Energy Star

Today is the first day of a construction blog for all of my past clients as well as prospective clients into the future.  Any input is appreciated and will be taken to heart, so feel free to address anything you feel is relevant to discuss. 

In today’s blog, I thought it would be easiest to start with the mission my company has sought out to adhere to.  “Green” building has taken such a dominant role in my industry, yet so many people have a tendency to forget the meaning behind it.  One of the core concepts behind “Green” building is to use less of our resources to achieve a goal that allows us to conserve valuable energy in the future.  One of the largest road blocks for my clients is to incorporate “Green” building into the home yet keep costs to a reasonable level.  One way to measure the effects a home is built against the “Green” building revolution is to conduct on site energy audits.  For the past 2 years, I have worked with a firm to do just that as well as taken numerous courses to further understand the implications of doing so.  The energy audit tests are paid for largely by the local natural gas companies and it allows them to understand what is working in the field as well. 

The actual audit consists of many factors and I’m happy to go into depth on each area to show how each can affect the outcome in future blogs.  The overall report consists of the Address and Builder of the home, the actual Energy Star Rating, the Tax Credit Status, the HERS Index, the Home Performance Testing Results, and the information on the Mechanical Equipment. 

The Energy Star Rating lists the pass/fails and is a good overall impression on how well the home was built in accordance to the requirements.  It lists whether or not the home meets the requirements, the HERS index which I will explain below, and pass/fail of the air duct leakage.

The Tax Credit Status gives the percentage over what the 2004 IECC requires.  Homes with a score of 60 would often have a rating 55% better than the 2004 IECC requirement.  Homes over 50% may be eligible for the 2005 EPACT Federal Tax Credit.  As a builder, there are advantages of meeting these requirements.  Although I pay more for a home to meet all of these, I am typically able to receive tax credits from the Federal Government by doing so.  This is on a per home basis.  We all win with this concept of building greener! 

  

The HERS Index scale I referred to above is a linear metric where every percentage point that a building’s energy use is reduced represents a decrease point reduction on the index.  In simple terms, the lower the HERS score the less energy a home will use.  A new home by the United States standards typically meets a HERS score of 100.  The Energy Star rating is at a score of 85.  Most of the new homes built today are above the Energy Star rating meaning they are using too much energy to pass the requirements set by the test of being considered Energy Star worthy.  The past 2 years tests on my homes have shown an average of just fewer than 60.  Homes in 2012 are more than likely going to be required to be at the Energy Star rating of 85 and homes built in 2020 are more than likely going to need a score 65 to 70.  Meaning, the homes I build today are built 25 points on average better than an Energy Star home of 2010 and 5-10 points better than homes 2020 are required to follow.  Therefore I feel that my homes under construction today are surpassing the goals of 2020!  The best score a home can achieve is a 0.  That means a home uses no energy.  While this is possible today, the costs far out way the benefits achieved from such a low score.    

The Home Performance Testing Results offer blower door testing, air duct leakage results, and ventilation flow results.  These results are a very important part of a homes overall test result.  The homes blower door testing allows us to see where the air flow is being lost inside the walls of the home.  Proper insulation, fluffing of what seems to be minor gaps in the insulation, pre-poly where the interior walls meet exterior walls, very tight seals on all poly transitions, caulking of the bottom and top plates, and overall proper caulking of the poly is all part of what contributes to the effectiveness of this test.  Too much air leaking from ducts significantly reduces the efficiencies of the homes heating systems.  It would do me no good to install a 95.1% efficient furnace if the ducts leaked all of the air flow. 

The Mechanical Equipment is the final piece of this complex puzzle.  It is a very useful tool to see all of the manufactures names and what types of ratings they all have. 

With all that is being done in today’s “Green” movement, it is easy to see why an Energy Star audit is so vitally important.  Too many people assume by doing one or two major things (Geo-Thermal, Solar Panels, wind power, etc.) they can consider their home “Green”.  The stance I have taken is to find a way to build a home that is extremely energy conscious, yet doing so with as minimal of a cost to the end consumer.  This is the standard of Med City Builders of Rochester and not an added cost.  There is no need to spend tens of thousands of dollars on a home to consider your home part of the “Green” movement.  I have installed an array of expensive systems that in the end don’t see the payback they claimed to provide.   

Stay tuned for more information in my future blogs.  I plan on going on a step by step basis to explain how heating/cooling systems are best cared for and operated in the next blog.  As my past clients know, I spend a great deal of time explaining this in my pre-walk through, my final walk through, my 30 day beyond completion walk-through, and my 1 year beyond completion walk-through.  I felt this would be a useful tool for people to better understand on how their homes systems can be used to their benefit in lowering the ever increasing energy costs.  Thanks for your patronage!