Is my Home Energy Efficient?

Get a Home Energy Rating & Find Out

You may live in a relatively new house. Your furnace might be an energy-efficient model. But is your home truly energy efficient? There is an easy way to find out. Have your home "rated" by an energy professional.

Home Energy Rating Systems (HERS) were created to help people evaluate energy efficiency levels of new and existing homes and identify ways to improve them. In addition, this system offers a standardized measurement for the financial community (such as mortgage companies) to use. HERS-rated homes often qualify for special mortgage rates. In addition, homeowners can now obtain loans to make HERS-related energy efficiency improvements.

In addition, the Energy Star‚ label is now being given to new homes that qualify. These newly constructed homes have the highest HERS ratings as well as the Energy Star‚ guarantee of efficiency. Not all new homes are energy efficient.

What Is a Home Energy Rating?

A HERS evaluation is like an energy audit, only more in-depth. Most HERS raters come from either the housing or energy fields and all must pass special training courses and receive certification.

Each on-site HERS evaluation examines several key home components and evaluates their energy efficiency levels:

·  Thermal envelope (the home’s structure, insulation, and air flow)

·  Window types

·  Heating, ventilating, and air conditioning systems

·  Appliances

·  Geographical location and home setting

·  Fuel types and utility rates.

By studying these elements, a HERS professional can calculate a home’s energy cost, evaluate its overall efficiency, and recommend future changes. Data from the on-site visit is fed into a computer program, evaluated, and put into report format. Typical HERS reports will:

·  Rate the house (as it is) and estimate its total energy use and costs.

·  Recommend specific cost-effective energy upgrades.

·  Provide detailed information about the costs, "payback periods" and expected lifetimes of the recommendations.

·  Re-rate the home based upon the recommendations and recalculate total energy use and costs.

Homes are rated on a scale of 0 to 500, with lower scores indicating greater efficiency. In addition, homes receive one to five star-plus ratings. These simple rating systems are easy-to-recognize by most people who read movie or restaurant reviews! If you have an existing home, the report’s findings will most likely identify ways to reduce your energy costs by hundreds of dollars ANNUALLY. If you are buying a new home, you can negotiate who pays the cost (you, the seller, the real estate agent, or the lender). Sometimes, you can "roll" this cost into your new mortgage.

What Are HERS Benefits?

There are two key benefits: lower costs and better home financing (or loan) options. The most obvious benefit if you currently own your home: you will reduce your energy costs substantially. At the same time, you will be increasing the value of your home. If you are shopping for a home, a low HERS rating is a guarantee that a home is energy efficient and will save you energy dollars. (Remember, Energy Star‚ certified homes also meet high HERS ratings.)

The second benefit involves financing (and refinancing). HERS-rated homes can qualify for "energy efficient" mortgages. Many mortgage companies recognize that owners of energy-efficient homes pay much lower energy bills. This means they can pay more in home loan costs and their home has a higher resale value. Accordingly, many mortgage lenders will help borrowers increase their buying power by providing longer-term, lower interest loans. In addition, many will let you "add" energy-related costs (such as the HERS evaluation or HERS-recommended energy efficiency improvements) to the overall loan total.

If you own an existing home, you can also qualify for "energy efficiency" loans to finance HERS-recommended improvements.

Will HERS Recommendations Really Save Me Money?

In a word, yes! If you tighten up the envelope and replace old equipment with energy efficient models that have the Energy Star‚ label, you will typically use 15% to 30% less energy (and save 15% to 30% on annual energy bills). A HERS rater can show you where to spend your money for the quickest payback.