The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER), in collaboration with Mass Save®, used U.S. Department Of Energy grant funds in the Greater Springfield area to provide interactive tools for homeowners to encourage more – or "deeper" – energy efficiency upgrades. This initiative, called Home MPG (miles-per-gallon) was an enhancement to the Mass Save home energy assessment program. The initiative was available through Mass Save to homeowners in eight communities: Belchertown, East Longmeadow, Hampden, Longmeadow, Monson, Palmer, Springfield, and Wilbraham.
How Home MPG Works
Home MPG' provided an interactive web portal that connects homeowners to their scorecard and links to their home’s thermal image (if available).
Core elements:
- An Energy Performance Score (EPS), similar to a vehicle MPG rating, reflected a home's expected energy use and carbon emissions, and allowed comparison between area homes. The EPS also provided data on utility incentives available to help pay for the cost of energy efficiency improvements aimed at improving the EPS.
- A web-based tool that allowed homeowners to view the results of their Mass Save home energy assessment and their energy scorecard.
- The web interface also connected homeowners to an infrared thermal image of their home (if available) to help understand the potential for targeted cost-effective building improvements.
DOER is collaborated with three states, Washington, Virginia, and Alabama, as well as a host of national, local and utility partners to gauge the effectiveness of new tools to catalyze the home energy retrofit market.
Additional Resources
Thermal Imaging
Infrared thermal imaging enabled homeowners to see quickly where they had opportunities for energy improvements. On the program website, homeowners were able to view any available thermal images of their house, available incentives, results of their Mass Save energy assessment, and the structure's energy performance score.
Source: Sagewell
Program Goals
- Creation of market value and recognition of the benefits of home energy performance
- Streamlining and improving the homeowner experience with Mass Save
- Increasing both the total number of home energy upgrades completed and the total energy savings achieved per household
Sponsored by: Columbia Gas, National Grid and Eversource (Western Massachusetts Electric)
DOER program contacts: Alissa Whiteman