Our Journey

Home Energy Decisions (HEO Hub) exists for one reason: it’s hard to make confident upgrade decisions when the advice you find online is either sales copy or a wall of technical details. We build guides and tools that help homeowners cut bills, improve comfort, and plan upgrades in the right order—with assumptions stated plainly.

Our Founding Story

HEO Hub started as a set of practical notes and “what to do first” checklists shared among friends and neighbors—especially people dealing with the same problems: cold rooms, high winter bills, noisy HVAC, and confusing quotes that made every option sound urgent.

The pattern was consistent. People were willing to invest, but they didn’t have a decision framework. Should you air seal before insulating? Replace a furnace before fixing duct leaks? Go solar now or after electrifying? We built Home Energy Decisions to make those trade-offs legible, not overwhelming.

Building a Home Upgrade Planning Hub

From those early checklists, HEO Hub evolved into a multi-part resource centered on practical sequencing and realistic numbers. Today we focus on turning “I don’t know where to start” into a short plan that fits your climate, budget, and timeline.

We build and maintain:

Plain-language guides for insulation, air sealing, HVAC, water heating, and electrification basics.
Calculators and planning tools that make assumptions visible (not hidden behind a “magic number”).
Checklists for comparing contractor bids and spotting common red flags.
Upgrade sequencing frameworks (now/next/later) so you don’t pay twice for the same problem.
Short explainers that translate jargon into decisions you can act on.

Our goal is not to tell every homeowner to buy the same thing. It’s to help you choose the next best step for your home—and understand why.

Driving Clarity Through Data

What sets HEO Hub apart is our bias toward transparency. Where many sites chase hype, we focus on the underlying drivers of comfort and cost: building envelope, mechanical system fit, and your local climate and rates.

Our guides and tools emphasize:

Sequencing: air and insulation before resizing equipment, and envelope checks before big replacements.
Climate context: a great upgrade in Minnesota can be a mediocre one in Phoenix, and vice versa.
Comfort outcomes: temperature swings, humidity, noise, and drafts—not just “energy savings.”
Real constraints: ductwork condition, panel capacity, ventilation needs, and installation realities.
Clear assumptions: what numbers we’re using, why they matter, and how to adjust them.

Helping Homeowners Make Better Decisions

We’re building Home Energy Decisions for the moment you’re staring at a quote and wondering if you’re about to make an expensive mistake. If our content saves you from one bad sequence—or gives you the confidence to ask better questions—it’s doing its job.

We aim to help readers:

Reduce overwhelm with a simple “start here” path.
Prioritize comfort fixes that also lower bills.
Compare bids with consistent terms and expectations.
Plan electrification without surprises (especially around ducts and electrical panels).
Understand trade-offs before spending money, not after.

If you’d like to see who writes and reviews our guidance, visit our Authors page.

Directors & Contacts

Erin Kessler

Founder & Editor-in-Chief
Erin leads the editorial direction of HEO Hub and sets the “plain language + clear assumptions” standard. She focuses on sequencing, payback reality checks, and helping readers turn research into a plan.

Marcus Delaney

Building Science & Retrofit Advisor
Marcus reviews envelope and retrofit content for field practicality, safety, and the real-world gotchas that show up in older housing stock. He keeps recommendations grounded in what actually works in real homes.

Sofia Nguyen

HVAC & Electrification Writer
Sofia covers heating and cooling decisions—especially heat pumps—with an emphasis on sizing, ducting, and installation quality. She helps readers understand what to ask for and how to spot red flags in quotes.

For corrections, questions, or partnership inquiries, reach us at hello@homeenergydecisions.com.

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