The HERS Index Explained

What is a HERS rating, and what does it mean for your new home?

  Other than their mortgage, homeowners spend more money on heating and cooling than on any other recurring monthly expense for their home. That’s why we've made lowering utility bills for our homeowners a major priority. In addition to healthier indoor air quality, Summit's Green Build Advantage increases a home's energy efficiency. Through the Green Build program, we incorporate the latest building techniques to give homebuyers a home that is rated up to 30% more efficient than other new homes and 50% more efficient than a ten-year-old home. Depending on the exact HERS score and location of the home, that's up to $1,500 in annual savings on your utility bills. To measure this efficiency, every home built with our Green Build Advantage is independently inspected and assigned a HERS Index Score by a certified RESNET Home Energy Rater. The Home Energy Rating System (HERS) Index is a nationally-recognized system for calculating a home’s energy efficiency. Here’s how it works:   At the very end of the build process, a certified rater comes out to inspect the home in order to assign it a score. The rater looks at things like

Exterior walls

Ceilings and roof

Attic and foundation

Windows and doors

Vents and ductwork

HVAC system and thermostat

Water heating system

The rater then compares the data they collect to a ‘reference home’ that is the same size and shape as the home they are inspecting to ensure that the score assigned is fair and accurate. The lower the HERS Index Score, the more energy efficient the home is. Homes with low HERS Index Scores cost less to run and have higher resale value.

    130 – The score of a typical resale home   100 – The score of a home built to the 2004 International Conservation Code (what RESNET uses to model their reference homes)   66 – The average score of a Summit home in 2014         To learn more about the HERS Index, check out the information available from ResNet here.