CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., June 2026 – State energy offices, municipalities, and utilities invest billions of taxpayer and ratepayer dollars each year through efficiency rebates, weatherization, electrification, and the federal Home Energy Rebate programs. But once the work is done, evidence of the upgrade is buried in rebate files, and program records the housing market never sees. When the home is later sold, appraised, or refinanced, that value is invisible.
Starting today, Pearl solves this problem for these programs at no cost. Every improvement can be independently verified and recorded in the home’s profile in Pearl’s national registry – reflected in its Pearl SCORE™ and preserved as a permanent record that stays with the home through every sale. State energy offices, municipalities, and utilities no longer pay for this service.
Pearl has provided public programs with certification services since 2019, most recently to state energy offices in connection with the Home Efficiency Rebates (HER) Program, which requires third-party certification to ensure publicly funded upgrades are completed and documented. Pearl now provides that certification at no cost for this and other public programs.
For the homeowners in those programs, the benefit goes further: free access to Pearl’s homeowner tools to track their home’s performance over time, document new improvements, and keep the record on hand when the market looks for it – at resale, refinancing, and appraisal.
In recent months, Pearl’s revenue model has shifted from charging fees for home certification to charging for products that serve the home transaction – for buyers, sellers, and their agents. Pearl has already dropped those fees for homeowners and, with this announcement, extends the same terms to public programs.
“Our $50 trillion housing market has a blind spot,” said Cynthia Adams, CEO of Pearl. “Give someone a car’s VIN, and they can tell you its engine, its fuel type, and its mileage. Give them a home’s address, and they can tell you little more than its size and age. We built Pearl’s registry to give every home the kind of durable record cars have always had, and making it free for public programs puts it in the hands of the agencies and homeowners who stand to benefit most.”
Pearl builds on the standards and data the industry already trusts. For example, Pearl’s energy model uses the physics engine behind the U.S. Department of Energy’s Home Energy Score. Other organizations that Pearl collaborates with include NASEO (the National Association of State Energy Officials), the National Association of REALTORS, and the Appraisal Institute.
“It’s a deliberate strategy,” said Robin LeBaron, Co-founder and head of Standards and Research. “We’re building on trusted industry standards. That’s what makes a Pearl SCORE™ hold up with appraisers, lenders, and state programs. The building science isn’t ours alone. What’s new is how we put building science into tools every home in the country can use.”
About Pearl
Founded in 2013, Pearl is a ratings and standards company building the national standard for home performance. Pearl SCORE™ rates every single-family home in the U.S. across five key pillars – Safety, Comfort, Operations, Resilience, and Energy, so home buyers, homeowners, and real estate professionals can understand how a home performs in daily life. As a Certified B Corporation, we’re accountable not only to our shareholders, but also to the homeowners and communities we serve. For more information, visit pearlscore.com.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Bill Atkinson
[email protected]
443-797-4150
Disclosure: Individuals or companies mentioned may have a commercial relationship with KeyCrew.
