Free, California-specific energy calculators built to actually be useful.

CA Energy Savings is an independent project that helps California homeowners make sense of home electrification: heat pumps, solar, EV charging, induction stoves, home batteries, weatherization, and the patchwork of rebates that come with them.

Why this exists

The idea started with one frustrating evening of trying to figure out whether solar made sense for a California home. The existing tools fell into two camps: oversimplified calculators that gave a number with no methodology behind it, or installer lead-capture forms dressed up as calculators, where the real point was to harvest a phone number and route it to a salesperson.

Neither was useful for actually understanding the decision.

At the same time, the underlying information needed to give a good answer is all publicly available: utility tariff sheets, the federal Inflation Reduction Act provisions, the DSIRE rebate database, California Energy Commission data, the specific terms of programs like TECH Clean California, SGIP, and the various utility-run incentive programs. The problem isn't that the data doesn't exist. It's that nobody had stitched it together into something a regular homeowner could use in five minutes.

That's the gap this project fills. One California-focused hub, multiple calculators, real underlying data, no email gate, no installer referrals.

What makes the calculators different

A few things, deliberately:

• California-specific by design. The calculators are built around California's four big investor-owned utilities (PG&E, SCE, SDG&E) plus the major publicly-owned utilities (SMUD, LADWP) and the specific rebate programs available to their customers. National calculators that average everything together miss the point. California's rates, climate zones, and incentive landscape are different.
• No email required. The calculators run entirely in your browser. You don't need to give up your contact information to see your estimate.
• No installer referrals. This site doesn't sell leads. Your data isn't routed to any contractor or salesperson. That changes the incentives. The calculators can show you when an upgrade isn't worth it, which lead-gen tools never will.
• Updated rebate data. Federal and state energy incentives shift frequently. Calculator inputs are reviewed against primary sources when programs change.

How the calculators are built

This is a one-person project, and I want to be upfront about how it came together: I used AI tools (Claude, specifically) to help build the calculators and the underlying logic. I'm not an energy professional. My background is in software and AI. What I am is a California resident who got tired of the existing options.

What that means in practice: the calculators were built by combining publicly available data (rebate amounts, utility rates, equipment costs, performance assumptions) with calculation logic written and tested with AI assistance. Every calculator was tested across multiple scenarios to verify the outputs are in the right ballpark before going live.

In 2026, "built with AI tools" isn't a disclaimer. It's how an increasing amount of software gets made. What matters is whether the output is accurate and useful. That's what the testing was for.

Where the data comes from

The calculators draw on publicly available information from these primary sources:

What this site is not

Some honest limitations, since it matters:

• These are estimates, not quotes. Actual installation costs, savings, and rebate eligibility depend on your specific home, equipment choice, contractor, and timing. Always get multiple installer quotes before making a decision.
• This isn't professional energy advice. For major decisions, talk to a licensed contractor, a California Energy Smart Homes consultant, or your utility's program advisors, all of whom are free.
• Rebate programs change. The calculators are updated when major changes happen, but funding caps, expiration dates, and program rules can shift between updates. Always confirm current details on the program's official site before counting on a rebate.
• This is not affiliated with any utility, manufacturer, installer, or government agency. It's an independent project.

How this is funded

The calculators are free to use. The site is supported by two things:

• Optional $7 buyer's guides: for each calculator, there's an optional 15-page PDF guide with checklists for getting contractor quotes, claiming rebates, and avoiding common installation mistakes. Nobody needs the guide to use the calculator.
• Advertising: display ads may appear on some pages. Ads do not influence which programs, equipment, or installers the calculators recommend.

That's the whole business model. No installer referrals, no lead sales, no data brokering.

Get in touch

Questions, corrections, suggestions, or just want to say something? Reach out at contact@caenergysavings.com. Corrections are especially welcome. If you see a rebate amount or rate that's out of date, I'd rather fix it than have someone make a decision based on bad numbers.