ROI Calculator

Select upgrades across four categories — Construction Type, Envelope, Life Safety, and MEP — and see a real-time 25-year ROI. The calculator adjusts costs and savings by climate zone and region, cascades HVAC right-sizing offsets from envelope selections, applies IRA §25C / §179D tax credits, and flags interdependencies between upgrades.

ZIP code auto-populates zone and region. Risk flags surface applicable insurance discounts and resilience programs by location. Ownership structure filters savings between owner-occupant, investor, and commercial. Every data point links to its source.

Research tool in active development — estimates only Cost estimates use NAHB regional index. Real contractor quotes or your own unit cost data override all regional estimates. Insurance savings are documented ranges — actual carrier discounts vary. IRA tax provisions subject to legislative change — verify at irs.gov before presenting to owners. Not affiliated with RSMeans, USGBC, IBHS, Phius, ILFI, NAHB, or AIA Contract Documents. Not legal, financial, or engineering advice.

Project name

Used in exports and saved links

Project location

Zip code

IECC climate zone

Region (cost multiplier)

Electricity rate (¢/kWh)

EIA Table 5.6.A — auto-filled from zip; override with your utility bill

Building

Building type

Conditioned sqft

HVAC equipment cost ($) (improves right-sizing accuracy)

Enter actual HVAC budget for accurate right-sizing offset. Residential: $2,000–3,000/ton installed. Commercial: 15–25% of construction cost. CoolCalc Manual J →

New construction or retrofit?

Foundation type *

* Foundation guidance is informational — not yet integrated into ROI calculations. Pros, cons & cert implications →

Annual operating costs

Annual energy cost ($)

Estimated from EIA data — enter actual bill for accuracy

Annual insurance premium ($)

Estimated at ~0.6–1.0% of construction cost

Annual water/sewer cost ($)

AWWA 2023 national avg: $1,140/yr. UNC Rate Dashboard for local lookup.

Ownership structure

Determines which savings the owner actually captures. Insurance savings are always ownership-structure neutral.

Cost data source

Enter your own $/sqft for each category. Leave blank to use regional estimate.

Cat A — Construction type ($/sqft)

Cat B — Envelope ($/sqft premium)

Cat C — Sprinklers ($/sqft)

Cat D — MEP systems ($/sqft premium)

BLS PPI material trends

Sep 2025 data — 6-month trend

Planning context only — not a market forecast. FRED (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis)

Construction Type & Fire Resistance

ISO classification | insurance discount ▶

ISO uses a 6-class system (Frame=1 through Fire-Resistive=6). Insurance classification uses the weakest component — a wood roof rates the whole building as frame regardless of wall construction. Verify with your carrier before including in any owner pro forma. Federato.ai ISO CLM

Life Safety — Fire Sprinklers

NFPA 13/13R/13D | insurance neutral by ownership ▶

The most directly documented insurance discount of any Arch Datum upgrade outside FORTIFIED. IRC has required sprinklers in all new 1-and-2 family homes since 2011 — most jurisdictions have waived this. At $1.35/sqft avg (NFSA 2020), a 2,000 sqft home costs ~$2,700 to sprinkler. Insurance savings are always ownership-structure neutral — the owner pays the premium regardless of lease type. NFSA 2020 NFPA 2024

Building Envelope & Energy Performance

Insulation | windows | air sealing | Passive House ▶

Savings are climate-zone adjusted using DOE zone multipliers. Window SHGC selection is critical by zone — wrong SHGC can shift cooling load 0.5–1.5 tons (LBNL 2025). Zone 2 (MS, TX, LA): minimize SHGC on all orientations. Zone 5–6 (ME, MN): maximize south SHGC for passive solar. HVAC right-sizing offset cascades from envelope selections below. LBNL Windows Group PHN 2023

Efficient MEP Systems

HVAC | geothermal | WaterSense | smart controls ▶

No MEP upgrades have documented carrier-filed insurance discounts. Value case is operational savings + IRA tax credits. IRA §179D commercial deduction: up to $5/sqft. IRA §25C residential heat pump: 30% up to $2,000 (existing homes only). IRS §179D HVAC Calculator Hub 2025

Package ROI summary

Upgrade

Upgrade Cost

Annual savings

Payback

25-yr ROI

HVAC right-sizing: enter your upgrade selections above to calculate the first-cost offset.

Applicable IRA tax incentives verify at irs.gov →

Cumulative savings vs. net upgrade cost — 5 / 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 year

Cumulative savings Net ROI Net upgrade cost

▶ Project strategies

Construction costs: NAHB regional index. Real contractor quotes always supersede. Cost benchmark synthesized from published industry references including RSMeans Building Construction Cost Data 2025–2026 (Gordian), with regional adjustment. Energy savings: EIA 2024 rates with Springer Nature 2026 and PHN 2023 savings percentages. Insurance savings: documented carrier or state mandate data only — ranges documented, not guaranteed. HVAC: midpoint of ACCA Manual J v8 research ranges. Validate tonnage at coolcalc.com before specifying. IRA status: irs.gov — verify before presenting to owners. Substantial completion ≠ certification award date — see AIA E204.

☀ Solar + Battery Analysis PV sizing, battery storage, net metering, and 25-year ROI — click to expand

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ⓘ Square footage, electricity rate, and climate zone are shared from the project inputs above — no re-entry needed. Envelope upgrades (insulation, windows, air sealing) reduce annual kWh, which reduces system size and first cost. Model envelope upgrades first, then open this section to size your solar system against the reduced load.

Solar resource

Get site-specific peak sun hours: Go to pvwatts.nrel.gov, enter your address, and use Annual Output (kWh) ÷ System Size (kW) ÷ 365.

Daily peak sun hours (annual average)

Roof orientation / tilt factor

System efficiency / derate factor

NREL PVWatts default: 0.86. Use 0.80–0.85 for partial shade; 0.90 for premium systems.

Energy use & sizing target

Annual energy use (kWh/yr)

Estimated from EIA zone averages — enter actual utility bill kWh for accuracy

Solar offset target (%)

100% = full offset. States with no/weak net metering (MS, AL, TN): consider 80–90% — oversized systems export at near-zero credit. DSIRE net metering by state ↗

Net metering policy

Net metering status varies by state. Mississippi has NO statewide mandate. Verify with DSIRE before presenting export savings to owners.

Export credit rate (¢/kWh)

No mandate — avoided cost rate (~3–6¢/kWh) or $0.

Self-consumption rate (%)

Without battery: 60–75%. With battery: 85–95%.

Solar system cost

Cost data: Spring 2025 (NREL / EnergySage). Residential: $2.56–$3.03/W. Commercial: $1.83–$2.60/W. NREL Solar Update ↗

Cost per watt installed ($/W)

Tax credit / rebate ($)

IRA §25D residential EXPIRED 12/31/2025 — enter $0. Commercial §48 ITC: enter 30% of gross system cost. State rebates: DSIRE ↗

Battery storage (optional)

Tesla Powerwall 3: ~$15,400 installed (~$1,140/kWh) Q1 2026. IRA §25D battery credit EXPIRED 12/31/2025 for residential. SolarReviews 2025 ↗

Include battery storage?

System sizing & ROI results

Enter inputs

to calculate

System sizing

Annual savings breakdown

Investment & ROI

Cumulative savings vs. net investment — 25-year

Cumulative savings Net ROI Net investment

IRA tax incentives verify at irs.gov ↗

Key resources for accurate inputs:
NREL PVWatts — site-specific solar output and peak sun hours
DSIRE — state + utility incentives by state
EIA Table 5.6.A — current electricity rates by state
NREL Solar Industry Update — current installed cost benchmarks
NSRDB Solar Resource Maps — site-specific irradiance data

25-year projections do not account for electricity rate escalation (~3%/yr historical) — actual savings typically higher. Battery systems: plan for one replacement at ~year 12–15. Panel warranty: typically 25 years at 80–85% output. IRA §25D residential solar credit expired 12/31/2025 — verify all incentives at irs.gov before presenting to owners.