Your Daily Dose of Climate Hope: June 13, 2025
The updated Green Upgrade Calculator!
RMI has unveiled an updated version of their Green Upgrade Calculator.
Check out the RMI Green Upgrade Calculator, and/or share it with someone else who could use it!
Touch or scan the QR code below to take today’s action in the app and earn trees!
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Reasons For Hope
The leading clean energy analysts at the Rocky Mountain Institute have released a new update to their renowned free Green Upgrade Calculator. The calculator enables consumers, installers, administrators, and more to access the latest energy efficiency research in a user-friendly way, going in-depth on exactly which clean energy upgrades (everything from rooftop solar to EVs to geothermal heat pumps) will save the most money (and reduce carbon emissions the most!) for a given project in any U.S. zip code. The new upgrade allows very specific and granular project decisions to be calculated, down to the specific type of refrigerant in a heat pump. It also has an API so it can be installed and customized in other organization and business websites!
“Today, RMI released Version 2.0 of its Green Upgrade Calculator – a free, advanced tool that enables home contractors, residential energy program implementers, and policy advisors to more accurately estimate the cost, energy, and environmental benefits of clean residential technologies. This includes any combination of upgrades such as rooftop solar, battery storage, air- and ground-source heat pumps, weatherization, heat pump water heaters, induction cooktops, and electric vehicles…
Estimating the cost or carbon impact of a home upgrade often comes with the answer: “It depends.” And it truly does — on a wide range of factors. That’s why Version 2.0 of the Green Upgrade Calculator builds on Version 1.0’s 100+ optional inputs with even more ways to tailor results to specific homes and systems…
For example, if the home above was interested in a hybrid heat pump, a contractor could now compare the operating costs of using a new air handler (around $1,450) versus leaving the furnace in place (around $1,600) with a 20 degrees F switchover temperature. They could also now quantify the environmental benefits of switching from R410a to R32 refrigerant in the heat pump (around 0.3 fewer tons of CO2e per year — equivalent to avoiding the consumption of over half a barrel of oil).”
— Rocky Mountain Institute
2025 might end up being the last window for a while where U.S. electrification projects can benefit from federal tax credit support — now is the time to electrify. If you’re considering a home improvement or vehicle upgrade project, or if you know anyone else who is, or anyone who works on providing these professional services, please check out the calculator and share this useful energy transition tool!
