What is the highest cost of homeownership, outside of a mortgage loan? ENERGY! So, that’s why smart homebuyers ask for a home’s HERS Index Score to determine its energy efficiency before buying.

What is the HERS Index Score?

It’s like a MPG (miles-per-gallon) sticker for homes. The HERS, or Home Energy Rating System, was developed by RESNET (the Residential Energy Services Network) and is the industry standard and nationally recognized system for inspecting, testing, and calculating a home’s energy performance. Founded in 1995, RESNET is an independent, non-profit organization helping homeowners reduce the cost of their utility bills by making their homes more energy efficient.

Trained and Certified by RESNET, Home Energy Raters conduct inspections to verify a home’s energy efficiency and recommend improvements that can be made to increase it. The Raters are recognized by federal government agencies such as the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. mortgage industry. In order to qualify as a certified RESNET rater, home energy professionals must first complete the rigorous training and testing required and agree to abide by the RESNET Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice.

What do the numbers mean?

A home built to the 2004 International Energy Conservation Code is awarded a rating of 100 on the HERS Index. This is taken as the RESNET Reference Home. The lower a home rates, the more energy efficient it is. Therefore, a home with a rating of 70 on the HERS Index is 30% more energy efficient than the RESNET Reference Home. A rating of 130, however, is 30% less efficient than the RESNET Reference Home.

At Simms, our average HERS score was 67.1 for all of our communities in 2014. Our lowest community average was 63.6 and our highest was an even 70. This translates into major savings for all of our homeowners!

For more information on all of our Energy Smart Building Practices, please visit our Website.