A useful home energy assessment ends with a ranked action list and the evidence behind each action. Collect bills, household changes and comfort observations before buying diagnostic equipment. A dashboard can help identify timing, but it cannot by itself diagnose insulation, ventilation, combustion or equipment condition.
Assemble the evidence folder
Collect available electricity and other fuel bills, ideally covering a full seasonal cycle. Keep dates, consumption units and charges separate. Note occupancy changes, EV charging, new appliances, equipment service and thermostat settings. If records are incomplete, mark the gap rather than inventing an annual baseline. If your utility offers Green Button, the smart meter data guide explains how to download a year of usage or more in one file, depending on the utility, and the appliance electricity guide gives national averages to compare large loads against.
Make a room log from ordinary accessible areas: location, complaint, time, weather and visible condition. “Bedroom cold on windy evenings” is more useful than “house inefficient.” Do not open electrical equipment, disturb suspect materials or enter unsafe spaces to complete the record.
Walk through the house: the DIY checks
The Department of Energy’s consumer guide describes a do-it-yourself assessment as “a walk-through of your home during which you look carefully at the main areas where air leaks occur.” ENERGY STAR’s DIY checks add insulation and air-leak tests. Record what you find in the room log; sealing and insulating come later, after the safety checks below.
Air leaks
DOE lists these places to look:
- Where different materials meet, such as between the foundation and walls and between the chimney and siding
- Around electrical outlets, switch plates, window and door frames, baseboards and attic hatches
- Around wall or window air conditioners, mail chutes, electrical and gas service entrances, cable TV and phone lines, and vents and fans
- Caulking and weather stripping, to see that they “are applied properly and are in good condition”
Three simple tests from ENERGY STAR and DOE help find gaps you can’t see:
- Light test. At night, shine a flashlight over potential gaps while a partner watches from outside; “where you see light shine through, that spot has an air leak.” ENERGY STAR also suggests looking from the attic, crawlspace or basement for light from the house shining through. DOE notes this method may not find small gaps.
- Paper test. Shut a door or window on a piece of paper. ENERGY STAR says that if you can pull it out without tearing it, “you have a leak.”
- Smoke test. On a cool, very windy day, turn off combustion appliances such as gas furnaces and water heaters, shut all windows, exterior doors and fireplace flues, and turn on exhaust fans that blow air outside. Then hold a lit incense stick around the edges of common leak sites; ENERGY STAR says that “wherever the smoke wavers, or is sucked out of or blown into the room, there’s a leak.” Skip this test if you aren’t comfortable turning gas appliances off and back on, and rely on the light and paper tests instead.
Attic insulation
ENERGY STAR’s quick check: “if the insulation is level with or below the attic floor joists, you probably need to add more insulation.” If you can’t see any joists because the insulation is well above them, ENERGY STAR says you probably have enough. Look for even coverage too, since there is sometimes “enough insulation in the middle of the attic and very little along the eaves.”
To estimate the R-value, read it from the batts or measure the depth in inches and multiply by ENERGY STAR’s factor for the material:
| What you see | Probably | R-value per inch of depth |
|---|---|---|
| Loose, lightweight yellow, pink or white fibers | Fiberglass | 2.5 |
| Loose, dense gray or near-white fibers, may have black specks | Rock wool | 2.8 |
| Small gray flat pieces or fibers from newsprint | Cellulose | 3.7 |
| Lightweight granules | Vermiculite or perlite | 2.7 |
| Lightweight yellow, pink or white batts | Fiberglass batts | 3.2 |
Compare the result with ENERGY STAR’s recommended levels for your climate zone, listed on the same page.
Attic safety comes first. ENERGY STAR warns that vermiculite “may contain asbestos” and says not to disturb it unless an approved lab has tested it. Walk on joists or truss chords, “not exposed ceiling drywall or insulation,” watch for nails, and wear safety glasses, gloves and a dust mask.
Heating and cooling equipment
ENERGY STAR’s maintenance checklist says to “inspect, clean, or change air filters once a month” in a central air conditioner, furnace or heat pump, and to have a contractor do annual check-ups: the cooling system in spring and the heating system in fall. For ducts you can reach, ENERGY STAR says to “look for cracks, kinks, loose air supply boots or missing insulation.”
Match symptoms to places to look
ENERGY STAR’s problem chart links common complaints to the parts of the house to check:
| Symptom | Where ENERGY STAR says to look |
|---|---|
| Drafty rooms | Attic; doors, windows and walls |
| Hot and cold rooms, uneven temperatures | Attic, basement or crawlspace, ducts |
| High heating or cooling bills | Attic, basement or crawlspace, ducts |
| Cold floor in winter | Basement or crawlspace |
| Ice dams on the roof in winter | Attic |
| Dust or smells from the attic or crawlspace | Ducts |
Check safety before sealing
Tightening a house changes how it breathes. ENERGY STAR says “sealing your home or ductwork can cause combustion appliances like water heaters to backdraft, creating unsafe conditions inside your home,” and that inspection by a home energy professional can identify combustion safety issues “that should be fixed before any air sealing or other efficiency improvements are made.” It also warns that sealing “may trap indoor air pollutants such as radon, carbon monoxide and volatile organic compounds,” and that a tight home may need more mechanical ventilation.
For the attic, ENERGY STAR recommends hiring a professional before going further if you find:
- Difficult access and little space to work
- Wet or damp insulation, a sign of a leaky roof
- Moldy or rotted rafters or floor joists
- Kitchen, bathroom or dryer vents that exhaust into the attic instead of outdoors
- Little or no attic ventilation
- Knob and tube wiring, which ENERGY STAR calls a possible fire hazard “when in contact with insulation”
Turn observations into questions
| Observation | Question for the next step | What it does not prove |
|---|---|---|
| Higher dollar bill | Did kWh, tariff or billing duration change? | That an appliance failed |
| One uncomfortable room | Is the cause airflow, heat gain/loss, controls or another condition? | That a new thermostat will fix it |
| Long HVAC operation | What do weather, setpoints and operating stages show? | Poor efficiency from runtime alone |
| Persistent overnight demand | Which scheduled or continuous loads are included? | That all background use is avoidable standby |
| Visible gap or damaged seal | What repair is appropriate to that assembly? | A quantified whole-home saving |
Use an action register
For each proposed improvement, write the supporting observation, uncertainty, person qualified to assess it, cost estimate and expected outcome. Keep urgent safety or moisture issues separate from discretionary energy upgrades. Do not delay a fault response while collecting more bill data.
Rank ordinary efficiency opportunities by evidence, practical benefit, cost and dependencies. If two measures overlap, do not add their standalone savings estimates without checking the interaction. Air sealing, insulation and HVAC sizing can affect one another; sequencing belongs in the assessment rather than a list of independent shopping recommendations. ENERGY STAR, for example, recommends doing an attic insulation project after attic air sealing. For scale, ENERGY STAR says sealing air leaks and adding insulation can “provide up to a 10% savings on your annual energy bills”; treat that as the program’s upper figure, not a forecast for your home.
Know when a professional assessment adds value
DOE’s consumer guide to home energy assessments distinguishes a basic walkthrough from equipment-based assessment. Ask a provider what the quoted service includes: diagnostic measurements, ventilation and combustion considerations where relevant, written findings and a prioritized improvement plan.
DOE describes the professional version as “a much more detailed, equipment-based look,” with these parts:
- Blower door test. It “measures the airtightness of a house.” DOE says to make sure the assessor uses a calibrated blower door connected to a manometer; blower doors without that measurement “can spot air leaks in the home, but not the amount of air leakage.”
- Duct blower. Measures air leakage inside the ductwork.
- Infrared scan. Shows temperature differences along walls, roofs, windows and doors; with a blower door running, DOE says “air leaks show up as black streaks in the infrared image.”
- Other checks. The assessor may also inspect heating and cooling systems, test for natural gas leaks and check ventilation.
To prepare, DOE suggests listing indoor problems such as “condensation and uncomfortable or drafty rooms” and having copies or summaries of recent energy bills, which is the evidence folder above. Afterward, the assessor “should provide you with a report of the findings and ideas for improvements.” To find a certified assessor, DOE points to your local electric or gas utility and your state or local government energy or weatherization office. ENERGY STAR notes that many local utilities may offer rebates for a professional assessment, and DOE’s Weatherization Assistance Program funds states to help low-income families weatherize.
A thermal image records surface patterns under specific conditions. It is not a direct bill-saving measurement or proof of a hidden defect. Compare renting equipment with a qualified assessment before buying a camera; the FLIR Edge Pro review explains the ownership decision.
Define completion before spending
For the selected action, agree what will be checked afterward: corrected operation, resolved comfort complaint, documented installation or a suitable energy comparison. Preserve the original uncertainty if the result cannot isolate savings. The weekly trend guide helps avoid incomplete-period comparisons; an assessment still needs physical evidence where the proposed fix is physical.
This worksheet is not an official energy score, an inspection or a claim that the home has passed a safety assessment.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Energy: Consumer Guide to Home Energy Assessments (PDF)
- ENERGY STAR: What to look for, DIY checks and inspections
- ENERGY STAR: Identify the problems you want to fix
- ENERGY STAR: Attic air sealing project
- ENERGY STAR: Seal and insulate
- ENERGY STAR: Heating and cooling maintenance checklist
DOE and ENERGY STAR guidance was checked on October 9, 2026.