What does it mean to be ENERGY STAR® qualified?
To earn the ENERGY STAR®, a home must meet strict guidelines for energy efficiency set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), making them 20-30% more efficient than standard homes.
This can save money on energy bills (billions each year nationally), provides a more comfortable living environment with better indoor air quality, and helps protect the environment. ENERGY STAR® programs save so much energy, in fact, its equivalent to taking 30 million cars off the road each year.
Homes achieve this level of performance through a combination of energy-efficient improvements including:
- Effective Insulation Systems
- High-Performance Windows
- Tight Construction and Ducts
- Efficient Heating and Cooling Equipment
- ENERGY STAR® Qualified Lighting and Appliances
All homes in The Wellington Neighborhood are third-party inspected and HERS rated to meet the stringent ENERGY STAR® standards required for certification — resulting in lower energy consumption and reduced green house gas emissions. Our Rater works closely with the builder throughout the construction process to help determine the needed energy-saving equipment and construction techniques and conduct required on-site diagnostic testing and inspections to document that the home is eligible to earn the ENERGY STAR® label.
What does it mean to be HERS rated?
Home Energy Rating System (HERS) is a scoring system, which utilizes building plan analysis to identify any performance improvements, on-site testing blower door testing to ensure efficiency, and construction inspections to come up with a HERS score, based on an Index of 100. The term "Net Zero" home comes from an energy home that is built with a goal of scoring a HERS Index of 0. The lower a home’s HERS Index, the more energy efficient it is in comparison to the HERS Reference Home. Each 1 point decrease in the HERS Index corresponds to a 1% reduction in energy consumption.
For example, a HERS Index of 65 is 35% more energy efficient than the HERS Reference Home.
To learn more about the Features and Benefits of ENERGY STAR® homes, please visit:
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=new_homes.nh_features
For further information, please visit www.EnergyStar.gov.
