Home Energy Ratings and Certifications
When shopping for a new home, it is only natural to expect that any new house would be reasonably energy efficient. Unfortunately, the actual performance of new homes can vary widely. It is possible for two homes of identical size and design to use dramatically different amounts of energy. Details of construction that are mostly hidden in a finished house can have a large effect on energy performance. What’s a homebuyer to do?
Fortunately, there are options…..
WHAT WE DO
Home Energy Rx offers independent verification and testing for state and local energy code compliance, and for a number of nationally recognized, high-performance, better-than-code home certification programs. Some programs focus mostly on energy, while others deal with water efficiency, indoor air quality, materials, building durability, and other environmental factors. Developers take note—we have extensive experience providing these services for low-rise and mid-rise multi-family projects, and for large scale multi-home developments.
Our Raters and Verifiers consult with homeowners and builders to help them select the certification program that best suits their needs. We provide technical assistance and training as needed, then inspect and test to assure the homes meet program requirements, and achieve whatever level of performance may be desired.
WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU?
Many people believe that they cannot afford to purchase or build an energy efficient home. In fact, the opposite is true. The cost of home ownership is the mortgage (principle and interest), taxes, insurance PLUS utilities. Energy efficiency improvements do add small amounts to the cost of construction, but the resulting savings on utility bills usually results in a positive cash flow; that is, mortgage plus utilities is less in most cases for high performance homes.
We like to think of ourselves as your Quality Assurance Partners. Our skills and experience in building science benefit you directly, whether you are a homeowner or homebuilder. We help homeowners get the quality they are paying for, and we help builders avoid costly call-backs.
In addition to costing less to own, high performance homes tend to be more comfortable, safe and durable, with a more healthful indoor living environment. What’s not to like?
OUR SERVICES
Whether you are a homebuyer, home builder, developer, architect, realtor or mortgage lender, there is a home certification program that can benefit you and/or your business.
Below are the programs that we offer. Contact us for more information. We’re glad to help!