MPG for Homes—The Quest for the Best

This briefing by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) advocates for the adoption of energy efficiency ratings for homes in the U.S., similar to MPG ratings for vehicles, to provide transparency regarding energy costs, environmental impact, and home comfort.

• RMI recommends a set of best practices for real estate portals providing energy information, which include displaying estimated energy costs and total homeownership costs, ensuring a clean and intuitive visual display, and providing normalized comparisons to similar homes based on climate.
• To ensure accuracy and consumer confidence, RMI suggests that portals disclose the methods used to determine energy costs and distinguish between on-site third-party assessments and off-site algorithm-based estimates, noting that homeowner-provided data should be clearly labeled.
• For energy information to be institutionalized within the mortgage industry, RMI states it should ideally be available for at least 90 percent of all homes in the U.S. market and accessible directly to consumers online.
• The document notes a tension in data presentation regarding size normalization; while energy use intensity (EUI) allows for apples-to-apples comparisons when size is irrelevant, size normalization can obscure true comparisons when calculating total cost or carbon impacts.
• A study by Elevate Energy indicates that providing energy information can increase the market value of a property, as homes with such information sell faster and for higher prices.

APA

RMI (2017). MPG for Homes—The Quest for the Best. https://rmi.org/resources/mpg-homes-quest-best/

Chicago

RMI. MPG for Homes—The Quest for the Best. 2017. https://rmi.org/resources/mpg-homes-quest-best/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=MPG for Homes—The Quest for the Best |date=3 October 2017 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/mpg-homes-quest-best/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2017mpg, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{MPG for Homes—The Quest for the Best}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2017}, month = oct, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/mpg-homes-quest-best/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }