The Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET) announced that over 2 million U.S. homes have now been rated by its Home Energy Rating System, or HERS Index Score.
The HERS Index is a measure of a home’s energy efficiency, similar to a miles per gallon calculation for cars. The energy rating standards, recognized by the DOE, EPA, and IRS, can provide homeowners and prospective buyers a breakdown of energy features as well as a reference point when comparing homes. The HERS Index also estimates the expected cost of utility bills.
Last year, more than 206,000 homes received HERS Index Scores. This is the equivalent of a 905,000-ton carbon dioxide reduction, the company says, accounting for $268 million in average annual energy bill savings.
“We spent almost a decade developing the infrastructure and working with building industry to establish the HERS Index,” says RESNET executive director Steve Baden. “What started with just a few hundred homes rated per year, has now grown to over two million HERS rated homes nationwide.”
The number of HERS-rated homes has doubled over the last five years, since RESNET hit its millionth-home milestone in 2012.
