The Residential Energy Cost Estimator

NREL's calculator determines annual residential energy use for your Rural Energy for America Program application.

This calculator can be used to estimate the energy use of a residential property. If you have a residence colocated with a business, you can deduct the calculator’s estimated energy of the residence from your total energy usage to separate the larger energy use of the colocated rural small business or agricultural producer. This approach is especially relevant for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) applicants. This calculator uses historical weather and energy use data for homes in your area but does not incorporate specific energy consumption information for your home.

Input

To calculate the energy use of the residence, you will need to include the:

  • Five-digit zip code for the residence
  • Total conditioned floor area (in square feet) that makes up the residence, including multiple floors if appropriate
  • Year the house was built or had a major renovation that significantly changed the exterior envelope of the house, such as new insulation, siding or a replacement of the roof
  • Fuel used to heat the house (from the provided options)
  • Type of system, if any, used to cool the house (from the provided options)
  • Type of foundation for the home (from the provided options).

Information you provide is not retained by the calculator.

Calculate

Thank you for using the Residential Energy Cost Estimator. All values are estimated. This calculator is brought to you by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in support of the USDA REAP through funding from the U.S. Department of Energy, Building Technologies Office, Better Building Solutions Center, and Wind Energy Technology Office.

5-digit zip code for the house
Total conditioned floor area (ft²)
Year the house was built or had a major renovation
Heating Fuel
Fuel used for heating the house
Cooling Type
Type of cooling system
Foundation
Type of foundation for the house

If you believe this simplified assessment does not accurately capture your residential energy use, the results from other energy calculators or a full home energy audit (see the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Solutions Center) may be used with your USDA REAP application.

Review

For your USDA REAP application, subtract the annual residential energy use by type provided by the calculator from the annual energy use provided on your utility or energy service provider bills.

For your REAP application, at least 12 months of full, continuous utility or energy bills, estimator inputs, and the estimator results are required.

The calculator output is in MBTU per year, so you may need to convert the calculator output into units that align with your utility bills. Refer to the following units and their conversions:

  • Annual Electricity Consumption (kilowatt-hours, kWh): 1 MBTU is 293.0832 kWh
  • Annual Natural Gas Consumption (Therm): 1 MBTU of NG is 10 Therms
  • Annual Natural Gas Consumption (cubic feet, cf): 1 MBTU of NG is 962.4639 cf
  • Annual Natural Gas Consumption (gallons, gal): 1 MBTU of NG is 7.5982 gal
  • Annual Propane Consumption (gallons, gal): 1 MBTU of Propane is 10.9347 gal
  • Annual Fuel Oil Consumption (gal #2 fuel oil): 1 MBTU of #2 fuel oil is 7.2202 gal.

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