How Much to Charge for a Home Energy Audit
A residential energy audit typically runs $300–$600 for a standard home with a blower door test included, rising to $600–$1,000 for larger homes or a comprehensive audit with duct leakage and combustion safety testing. Standalone thermal imaging scans run $150–$400, re-tests after remediation are commonly half the original fee, and commercial electrical panel thermography is priced per panel ($25–$75) or per day ($800–$2,000).
The working rates
- Standard residential audit — $300–$600, blower door included
- Comprehensive audit — $600–$1,000, with duct and combustion testing
- Standalone thermal scan — $150–$400
- Re-test after remediation — roughly 50% of the original
- Commercial panel thermography — $25–$75 per panel, or $800–$2,000 per day
What moves the residential number
- Square footage and stories
- Age of the home — more to find, more to explain
- Number of HVAC systems — each one is another set of tests
- Crawlspace or attic access — some are a genuine ordeal
- Report depth — a summary versus a modelled, prioritized recommendation list
Collect before you send the report
The report is the product, and it’s a file. Send a payment link with the booking confirmation and release the PDF on payment. Auditors who invoice after delivery spend more time chasing $450 than they spent earning it.
Price the report tier explicitly
A photo-annotated summary and a fully modelled prioritized retrofit plan are hours apart in effort. Offer both as named tiers — most residential clients want the first, and every contractor or rebate program wants the second.
Don’t compete with the free utility audit
Many utilities offer a free walk-through with a bag of LED bulbs. You cannot win on price against free, and you don’t need to: the diagnostic testing, the imagery, and the report are a different product entirely. Say that plainly rather than discounting toward it.
Frequently asked questions
Should the blower door test be included or an add-on?
Include it in a standard audit and price a lighter walk-through tier below it. The blower door is what separates an audit from an opinion, and hiding it behind an upsell makes your base offering look like the cheaper competitor's clipboard tour.
How do I price a re-test after remediation?
About half the original fee. It's a shorter visit with no setup discovery, it's frequently required by a rebate program, and pricing it reasonably is how you stay the auditor the contractor keeps calling.
Should I charge for rebate paperwork?
Yes, as its own line. Assembling a utility program submission is an hour of real administrative work that most auditors donate — clients pay it without complaint, because the alternative is doing it themselves.
Is commercial thermography worth pursuing?
It's often the better business. Electrical panel scans are annual, driven by insurance and preventive maintenance rather than a homeowner's discretionary budget, and priced per panel or per day on net terms.