My Plan: your home upgrade roadmap
Answer three quick questions. Get a now / next / later roadmap shaped by your climate, your heating, and what you actually care about.
1What's your climate like?
2How do you heat today?
3What matters most? (pick any)
Fine-tune the plan (optional)
Budget for the next stretch
Your pace
Your plan
Stop drafts and temperature swings before spending on bigger gear.
Steady: envelope + a system move
Now · 0–6 months
- Book an energy audit or blower-door test if you have not had one.
- Weatherstrip doors, attic hatches, and seal obvious gaps around pipes and vents.
- Target attic air sealing to cut stack-effect drafts this winter.
- Add or top up attic insulation to your climate R-level; fix the air sealing first.
Next · 6–24 months
- Set your panel up for a future heat pump—dedicated circuit, disconnect, and space in the panel.
- Upgrade to a heat pump water heater if your space and electric service allow; otherwise high-efficiency gas.
Later · 2–4 years
- Replace the furnace with a cold-climate heat pump or hybrid setup in 2–4 years.
- Revisit solar once usage drops and you know the heat pump sizing.
Keep this specific issue in scope: Drafty upstairs and an aging furnace Your inputs are saved only in this browser. Print or copy the plan for your records. Adjust timing if incentives or equipment failures change the order.
How My Plan works
The plan follows one rule the whole site is built on: envelope first, equipment second, extras last — then bends the order around your answers. Comfort complaints pull sealing work forward, aging equipment pulls replacements forward, and your budget lane decides how much stacks into each phase. Every step shows its reasoning, so you can overrule it where your house is the exception.
Everything runs in your browser and nothing is stored on our servers. To put numbers on individual steps, use the Bill Breakdown estimator to find your biggest cost, the upgrade timing planner for payback windows, and the attic insulation calculator to price the usual first project. New to all of it? Begin with the Start Here guide.
Planning questions, answered
Where do I start with home energy upgrades?
Start with an energy audit or at least a hard look at your bills, then work the envelope: air sealing and attic insulation come before any equipment. A tighter house is more comfortable immediately and lets the next furnace, AC, or heat pump be smaller and cheaper. Equipment gets replaced as it ages out; solar comes last, sized to the smaller load.
How much should I budget for energy upgrades?
It depends on the lane. Under about $2,500 buys real progress — air sealing, weatherstripping, a thermostat schedule, and an audit. Between $2,500 and $8,000 covers envelope work plus one system move, like a heat pump water heater. Above that, you can bundle envelope, a heat pump, and future-proofing like panel work in a staged sequence.
Why do envelope upgrades come before a new heat pump?
Because equipment is sized to the house it serves. Insulating and air sealing first can shrink the required system by a ton or more of capacity, which cuts the equipment price, improves comfort, and helps a heat pump hold the house on the coldest nights. Buying the big system first locks in a bigger, more expensive unit than the improved house needs.
Is my plan saved anywhere?
Only in your own browser. Nothing you enter is uploaded or stored on our servers — copy or print the plan if you want a record, and revisit the page any time to adjust it as prices, incentives, or your equipment's condition change.