How efficient is your home, really?
Six questions grade your system, envelope, and bills from A to F — then rank the three improvements that would actually move your number.
How efficient is your home, really?
Six questions grade your system, envelope, and bills — then show the three improvements that would move the needle most.
How the grade is scored
Every home starts at 100. Points come off for the six factors that most reliably predict an Arizona home's operating cost: system age (desert systems run nearly double the national annual hours), SEER rating, thermostat strategy, attic insulation, duct condition, and your real summer bills. Each deduction maps to one factor, so the "top 3 improvements" list is arithmetic, not marketing — the items costing you the most points come first.
90+ is an A: protect it with maintenance. 60–74 is a C: the improvement list is worth real money. Below 45 means your home is working substantially harder — and paying substantially more — than it should, and an in-home evaluation will almost certainly pay for itself.
Efficiency questions, answered straight
- What's a good SEER rating in Arizona?
- New systems today ship at SEER2 14.3 minimum in the Southwest, with high-efficiency equipment reaching 17–24. What matters financially is the gap from your current system: moving from SEER 10 to 16 cuts cooling energy roughly a third, and in the Phoenix metro — where cooling can run over half a summer bill across a 7-month season — that gap compounds fast.
- How much cooling do leaky ducts really lose?
- Industry field studies consistently find 20–30% supply loss in unsealed duct systems, and Arizona is a worst case: our ducts typically run through 140°F attics, so every leaked cubic foot is replaced by superheated air. Duct sealing is the highest-ROI fix we find in Greater Phoenix homes — and it's fixable without touching the equipment.
- Does a smart thermostat actually save money here?
- Yes, when it's set up for Arizona utility plans. SRP and APS time-of-use plans reward pre-cooling before peak windows and drifting up during them — a schedule a smart thermostat runs automatically. The savings aren't magic, they're rate arbitrage, and they're the cheapest line item on most homes' improvement lists.
- Is the grade a substitute for an energy audit?
- No — it's a screening tool built from the six factors that most often decide an Arizona home's operating cost. A grade of C or below is a strong signal an in-home evaluation will pay for itself; the evaluation is what confirms which fix comes first and what it costs.
A better grade pays you back every month.
From duct sealing to high-SEER replacements with rebates and tax credits, we quote the fixes in writing — ranked by payback, never by pressure. Financing available.