Home Energy Score assessments
The U.S. Department of Energy Home Energy Score rates your home on a scale of 1 to 10 for how efficiently it uses energy. A 10 means low energy use; a 1 means the home is working hard and costing you for it. The assessment tells you exactly where your home stands — and, more importantly, what it would take to move the number.
What the Home Energy Score tells you
The report is standardized and third-party verified — which means it carries weight with lenders, real estate agents, utility programs, and buyers. Every Home Energy Score report includes:
Your current score
A 1–10 rating based on the home’s envelope, mechanical systems, and energy use.
Estimated annual energy costs
What you’re likely spending on heating, cooling, and hot water over a year.
Recommended improvements
Ranked by impact — insulation, air sealing, equipment upgrades, and more.
Projected new score & savings
Where the score could land, and what you’d save, if the recommended upgrades are completed.
Who gets a Home Energy Score — and why
Know where to invest first
Understand what your home is actually costing you and where to invest first. The report prioritizes improvements by impact, so you’re not guessing.
Objective efficiency data
A score on a listing gives buyers objective efficiency data and differentiates efficient homes. Some MLS systems now display it alongside square footage and year built.
Know before you close
An assessment on a home you’re considering tells you what the energy costs will likely be and what deferred efficiency problems exist.
Qualify for utility & weatherization funding
Many Iowa utility and weatherization programs use the Home Energy Score as a qualifying tool — sometimes a required step to access rebates or funding.
What the assessment looks like
A Home Energy Score assessment typically takes one to two hours on-site. Rob will:
Document the building envelope
Walk through the home and record insulation levels, window types, foundation type, and air-sealing characteristics.
Evaluate the mechanical systems
Assess the heating, cooling, and water-heating equipment.
Enter the data into the DOE scoring tool
The information goes into the Department of Energy’s official Home Energy Score tool.
Generate and deliver your report
You receive your official Home Energy Score report with the score, cost estimates, and prioritized recommendations.
A certified label — or a deeper diagnostic
A Home Energy Score is a standardized, DOE-issued rating — think of it as a certified label for your home’s energy performance. A full diagnostic energy audit goes further, adding blower door, combustion-safety, and duct-leakage testing plus a deeper set of recommendations. We offer both, so you can pick the right depth for your situation.
Serving Cedar Rapids and Eastern Iowa
Based in Cedar Rapids and working throughout the surrounding region. A few of the communities we serve:
A few things people ask
How much does a Home Energy Score assessment cost?
Is the Home Energy Score the same as an energy audit?
Do I need one to sell my home?
What areas do you serve?
How soon can I get an assessment scheduled?
About your assessor
Rob Novak has held DOE Home Energy Score assessor status for roughly eight years and is BPI-certified across multiple building science disciplines. He founded Home Star Iowa after 15 years in the family HVAC business — so when he walks through your home, he understands the mechanical systems and the building shell as one integrated system, not two separate departments. Every assessment is performed by Rob Novak, BPI-certified since 2009.
Ready to find out how your home scores?
Independent DOE Home Energy Score assessments across Cedar Rapids and Eastern Iowa.