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The online brokerage Redfin announced Thursday that a new tool will allow users to see an estimate of the energy costs of 85 million homes sold through the company.
The new feature, which was prepared through a partnership between the brokerage and the energy software company Wattbuy, will display an estimate of the homes’ monthly electricity bills, along with the seasonal changes in pricing and how much homeowners could save in the long term by switching to solar power.
“It’s important for house hunters to understand how much it’s going to cost to live in a given home,” Redfin Chief Growth Officer Christian Taubman said in a statement. “Our research shows that many movers assume their utility costs will be similar in their new home, but that’s sometimes way off-base. By showing this information from WattBuy for every home, we’re giving homebuyers the information they need to make better decisions. We’re also letting millions of homeowners know how much they can bring down their utility costs by installing solar panels.”
Redfin will now display energy costs for both on-market and off-market homes on its website, with the experience tuned to different types of users. The new feature will highlight estimated electricity costs for buyers viewing homes for sale and the potential for savings with solar for homeowners visiting details pages on off-market properties.
The energy costs feature is part of Redfin’s effort to provide a more complete package of information about its listings. Other new features have included adding zoning and land use data, climate risk data, down payment assistance information, school ratings, public transportation availability and internet service provider availability.
“As forward-thinking businesses like Redfin realize how important energy cost reductions, rooftop solar, and sustainability solutions are to their customers, WattBuy is meeting this new need,” WattBuy CEO Naman Trivedi, said in a statement. “Our APIs make it simple for consumer-facing companies to help their customers understand current energy usage and take the steps needed to lower their energy costs and their carbon footprint. As the technology-powered real estate company, Redfin was the obvious partner to debut this new feature.”
