Cut home energy use with AI

What does this setup do?

Find where your home wastes energy with AI: feed it your bills and house facts, get a prioritized fix list starting with the cheapest wins.

Who is it for?

Homeowners with a painful utility bill who want to know what to fix first instead of guessing.

How do you set it up?

Tools

• ChatGPT or Claude (free tier is fine)
• Three to six months of utility bills (totals and usage, not account numbers)
• Basic house facts: age, size, heat type, water heater type

Steps

1. Gather the bills. Three to six months of totals and usage history is enough; the AI needs the pattern, not your account numbers.
2. List the house facts: approximate age, square footage, heating system type and age, water heater type and temperature setting, thermostat type.
3. Ask for the energy ranking first: where is the energy most likely going, in order. The Department of Energy notes heating can be almost half of a winter bill and water heating 14 to 25 percent of a home’s energy.
4. Get the fix list ordered by cost, cheapest first. The DOE’s monthly checklist starts with: collect the bills and target the biggest consumer, insulate hot-water pipes and ducts in unheated areas, seal the largest air leaks, and set back a programmable thermostat at night.
5. Hunt the real leaks, not the obvious ones. Per the DOE, the worst air leaks are usually plumbing penetrations, gaps around chimneys and recessed lights, and unfinished spaces behind cupboards, not windows and doors. Small cracks can add up to the equivalent of an open window.
6. Do the free wins this weekend: set the water heater to 120 degrees, set back the thermostat at night, seal the biggest gaps you can find with caulk.
7. For the bigger question, get a real audit. Professional audits use blower-door tests and infrared cameras, deliver a prioritized report, and are often free through local utility companies.

Help me find where my home wastes energy and what to fix first.

Utility bills (last 6 months, totals and kWh/therms): [paste the numbers, NOT account numbers]
House: [e.g. "1970s colonial, 1800 sq ft, oil baseboard heat from the 90s, electric water heater, no programmable thermostat"]
What I have noticed: [e.g. "upstairs bedrooms are cold, basement is freezing, bills spike December to February"]

Give me:
1. A ranked list of where my energy is most likely going, with the DOE-type percentages where they apply.
2. Fixes ordered cheapest first: what to do, roughly what it involves, which ones are DIY.
3. What NOT to bother with for my house.

Rules:
- Do not paste or ask for account numbers, names, or addresses. Bills totals only.
- Flag anything you are estimating rather than calculating.

Review the list before spending money. Big-ticket items deserve a second opinion or a professional audit.

Which chat tools work with this prompt?

Paste the prompt into any of these assistants (free or paid tiers).

• ChatGPT
• Claude

What tips make it smoother?

• The bill pattern is the diagnosis. A winter spike points at heating and air leaks; a flat high bill points at water heating or always-on loads.
• Seal before you insulate. Insulation over air leaks is like a sweater over an open window.
• Check your utility’s website for a free audit before spending anything. Many utilities offer them, and the prioritized report is worth more than generic advice.

Where do the claims come from?

Summaries use public sources linked below, not independent verification. How setups are picked.

• Read U.S. Department of Energy’s write-up (www.energy.gov)

  U.S. Department of Energy: Where household energy goes, the monthly DIY checklist, and the real worst air-leak locations.

• Read This Old House’s write-up (www.thisoldhouse.com)

  This Old House: Audit types, professional diagnostic tools, common loss areas, and typical recommended fixes.