Are you interested in saving money? Would you buy a new home if you could assure lower monthly costs? CK Building and Design has always been committed to providing our customers the most advanced energy efficient home. During our mission to provide our customers with money saving features, we have been yearning for a "real" gauge of how potential customers can compare homes and their energy efficiency.
A home energy rating involves an analysis of a home's construction plans and onsite inspections. Based on the home's plans, the Home Energy Rater uses an energy efficiency software package to perform an energy analysis of the home's design. This analysis yields a projected, pre-construction HERS Index.
Upon completion of the plan review, the rater will work with the builder to identify the energy efficiency improvements needed to reduce the HERS Index or to ensure the house will meet certain program guidelines such as ENERGY STAR which are separate from the HERS rating. The rater then conducts onsite inspections, typically including a blower door test (to test the leakiness of the house) and a duct test (to test the leakiness of the ducts). Results of these tests, along with inputs derived from the plan review, are used to generate the HERS Index for the home.
Unlike a Building Performance Audit or a weatherization assessment, a home energy rating is a recognized tool in the mortgage industry.
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 (based on the 2004 International Energy Conservation Code) 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. 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. CK Homes average a 50 which means our homes are 48% more efficient than a competitors standard built home. Don't believe us, we have the documents to prove it.
