about the $8.8 billion allocated for home energy rebates here.
Learn more about the specific tax credits available to homeowners here.
Thanks to these programs, the cost of transitioning your home is lower than ever before.
Efficiency Vermont has a helpful article and video explaining different options for financing these projects.
Also, the cost range of different upgrades and changes varies widely. Making your home more efficient does not always require huge investments of time and money.
There are several DIY energy-saving projects that are inexpensive and quick. Use this guide by the Department of Energy to explore.
See this list for a few other low-cost efficiency changes you can make.
Before hiring an expert to conduct an energy audit, or scheduling a meeting with an Energy Navigator, you can use online calculators to predict how much money you might save and the amount of carbon you might reduce by transitioning your home.
Rewiring America’s household electrification incentive calculator estimates what types of incentives you are eligible for from Inflation Reduction Act programs.
The Rocky Mountain Institute’s Green Upgrade Calculator analyzes the energy rates, maintenance costs, and lifetime costs of transitioning to electric alternatives. The calculator estimates the time it will take for these transitions to pay off and provides detailed breakdowns of federal, state, and local incentives for each.
Who is available, and who can I trust to do this work on my house?
We don’t have a list of vendors published yet. Until we do, you can search for all kinds of contractors and retailers using Efficiency Vermont’s list.
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