Your report stays private unless you choose a next step.

Information used for a report

Home, bill, equipment, and comfort details

• ZIP, home size, approximate home age, and the monthly energy-bill amount you enter.
• HVAC type and age, heating fuel, thermostat behavior, repair history, and comfort symptoms.
• Optional bill text or a text/CSV export. Original uploaded files are processed in memory and are not retained as original files.
• Technical request information such as time, IP-derived rate-limit key, browser request data, and error logs used to protect and operate the service.

Account-like and long numeric identifiers are redacted before optional bill text is examined for a limited set of patterns. The original text and uploaded file are not stored with the report. Automated redaction cannot find every private detail, so remove names, addresses, and other information you do not want processed before submitting it.

Information used for optional choices

Alerts and professional follow-up are not part of the free report.

• For an incentive alert signup: email, optional name and ZIP, interest, consent language version, signup source, and timestamp.
• For a professional follow-up request: name, email, optional phone, ZIP, property and ownership details, project type, timeline, and consent choices.
• SMS consent is separate, optional, and only applies when a phone number is provided.

Submitting the calculator alone does not enroll you in marketing and does not authorize a contractor to contact you.

How information is used

To create the plan, protect the service, and fulfill choices you make.

• Generate, display, and temporarily store your home energy action plan.
• Explain climate context, bill signals, assumptions, limitations, and next steps.
• Send or prepare requested program alerts when that service is available.
• Save a professional-help request and prepare an email draft only after the required consent is submitted.
• Prevent abuse, troubleshoot errors, maintain records of consent, and improve the product in aggregate.

Service providers and public data

Limited processing is used to operate the product.

• Vercel hosts the application and processes web requests.
• A managed PostgreSQL provider stores durable report, signup, and request records.
• Zippopotam and Open-Meteo may receive a ZIP-derived location or coordinates to return location and weather context.
• If AI bill explanation is enabled, minimized home and climate fields plus a small set of extracted, non-identifying bill patterns may be sent to OpenAI. ZIP, email, and the original bill text or file are not included in that AI request.

ClimaCost does not sell personal information. If you separately request professional help, relevant contact and report information may be shared with a selected HVAC professional for that purpose.

Report links and retention

Access is limited and records are kept only as needed.

Report links use an opaque, signed access token and expire. They should still be treated as private: anyone with an active link may be able to view that report. Report, alert, and follow-up records are retained while needed to provide the requested service, maintain consent and operational records, resolve disputes, and meet legal obligations. Records may be deleted or de-identified when no longer needed.

Your choices

Access, correction, deletion, and opt-out requests

You can ask to access, correct, or delete personal information associated with your email, or opt out of future alert messages. ClimaCost may need to verify the request before acting and may retain limited records when required for security, consent evidence, disputes, or law. Use the Apex Blue contact page and identify the request as “ClimaCost privacy.”

Security and children

Reasonable safeguards, with honest limits

ClimaCost uses access controls, limited report tokens, rate limits, server-side secrets, and transport security. No internet service can guarantee perfect security. The product is intended for adults making household energy decisions and is not directed to children under 13.

Policy changes

The effective date will change when this policy materially changes.

Updates will be posted on this page. If a change materially affects an active alert or professional-follow-up service, additional notice may be provided where appropriate.