Home Energy Checkup

New Dashboard Gives Residents Personalized Efficiency Tips

After Susanne Blackburn and her husband retired in Cleveland, Tennessee, they replaced their rickety back porch with a glassed-in Florida room.

The couple wanted some extra space for the special souvenirs they’d collected while working overseas.

Their Florida room has tall windows with wide sills to hold plants and keepsakes, and a wall-mounted heating and air conditioning unit makes the space usable in all seasons.

But Blackburn knew there was something missing.

When she recently took an energy efficiency assessment, she was not surprised by the recommendation: Add insulation.

Meanwhile, other homeowners were filling out the same assessment and getting their own personalized results.

Joel Ewing learned that sealing air leaks and drafts would be a good step for his family’s homes in Fulton, Mississippi.

And Tami Jacoby, of Chattanooga, Tennessee, found out how to apply for TVA EnergyRight’s Home Uplift program to receive a $10,000 energy efficiency overhaul at no cost.

This year, TVA EnergyRight rolled out its rebooted DIY Home Energy Assessment, a five-minute, 22-question online form that makes it easier than ever for residents of the Valley region to get guidance on how to conserve energy and lower their electric bills.

The simplified form is for homeowners, renters and owners of multiple properties.

“We are excited,” TVA EnergyRight program manager Beth Parsons said. “We made it just as inclusive as we possibly could. It is for everybody.”

TVA EnergyRight’s Beth Parsons says all energy efficiency actions make a difference, even just switching to LED lightbulbs.

Ranked Recommendations

Blackburn, Ewing and Jacoby were among thousands of Valley residents who took the new assessment during the first month it was available through TVA and its 153 local power company partners across seven states.

They immediately got access to a customized dashboard of suggested energy actions.

“All the energy actions are ranked from most important to least important,” Parsons said.

The actions include services, such as in-person home energy assessments, as well as no- and low-cost steps. For improvements that entail a financial investment, there are links to rebates, financing, TVA-approved contractors and curated energy efficient shopping.

“You can access links that take you directly to the information you need to make those improvements,” Parsons said.

The new DIY Home Energy Assessment, which replaces an earlier version, includes major improvements:

• Fewer questions – just 22, down from 61
• Information windows that clarify how to answer each question
• A display of the dollar amount of rebates and other financial incentives available
• An interactive dashboard where homeowners can track their progress
• Links to related EnergyRight programs and resources

Like the original assessment, the reboot comes with a kit of energy-saving gadgets plus a $10 home improvement gift card mailed to the home.

The simplified new DIY Home Energy Assessment includes 22 questions. The progress wheel at left tracks your progress completing the online form.

Applying for Help

For Jacoby, the assessment brought good news.

Her dashboard told her the No. 1 best step she could take was to apply for the Home Uplift program.

The lifelong energy conservation enthusiast bought a 1950s home in the fall of 2022, planning to fix it up. But a month later, her business suffered a major setback.

She had to defer much-needed repairs. Her drafty house has been cold in the winter and her electric bills have been high.

“Sometimes you’ve got to ride the waves and it’s not always easy,” Jacoby said.

The DIY Home Energy Assessment was simple to fill out, she said. She was relieved to find out help is available, and to get some guidance on how to apply.

“I feel encouraged,” Jacoby said.

TVA’s Parsons advised Valley residents with limited incomes to complete the assessment. Their dashboard will inform them whether they, like Jacoby, are eligible to apply for Home Uplift. About a third of local power companies in TVA’s service area participate in the program.

“Making it easy for them to access that application and get things going is absolutely the best thing that we can help them do,” Parsons said.

Cleveland, Tennessee, homeowner Susanne Blackburn relaxes in her light-filled Florida room.

‘Good Sense for My Family’

Mississippi’s Ewing has been focused on energy efficiency ever since he moved home to Itawamba County from Arkansas after several decades based in Arkansas for work.

Over the past 20 years, he has remodeled three 90-plus-year-old homes – for himself, his son and his parents. Each time, he invested in energy efficient doors and windows, appliances and insulation.

“It’s just good sense for my family,” Ewing said. “If I save energy, I’m saving money.”

Given how much he’s already done to conserve energy, why did Ewing even bother doing the assessment?

“I was trying to see if there was anything that I’ve missed. Or is there something that we need to revisit? Is there anything else I could be doing that would save us money down the line?”

And sure enough, Ewing’s dashboard recommended he seal up air leaks and drafts.

“My main ‘to do’ was seals at the bottom of my exterior doors,” he said. “Even though I had installed new doors in the past, door seals do wear during daily opening and closing, so some do need to be replaced.”

Asked about his advice for people who are just getting started on their energy efficiency journey, Ewing suggested using every home repair – even if it’s just changing a lightbulb – as an opportunity to ask, “What is the energy efficient choice?

“Take that little bit of time and measure and weigh your options. A little bit of thought before you go out and make that purchase could save you a lot of money,” Ewing said. “Make the best choice you can within your budget.

“You can save money whether it’s a new or old home. Like LED bulbs – it doesn’t matter if the home’s 100 years old or 1 year old.”

While replacing lightbulbs might seem insignificant, in the bigger picture, all energy efficiency actions are important, Parsons said.

TVA recently set an all-time demand record. Overall demand is expected to continue rising, she said, and the daily peaks in demand are driven by residential customers.

That means when individual residents save energy, it doesn’t just help them lower their own bills.

“Everybody is a resident of the Valley,” Parsons said. “They all have the opportunity to help keep the system reliable and resilient.”

Giving her homegrown greens and strawberries some TLC outside her Florida room, Blackburn is mindful about conserving energy.

PHOTO AT TOP OF PAGE: A new efficiency dashboard confirmed what Blackburn suspected about how to save energy in her Florida room: “Insulation is the place to start.”