Make Smarter Decisions About Your Money & Energy

Why SmartBenefitUSA Numbers Are Different

Most financial and energy calculators on the web use generic national averages or figures that haven't been updated since 2022. SmartBenefitUSA pulls every number directly from authoritative US government and research institutions and updates them when those sources publish new data. Our electricity rates come from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), which surveys utilities monthly across all 50 states — the same data the federal government uses for energy policy. Our solar yield figures use National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) peak sun hour measurements by state, which are the gold standard for residential solar estimation. Our Medicare figures come directly from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), reflecting 2026 premium and deductible announcements.

On the mortgage side, our rate benchmarks are drawn from Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey — the most widely cited weekly mortgage rate tracker in the United States, going back to 1971. Our insurance rate baselines use state-level average premium data from the Insurance Information Institute (III) and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). We cite the source and publication date for every figure inside each calculator. If a number is out of date, we say so.

We also don't sell your data or push you toward specific vendors. Every calculator on this site is genuinely free to use and requires no email address, no sign-up, and no account. We make money through display advertising, not affiliate commissions — so we have no financial incentive to steer your results toward a particular product or company. If the math says solar doesn't pencil out for your location, our calculator will tell you that.

The goal is straightforward: give American homeowners access to the same quality of data that financial professionals and policy researchers use, presented in plain English.