Home Energy Saver
Encyclopedia
Home Energy Saver is a set of on–line resources developed by the U.S. Department of Energy at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
intended to help consumers and professional energy analysts, analyze, reduce, and manage home energy use.
The Home Energy Saver energy assessment tool allows consumers to conduct a do-it-yourself home energy audit
and provides specific recommendations to help lower household energy consumption
and utility costs. By entering a zip code, users get estimates for typical and efficient homes in their area. The estimates break down energy consumption by “end use". End uses reported by Home Energy Saver include: heating, cooling
, water heating
, major appliances, small appliances, and lighting
.
The more details a user enters, (e.g., insulation
levels, roofing, age of major equipment, how systems are used) the more customized the assessment results and energy efficiency
recommendations become. The tailored reports allows consumers to drill into estimated cost of improvements, anticipated payback
time, projected utility bill savings, and how much energy use and green house gas production will be reduced. Consumers can vary the energy efficiency
assumptions and the upgrade costs, (e.g., replacing the default values with actual estimates from contractors) and recalculate the payback
times and other details.
The Home Energy Saver website includes a section called LEARN which offers tips about energy savings, an explanation of the house-as-system energy efficiency approach, and other information to help people understand how energy is used in a home.
When launched in 1994, Home Energy Saver was the first and only online home energy calculator. Thereafter, 6 million people have used it to analyze their home energy use. Nearly 1 million people visit the site each year. In 2009, a second version of the tool, Home Energy Saver Professional, was launched. This advanced version provides a low cost, interactive energy simulation/assessments tool for contractors, building professionals, weatherization
professionals, and building designers.
Home Energy Saver extends DOE-2 in a number of ways to improve the simulation model. For example, when users enter their actual electricity tariffs, the predictive power of the model improves. Other methods are used to calculate the energy used by appliances, water heating, and lighting.
The public–domain HES calculation methods and underlying data are clearly documented on the website. Other web-based tool developers are welcome to use this information at no cost, providing that the source is properly credited.
The energy improvement recommendations are drawn from the National Residential Energy Efficiency Measures Database.
received an R&D 100 Award in 2010.
Home Energy Saver received the U.S. Department of Energy's "Energy 100" award as one of the best 100 scientific and technological accomplishments over DOE's 23-year lifetime. The discoveries were chosen based on their impact in saving consumers money and improving quality of life.
PC Magazine recognized Home Energy Saver in 2004 as one of the “Top 100 Undiscovered Websites.
MSN-Money rates Home Energy Saver among the “Best Sites for Free Government Help” including it in the list of “The 100 most Useful Sites on the Internet.
Microsoft
, the first organization to license the Home Energy Saver, uses it to drive Microsoft Hohm
.
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , is a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory conducting unclassified scientific research. It is located on the grounds of the University of California, Berkeley, in the Berkeley Hills above the central campus...
intended to help consumers and professional energy analysts, analyze, reduce, and manage home energy use.
The Home Energy Saver energy assessment tool allows consumers to conduct a do-it-yourself home energy audit
Energy audit
An energy audit is an inspection, survey and analysis of energy flows for energy conservation in a building, process or system to reduce the amount of energy input into the system without negatively affecting the output.-Principle:...
and provides specific recommendations to help lower household energy consumption
Domestic Energy Consumption
Domestic energy consumption is the amount of energy that is spent on the different appliances used within housing. The amount of energy used per household varies widely depending on the standard of living of the country, climate, and the age and type of residence...
and utility costs. By entering a zip code, users get estimates for typical and efficient homes in their area. The estimates break down energy consumption by “end use". End uses reported by Home Energy Saver include: heating, cooling
Cooling
Cooling is the transfer of thermal energy via thermal radiation, heat conduction or convection. It may also refer to:-Techniques:* Air conditioning* Air cooling* Computer cooling* Cryogenics* Conduction * Infrared solar cells* Laser cooling...
, water heating
Water heating
Water heating is a thermodynamic process using an energy source to heat water above its initial temperature. Typical domestic uses of hot water are for cooking, cleaning, bathing, and space heating...
, major appliances, small appliances, and lighting
Lighting
Lighting or illumination is the deliberate application of light to achieve some practical or aesthetic effect. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources such as lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylight...
.
The more details a user enters, (e.g., insulation
Insulation
Insulation means:* Building insulation, added to buildings for comfort and energy efficiency* Soundproofing, also known as acoustic insulation, any means of reducing the intensity of sound...
levels, roofing, age of major equipment, how systems are used) the more customized the assessment results and energy efficiency
Efficient energy use
Efficient energy use, sometimes simply called energy efficiency, is the goal of efforts to reduce the amount of energy required to provide products and services. For example, insulating a home allows a building to use less heating and cooling energy to achieve and maintain a comfortable temperature...
recommendations become. The tailored reports allows consumers to drill into estimated cost of improvements, anticipated payback
Payback
Payback may refer to:*Payback period, the period of time required for the return on an investment*Revenge*Operation Payback, an ongoing hacker operation*Payback , a 1999 film, starring Mel Gibson; remake of the 1967 film Point Blank...
time, projected utility bill savings, and how much energy use and green house gas production will be reduced. Consumers can vary the energy efficiency
Efficient energy use
Efficient energy use, sometimes simply called energy efficiency, is the goal of efforts to reduce the amount of energy required to provide products and services. For example, insulating a home allows a building to use less heating and cooling energy to achieve and maintain a comfortable temperature...
assumptions and the upgrade costs, (e.g., replacing the default values with actual estimates from contractors) and recalculate the payback
Payback
Payback may refer to:*Payback period, the period of time required for the return on an investment*Revenge*Operation Payback, an ongoing hacker operation*Payback , a 1999 film, starring Mel Gibson; remake of the 1967 film Point Blank...
times and other details.
The Home Energy Saver website includes a section called LEARN which offers tips about energy savings, an explanation of the house-as-system energy efficiency approach, and other information to help people understand how energy is used in a home.
When launched in 1994, Home Energy Saver was the first and only online home energy calculator. Thereafter, 6 million people have used it to analyze their home energy use. Nearly 1 million people visit the site each year. In 2009, a second version of the tool, Home Energy Saver Professional, was launched. This advanced version provides a low cost, interactive energy simulation/assessments tool for contractors, building professionals, weatherization
Weatherization
Weatherization or weatherproofing is the practice of protecting a building and its interior from the elements, particularly from sunlight, precipitation, and wind, and of modifying a building to reduce energy consumption and optimize energy efficiency.Weatherization is distinct from building...
professionals, and building designers.
The Home Energy Simulation Model
The Home Energy Saver is built on DOE-2, a computer program for building heating and cooling energy analysis and design. DOE-2 performs a thermal load simulation that accounts for heating and cooling equipment and thermal distribution efficiencies, infiltration, and thermostat management. User-entered zip codes are mapped to one of about 300 unique “weather tapes” that impose a year’s worth of local weather conditions on the home to determine heating and cooling needs.Home Energy Saver extends DOE-2 in a number of ways to improve the simulation model. For example, when users enter their actual electricity tariffs, the predictive power of the model improves. Other methods are used to calculate the energy used by appliances, water heating, and lighting.
The public–domain HES calculation methods and underlying data are clearly documented on the website. Other web-based tool developers are welcome to use this information at no cost, providing that the source is properly credited.
Energy Saving Recommendations
The Home Energy Saver enables users to quantify the benefits of improving the energy efficiency and comfort of homes in the following ways:- No Cost Changes – No cost changes are modifications to the way energy is used, like lowering the hot water heater temperature, unplugging the second refrigeratorRefrigeratorA refrigerator is a common household appliance that consists of a thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump that transfers heat from the inside of the fridge to its external environment so that the inside of the fridge is cooled to a temperature below the ambient temperature of the room...
that is running to cool just a few things, doing laundry with cool or cold water instead of hot, or programming the thermostatThermostatA thermostat is the component of a control system which regulates the temperature of a system so that the system's temperature is maintained near a desired setpoint temperature. The thermostat does this by switching heating or cooling devices on or off, or regulating the flow of a heat transfer...
a bit lower. These changes don’t cost anything, but they can save a substantial amount of energy over time. - Low Cost Changes – Low cost changes include actions like changing out incandescent light bulbs for compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) or LED bulbsLEdLEd is a TeX/LaTeX editing software working under Microsoft Windows. It is a freeware product....
, wrapping a hot water heater in an insulating blanket, or weatherizingWeatherizationWeatherization or weatherproofing is the practice of protecting a building and its interior from the elements, particularly from sunlight, precipitation, and wind, and of modifying a building to reduce energy consumption and optimize energy efficiency.Weatherization is distinct from building...
a home by caulking or adding weather stripping. Low cost changes are typically Do-It-Yourself tasks that can improve the energy efficiency of a home dramatically. - Deep Home Energy Upgrades or Retrofits – Upgrades can include actions ranging from replacing old inefficient appliances with new Energy StarEnergy StarEnergy Star is an international standard for energy efficient consumer products originated in the United States of America. It was first created as a United States government program during the early 1990s, but Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Taiwan and the European Union have also adopted...
appliances, adding insulationInsulationInsulation means:* Building insulation, added to buildings for comfort and energy efficiency* Soundproofing, also known as acoustic insulation, any means of reducing the intensity of sound...
, or replacing major systems like heating equipment or the roofRoofA roof is the covering on the uppermost part of a building. A roof protects the building and its contents from the effects of weather. Structures that require roofs range from a letter box to a cathedral or stadium, dwellings being the most numerous....
.
The energy improvement recommendations are drawn from the National Residential Energy Efficiency Measures Database.
Awards & Recognition
Each year, the R&D 100 Awards recognize the year’s 100 most significant, innovative, newly introduced research and development advances. The awards are recognized in industry, government, and academia as proof that a product is one of the most innovative ideas of the year, nationally and internationally. Home Energy Saver and HohmHohm
Microsoft Hohm is an online web application by Microsoft that enables consumers to analyze their energy usage and provides energy saving recommendations.Announced on June 24, 2009, Microsoft Hohm is built on the Windows Azure cloud operating system...
received an R&D 100 Award in 2010.
Home Energy Saver received the U.S. Department of Energy's "Energy 100" award as one of the best 100 scientific and technological accomplishments over DOE's 23-year lifetime. The discoveries were chosen based on their impact in saving consumers money and improving quality of life.
PC Magazine recognized Home Energy Saver in 2004 as one of the “Top 100 Undiscovered Websites.
MSN-Money rates Home Energy Saver among the “Best Sites for Free Government Help” including it in the list of “The 100 most Useful Sites on the Internet.
Licensing
Organizations who want to provide their customers tools to predict home energy consumption can license the Home Energy Saver Application Programming Interfaces (APIs).Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
, the first organization to license the Home Energy Saver, uses it to drive Microsoft Hohm
Hohm
Microsoft Hohm is an online web application by Microsoft that enables consumers to analyze their energy usage and provides energy saving recommendations.Announced on June 24, 2009, Microsoft Hohm is built on the Windows Azure cloud operating system...
.