Editorial policy

Our purpose

We publish educational guides that help US homeowners and renters lower their home energy costs and find the incentives and assistance they qualify for. Our readers are making decisions about money and safety, so we hold our content to a high standard of accuracy and fairness.

Who writes and reviews our content

Guides are researched, written and reviewed by the Home Energy Guide Hub Editorial Team. Every guide gets a second review before publication, in which a different team member checks each factual claim against the cited source. We do not invent authors, credentials, quotes, reviews or testimonials. If we add named writers or expert reviewers, they will have author pages listing their real qualifications.

Choosing topics

We choose topics based on what readers need to decide well: questions people search for, changes in law and program rules, and confusion we see in public information. We do not choose topics because a company asked or paid us.

Sourcing standards

• We prefer primary sources: federal agencies (DOE, EPA/ENERGY STAR, IRS, EIA, HHS), national laboratories, standards and testing bodies, state energy offices, utility regulators and official program pages.
• Statistics are stated with their source and date. If we cannot verify a number, we leave it out or present it as a range with a clear caveat.
• We do not cite contractor, manufacturer or retailer marketing as a source of fact.
• Every guide ends with a numbered list of sources and the date each was checked.

Independence and money

• No company can pay to be included, ranked or reviewed.
• We do not currently run ads or use affiliate links. If we ever do, paid links will be labeled where they appear, the advertising disclosure will list them, and the editorial team will not know or consider commission rates when writing.
• We do not accept gifts, free equipment or sponsored trips.

Use of AI tools

We may use software, including AI tools, to help with research organization, drafting outlines, checking readability and generating illustrative images. A human on our editorial team checks every published fact against the cited source and approves every page. Images in our guides are illustrations, not photos of real customers or staff, and never include third-party logos.

Keeping content current

Energy incentives change often. We re-check incentive status regularly and whenever a law, IRS notice, DOE program notice or state launch changes the picture. When we change a guide in a meaningful way, we update its “last updated” date. The date incentive status was last checked appears at the top of every page.

Corrections

If we get something wrong, we fix it promptly and, for significant errors, note the correction on our corrections page. See the corrections policy for details.

Not professional advice

Our content is educational. It is not tax, legal, financial, engineering or safety advice for your specific situation. For decisions with real consequences, confirm with the program, a tax professional or a licensed contractor. See our disclaimer.