Who is eligible?

Home Energy Squad visits are currently available to any resident of Minnesota with a CenterPoint Energy or Xcel Energy account. Visits are provided by CenterPoint Energy and Xcel Energy and delivered by Center for Energy and Environment (CEE) and ICF.

If you live in Hennepin County, Ramsey County, or Washington County, or if you live in Dakota County without CenterPoint Energy gas, you may schedule your HES visit here through ICF. 

Free Energy Saver visits are available to income-qualified households (<80% area median income [AMI]). Income limits are set annually by the Minnesota Department of Commerce. For the counties served by CEE, here are the income limits by household:

Income is self-reported at the time of the visit.

Edina pays the full cost of HES visits for households with an annual income less than $100,000.

Minneapolis and Robbinsdale pay the full cost of HES visits for all households while funds last.

Additional cities may provide free or low-cost visits to their residents. For more information on reduced-cost visits, please visit our website.

Even if you’ve had a utility audit performed on your home in the past, Home Energy Squad visits can still be useful to help reduce energy costs and connect with other resources. If you believe your home will benefit from additional air sealing and insulation, we’ll work to provide you with a quote for insulation work and connect you with high-quality contractors. 

Plus, if you’ve completed any energy improvements since your last utility audit — especially air sealing and/or insulation projects — we can check to make sure that your installed measures are saving you energy. However, if you had a Home Energy Squad visit and received a blower door audit at the same address, you will have to wait three years before you are eligible for another audit.

Your visit will begin 30 minutes before or after your scheduled time, depending on when your crew is available. We will call or text the phone number associated with your visit before the visit begins to give you an estimated arrival time. 

The visit will take approximately 2 to 3 hours, and you will have one to three trained experts in your home for the duration of the visit. Very rarely, additional people may join, but we’ll contact you before any more team members join your visit. 

Someone 18 or older must be present for the entire visit, but they don’t need to stay with the crew for the whole visit. If you can’t be home, a friend, family member, or neighbor can take your place.

Before your visit, please do the following: 

• Please fill out the brief pre-visit questionnaire we sent to your email.
• Clear a path for the crew to access the attic, water heater, heating system, and exterior doors. You don’t need to set up a ladder for attic access, we’ll use our own.
• Close all windows and exterior doors.
• If you have a wood-burning fireplace, close the damper and remove loose ash. If you have a gas fireplace, please leave it off before and during your visit.
• Please practice social distancing (6 feet apart) and respect the crew’s personal boundaries while they are in your home.

If we perform a blower door test on your home, we can assess your windows for leaks and heat loss, then recommend cost-effective improvements. Total window replacement is rarely a cost-effective recommendation made during an audit.

We know every house has different opportunities, which is why the Home Energy Squad doesn't offer cookie-cutter visits. Each visit will be tailored to your needs and interests, including which materials are installed. For example, if you already have certain products installed, we may skip those and choose to spend more time on diagnostics or helping you plan your next steps.

The Squad brings several ecobee and Nest smart thermostats that can be installed at the visit if they are compatible with the home’s HVAC system. Some customers will qualify for a free smart thermostat or additional utility discounts.

Xcel Energy Smart Thermostat Discounts:

• Income-qualified gas or electric customers may be able to receive a free ecobee smart thermostat.
• When you sign up for Xcel Energy's AC Rewards program, you may be eligible for a $100 rebate to reduce the cost of a smart thermostat. Depending on the thermostat model and other available rebates, this could make your thermostat free.

CenterPoint Energy Smart Thermostat Discounts:

• Customers with a natural gas heating system can receive a $50 instant rebate on both ecobee and Nest smart thermostats.

For more information on what a smart thermostat is and how they work, you can learn more on the ecobee and Nest websites.

A premium smart thermostat may also be installed for an additional cost. Ask the Squad about these options during your visit. 

The use and installation of smart thermostats is dependent on their compatibility with the home’s HVAC system. There are some cases where the Squad will not be able to provide or install a smart thermostat, nor will we be able to leave one behind for you to have someone else install. 

LED lightbulbs are available to Xcel Energy electric customers. However, we will only replace incandescent or halogen bulbs, not existing LED or compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) bulbs. 

If you owe anything for your visit, you will pay once the visit is complete before the crew leaves. We accept cash, check, or credit card. Your payment will not be added to your utility bill.

While not necessary to conduct an energy audit, an infrared (IR) camera can be a useful tool when there is at least a 20-degree temperature difference between your home’s indoor air temperature and the outdoor temperature. 

IR images are one of the many ways your auditor can identify specific areas in your home that may have insufficient insulation or air sealing, such as your exterior walls or attic. These images are typically collected while the auditor is also running the blower door test, which performs effectively at all temperatures.

Congratulations on your recent Home Energy Squad visit! During your visit, your auditor mentioned an energy advisor who can provide you with tailored guidance on future projects. If you’re ready to ask more questions or start making improvements, please contact an Energy Advisor for customized advice by emailing energyadvisor@mncee.org or calling 612-244-2484. 

Your Energy Advisor can help you achieve your home energy goals. 

They can: 

• Answer questions about recommendations and improvements
• Prioritize projects
• Connect you with trusted contractors
• Connect you with financing, rebates, tax credits, and other financial incentives