Redfin Adds Energy Cost Estimates for Homes It Lists

Redfin announced that it was partnering with energy software vendor WattBuy to add estimated energy usage data to house displays, according to a press release. Consumers “can now use Redfin to better understand the costs of living in a home, including utility bills that can be tricky to predict but meaningfully contribute to a homeowner’s total monthly costs.”

Tying energy and environmental considerations into property data is becoming more common. LightBox is working with First Street Foundation to incorporate climate risk information in the former’s products. CoreLogic has its climate risk analytics, Cervest has a climate risk rating system for physical properties, and AiDash has a carbon measurement tool for corporate land holdings. And then there is the myriad of software and hardware products to monitor and manage energy use in commercial buildings.

But there doesn’t appear to have been anything that even goes down that road a bit for consumers looking at houses. Frankly, most people aren’t going to look at an abode as a combination of carbon costs that need summation. But energy use is a reasonably proxy for a significant portion of carbon emissions. It also happens to be a cost people might want to consider when buying a home.

“Each eligible Redfin home detail page now displays an estimate for the home’s monthly electricity usage, bill, and seasonal changes in electricity usage and cost,” the release said. “It also estimates how much homeowners could save on long-term energy costs by installing solar panels. The feature is located directly below Redfin’s existing payment calculator, allowing buyers to better understand and compare financial costs between homes and helping homeowners discover whether investing in solar energy systems could result in long-term savings.”

There are obvious limitations. One family’s or person’s energy use is not necessarily like another’s. More people in a building potentially means more energy consumption. Electricity, while important, won’t catch the cost of natural gas or oil to heat water or a house.

However, it’s a smart move, both from a marketing view and practically. Being able to deliver an estimate of what the energy costs might be in a different building, neighborhood than what could be seen on other sites. That leads to the marketing value, as more people should be drawn to the site.

Over the last year, Redfin has added zoning, available Internet service providers, and property-level data for fire, heat, drought, and storm risk.