Energy Smart Home Advantage

Our Energy Smart Home can stand on its own or be a compliment to Energy Star or other high performance building programs. Using the HERS index as its basis, the program provides home builders and buyers an easily understandable means to compare the performance features and relative energy efficiency of different homes.

The benefit of using the Energy Smart Home Program as a foundation is that it provides a detailed decision-making tool based upon the HERS index and summarizes performance features and energy efficiency down to something every home buyer and builder understands.

Other Energy Efficiency Programs

ENERGY STAR

More than 5,000 homebuilders have partnered with the EPA to build over 2 million ENERGY STAR homes by 2010. For many builders, making the necessary changes to meet ENERGY STAR standards is usually a low or no cost process. RESNET certified HERS Raters do more than just provide the required third party verification. They closely work with you and your subs to implement the ENERGY STAR certification process; getting you on your way to meet growing consumer demand for high quality, energy efficient homes.

ENERGY STAR has provided the key to the future. Customers surveyed stated that ENERGY STAR was important in their selection of a homebuilder. While custom home sales decreased in the market, ENERGY STAR’s market share increased. Sales and profit also increased. Subcontractors send their best crews because they know their work will be inspected.

NAHB Green Certification

Through the National Green Building Program, the National Association of Home Builders is helping its members move the practice of green building into the mainstream. Energy efficiency, water and resource conservation, sustainable or recycled products, and indoor air quality are increasingly incorporated into the everyday process of home building and are consistent with our sensible and cost effective approach to building science.

The National Green Building Program offers several resources and tools to help builders, re-modelers, home building associations, and homeowners learn how to build green, and the benefits of doing so. Specific program components can be viewed on their web page where you will find an on-line scoring tool and a wealth of educational tools and resources for home builders and home buyers.

LEED for Homes

Like NAHB Green certification, LEED for Homes is a rating system that promotes the design and construction of high-performance green homes. LEED for Homes is designed to provide national consistency in defining the features of a green home and represents a consensus standard for green home building developed and refined by a diverse group of national experts and experienced green builders.

Due to the intensive nature of the LEED For Homes certification process, it may or may not be the ideal certification for a particular new home. It is intended to be the “gold standard” of green certifications,and because of this, can be more expensive than other certifications like ENERGY STAR and NAHB green certification.