Home energy ratings provide a standard measurement
of a home's energy efficiency. Ratings are used for both and new and existing homes. In new homes rating often verify energy
performance for the ENERGY STAR homes program, energy efficient mortgages, and energy code compliance. Homeowners who want
to upgrade the home's energy efficiency can use the energy rating to evaluate and pinpoint specific, cost-effective improvements.
For existing homes, homeowners can receive a report listing cost-effective options for improving the home's energy rating.
An energy rating allows a homebuyer to easily compare the energy performance of the homes being considered.
There are two types of ratings:
- Projected ratings - Ratings
performed prior to the construction of a home or prior to the installation of energy improvements to an existing home.
- Confirmed ratings - Ratings completed using data
gathered from an on-site inspection, which could include performance testing of the home.
Confirmed ratings involve an on-site inspection of a home by a residential
energy efficiency professional, a home energy rater. Home energy raters are trained and certified by a RESNET accredited home
energy rater training provider.
The home energy rater
reviews the home to identify its energy characteristics, such as insulation levels, window efficiency, wall-to-window ratios,
the heating and cooling system efficiency, the solar orientation of the home, and the water heating system. Performance testing,
such as a blower door test for air leakage and duct leakage, is usually part of the rating.
The data gathered by the home energy rater is entered into a RESNET accredited computer program and translated
into rating score. The home receives a score between 1 and 100, depending on its relative efficiency. An estimate of the home's
energy costs is also provided in the report. The home's energy rating is then equated to a Star rating ranging from one star
for a very inefficient home to five stars for a highly efficient home.
Unlike an energy audit or a weatherization assessment, a home energy rating is a recognized
tool in the mortgage industry. Home energy ratings can be used in a variety of ways in the housing industry. The star and
the rating score provide an easily understandable means to compare more efficient homes by their relative energy efficiency,
since a rating quantifies the energy performance of a home.
Energy Mortgages
An energy mortgage is a mortgage that credits a home's energy efficiency in the home loan. For an energy efficient
home, for example, it could mean giving the home buyer the ability to buy a higher quality home because of the lower monthly
costs of heating and cooling the home. For homes in which the energy efficiency can be improved, this concept allows the money
saved in monthly utility bills to finance energy improvements.
There
are two types of energy mortgages:
- Energy
Improvement Mortgage - Finances the energy upgrades of an existing home in the mortgage loan using monthly energy
savings
- Energy Efficient Mortgage
- Uses the energy savings from a new energy efficient home to increase the home buying power of consumers and capitalizes
the energy savings in the appraisal
fit into categories that contribute to the home's Energy Rating. The rating is a number on a scale from 1 to 100, with
1 being a home that has no net power consumption off the grid and 100 being a new home that conforms to the 2004 International
Energy Code. A new home with a HERS rating of 85 or better could qualify for the Energy Star designation. The
Home Energy Rating procedure can let you know how well your house measures against a nationwide standard of efficiency and
how well it "performs" ( homes should be designed to "work" when placed under loads, i.e. ventilation,
heating, cooling, etc.). 