George Nettles, Denver CO – Ok, an obvious play on words, but HERS, Home Energy Rating System, will become important in the years ahead in selling and marketing Denver Metro homes especially as energy prices rise! Colorado is one of the first states in the Union to get all the folks in the ‘home energy efficiency’ business – architects, builders, vendors, lenders and Realtors working together. In the Metrolist listing report of a home, starting on new listings from 3/7/2012, you will see a property description that says “Green Certifications/Features” and next to that, you will see the following:
HERS Rating: Solar PV:
Energy Star® Qualified New Home: Solar Thermal:
LEED for Homes:
NAHB/ICC – 700:
Other Green/Energy Certification:
This post will discuss the one at the left top, the “HERS Rating.” As stated by the US Dept. of Energy, “a 70 on the E-Scale, for example, indicates that a home is approximately 30% more energy efficient than a typical new home built to code. A 60 on the E-Scale would be 40% more energy efficient. The ultimate goal is to get to 0 – a Net-Zero Energy Home. The HERS Index is a scoring system established by the Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET) in which a home built to the specifications of the HERS Reference Home scores a HERS Index of 100, while a net zero energy home scores a HERS Index of 0. The lower a home’s score, the more energy efficient it is in comparison to the HERS Reference Home, saving the homeowner money.”
Each 1-point decrease in the HERS Index corresponds to a 1% reduction in energy consumption compared to the HERS Reference Home. Thus a home with a HERS Index of 85 is 15% more energy efficient than the HERS Reference Home and a home with a HERS Index of 80 is 20% more energy efficient. RESNET has pioneered this rating system, it is accepted industry wide, and by US government agencies, and unlike a Building Performance Audit or a weatherization assessment, a home energy rating is a recognized tool in the mortgage industry, enabling a homebuyer to compare homes ‘apples to apples’ so to speak. This could have an effect on your mortgage rate, due to the Loan to Value (LTV) ratio. See my post “New Metrolist Update – The Future Is Now!”
The RESNET “HERS” Chart
RESNET Builders may place the E-Scale on or near the home’s electric panel to show potential homeowners the energy performance achieved by that particular home or model. Participating builders and partner organizations can also:
•Place their logo on the E-Scale label with program or product names
•Augment the rating with estimates of annual energy cost savings – which may help homebuyers, get better mortgage terms
•Include estimates of the carbon footprint associated with the energy rating
In the past, it was only the upscale and the luxury homes in Denver that had these energy efficient features but now that the Green/Efficient Energy industry and the mortgage-lending folks in the Denver Metro area are all on the same page, many new Denver Green homes for sale will be built using RESNET’s HERS rating system!
Sources: RESNET and US Dept. of Energy.
*George Nettles is an Associate Broker with Brokers Guild Cherry Creek in Denver, CO. He is the founder of www.LuxuryHomesInDenver.com and Denver’s Luxury Home Team. He can be reached at 303-981-7282 or [email protected]
