Which would you do first?
EPA estimates sealing and insulating saves about 15% of heating and cooling costs.
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Home Energy Scope · Planning quiz
Energy retrofit readiness quiz: do you know the sequence and the tests?
Ten questions on the details that decide a retrofit: which measure comes first, what a blower door measures, when spray foam earns its cost, what U-factor means, how to read a solar production estimate, and where the federal credits stand. Each answer explains the reasoning with a sourced figure. Missing a question tells you what to ask the pro.
Start the quiz0 of 10 answered
The most common retrofit mistake is doing the visible thing first. ENERGY STAR estimates 9 in 10 homes are under-insulated, and our analysis of the EIA's 2024 survey found 62.4% with mostly original windows; the house that replaces the windows before sealing the attic has spent the larger sum on the smaller saving. This quiz checks whether you know the sequence, the tests that prove the work, and the numbers behind the savings claims.
Answer honestly and read each explanation. The ones you miss are the questions for your request on the contact page and the items to raise with the auditor. The comparisons and the calculator pick up from there.
What the quiz covers, and why these ten
Three questions cover sequence and diagnostics, because they decide whether the rest of the budget is well spent. Two cover insulation materials and the ventilation and safety consequences of tightening a house. Two cover windows and doors, including how to read the label and what the resale data says, such as Zonda's 2025 finding that a steel entry door recoups 216% of its cost. Two cover solar economics without the federal credit. One covers the incentive change itself, since a proposal that still shows the 30% federal solar credit for 2026 work is out of date.
Each explanation cites its source and states the limit of the figure: EPA's saving is an average, the EIA conditions in our analysis, such as the 17.6% of homes described as poorly insulated, are household descriptions, and cost guides are national references. Take the numbers as planning context and the questions as a checklist.
The three questions people miss most
Sealing before insulating, combustion safety before tightening, and the end date of the federal credits. The first matters most in older houses: our analysis of EIA 2024 data found frequent draftiness in owner-occupied homes built before 1990 runs a 6.5 pts gap above newer ones. The first two are invisible once the insulation is in, which is why the audit report and the test-out are the homeowner's protection. The third is invisible in a sales proposal written from last year's template. If you miss any of the three, put the question in writing to every bidder.
The solar assumptions question is the one people think they know and do not. Most homeowners can name the system size on a proposal; few can say what utility rate escalation it assumes or whether the production figure came from a site survey or a satellite estimate. EnergySage's 25-year savings range of $41,000 to $155,000 exists because those assumptions vary that much. The solar page lists what to demand in writing.
After the quiz
Score eight or more and you can write a request that pros can price accurately and judge the report when it arrives. Score five to seven and read the service page for your scope first. Score under five and start with the audit page, which explains the tests and the report that every other decision depends on. The polls show how other homeowners answered similar questions about their own plans.
Whatever the score, keep the explanations. Each one is a sourced sentence you can put to a contractor, and the answers you get back, specific or vague, tell you as much about the pro as any review. A bidder who can state the blower door target, the combustion-safety plan and the rate assumption behind a savings figure is the one to shortlist.
Homeowner polls
What other planners are choosing
Have you had a professional energy assessment?
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Quiz questions, answered
Do I need to pass the quiz before requesting estimates?
No. Its purpose is to surface the questions you have not settled so they go into the request. A homeowner who writes 'please include combustion safety testing and a blower door test-out' has told the contractor how they will judge the work. Missed questions become the site visit agenda.
Why so many questions about sequence?
Because sequence is where retrofit money is lost. The same $10,000 spent on windows first and attic later delivers less than attic first and windows later, and equipment sized before the envelope is oversized. Sequence is also the thing no product salesperson will raise, so the homeowner has to.
Are the figures current?
Each explanation cites its year: HomeAdvisor and EnergySage June 2026, Angi April 2026, Pearl January 2026, Zonda September 2025, and IRS guidance reflecting the December 31, 2025 end of the federal credits. EPA and DOE savings estimates are from current program pages.
Can I take the quiz for a rental?
Yes; the facts do not change, only who pays. A renter can commission an audit with the owner's consent and hand over the prioritized list. The sequence and test questions help a renter judge whether the owner's contractor is doing the work properly.
What if I disagree with an answer?
Read the linked source and judge for yourself; every answer is grounded in a named study, program page or cost guide. Where a question involves judgment, such as material choice, the answer reflects the condition under which each option wins, which the comparison pages elaborate.
Is there a quiz for each service?
This one spans all four scopes, weighted toward audits and insulation because those decide the rest. The service pages carry the deeper material, and the comparison pages handle the two-way decisions inside each scope.
How long does it take?
About five minutes to answer and ten to read the explanations, which is where the value is. Each explanation is written to be turned into a question for a contractor, such as 'what is the blower door target after sealing' or 'which utility rate does this production estimate assume'.
More free tools
Free toolEnergy audit cost calculator: size the assessment before the retrofitSize, material tier and complexity in, a realistic budget range out.
Free toolEnergy retrofit comparisons: the five decisions inside a retrofitSide-by-side tables for the decisions that change the price most.
Free toolEnergy retrofit polls: how other homeowners weighed the same decisionsSee what other planners chose and add your vote.
Read the service guides
Service guideHome Energy AuditsA home energy audit connects comfort complaints and utility bills to the measured condition of the house through a blower door test, thermal imaging, duct leakage testing and combustion-safety checks, then delivers written, prioritized recommendations.
Service guideInsulation & Air SealingAir sealing closes the gaps that move air through the attic plane, rim joist and penetrations; insulation slows heat conduction through the assemblies around them.
Service guideWindow & Door ReplacementWindow and door replacement addresses openings with a defined problem: damage, failed seals, poor operation, drafts, single-pane glass in a cold climate, or a door that leaks and does not latch.
Service guideSolar Panel InstallationSolar panel installation covers the roof and shading assessment, equipment selection, electrical and structural permits, utility interconnection and the production and financial assumptions in the proposal.
Ready to price your home energy improvements?
Tell us the size, the condition of what is there now, and what you want to change. Home Energy Scope passes your request to independent local professionals, who reply with written, no-obligation estimates. The service is free to use.