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FrugalWatt / Optimizer

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What could lower your home energy bill?

Considering solar? Use the separate solar quote and payback calculator.

Start with what you know: your state, how you heat the place, and roughly what you pay. We will tell you what looks worth checking, what can wait, and when the honest answer is to leave working equipment alone.

Use rough numbers if that is all you have. Better inputs make the estimate sharper; they are not a test you have to pass. This tool counts only confirmed federal programs and does not yet include separate utility offers.

Heating with oil? Compare heat-pump and oil costs with adjustable seasonal performance and backup heating.

What this calculator compares

It estimates the likely cost and annual running-cost effect of a space heat pump, heat-pump water heater, weatherization work, and an electrical-panel upgrade. It uses your energy prices, fuel use, equipment age, and the federal-program status we have recorded for your state. Installed costs are estimates, not contractor quotes.

It does not yet include every utility offer, solar, roof condition, financing terms, contractor availability, or a detailed home load calculation. Treat the result as a better first question for an installer, not a purchase order.

Where and what you pay

Decides which federally funded rebates this tool can count, and how hard your winters are. Your utility may offer separate incentives that are not included yet.

Enter your rate, or choose a state for an editable starting estimate.

State estimates use EIA residential averages for June 2026, released August 26 (preliminary). Your utility, plan and season may differ. A bill-derived average can include fixed charges that will not fall when usage falls. You can edit this rate at any time.

How you heat the place

On your gas bill this is the all-in cost per therm. For propane or oil, per gallon.

Add up twelve months if you have them. Otherwise, take a typical winter month and multiply it. A rough estimate is enough to get started.

What you already have

Age changes the answer more than anything else here. Replacing something that already needs replacing is a different decision from tearing out equipment that works, and this tool will not tell you to do the second one.

Income

The rebates are income-tested, so this swings the answer by thousands. We default to assuming you do not qualify, because we would rather surprise you upwards than promise money you cannot have. Not stored, not sent anywhere.

No email, no phone, no account. The calculation runs in this browser and nothing about your house is transmitted.