MPG for Homes—The Quest for the Best

RMI proposes a set of best practices for real estate portals to provide energy information for U.S. homes, emphasizing the need for estimated energy costs, visual comparisons, and clear methodology. The briefing argues that transparency in home energy performance increases market value and helps consumers address energy efficiency needs.

• RMI recommends that real estate portals provide energy information that includes an estimated cost of energy and an estimated total cost of homeownership to ensure the data is actionable and reflects the full financial impact.
• To be effective, energy information should be visually intuitive, featured prominently on listings, and include normalized comparisons to similar homes in the same climate, ideally via a neighborhood map.
• For energy information to be institutionalized within the mortgage industry, it should be available online and directly accessible to consumers for at least 90 percent of all homes in the U.S. market.
• Providing energy information can increase the market value of properties; a study by Elevate Energy indicates that homes disclosing this information sell faster and at higher prices.
• The market for algorithm-based energy estimates is volatile, as evidenced by the closure of real estate energy estimate services from Tendril and Enerscore following the September 2017 release of RMI's report.

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} }