Home Energy Score
With the current concerns about Global Warming and the rocketing costs of energy, it is imperative for every household and business to monitor and possibly save on their energy consumption. Various parameters are in place to help you know how energy efficient your building is, and the home energy score is one of the most utilized parameters when it comes to gauging the energy efficiency of structures.
The Home Energy Score refers to a rating developed by the Department of Energy and it is a third party evaluation of a home’s efficiency and other than being used to gauge efficiency of the home, it has other applications as well. For instance, it can be used by homebuyers to access mortgage incentives to allow them make efficiency upgrades once they have completed the purchase. Additionally, it can be included in the MLS description to provide more information about the property should you decide to sell the house.
Understanding the score and its importance
The home energy score is on a scale of 1 – 10, just like a car’s miles-per-gallon rating. The scale is calibrated geographically so as to conform to the home’s energy performance relative to other homes in that region.
If a home has a score of 5, it simply means that is uses the same amount of energy as the average homes in that particular area. If the score is 6 to 10, it implies that the home uses less energy than average homes in that area, hence it is more energy efficient. Finally, if the score is 1 to 4, the implication is that the home uses more energy than the average homes in that area, so it would be a good idea to conduct energy upgrades to improve the efficiency of the home.
While coming up with the scores, information about the home’s renewable energy systems such as solar electric systems are not included. If the home is already running on such systems, such information should be availed to the property inspectors for other purposes, but not for assessing the Home Energy Score.
Importance of the Home Energy Scores
As noted earlier, the Home Energy Score can be useful in a number of ways. The first application would be to give information about the energy efficiency of the home to potential buyers so that they know what to expect when they gain ownership of the house.
Secondly, the information can be used to access incentives for upgrading the house. Some of the upgrades, which will usually be recommended in the HES report, can be vital for mortgage qualification incentives like the FHA Energy Efficient Mortgage, as well as the Fannie Mae style energy loans.
At Florida Inspections Unlimited, we can help you accurately determine the Home Energy Score of your property. Over the past few decades, we have been working with realtors, lenders, homeowners, homebuyers as well as insurance companies in assessing the HES and producing accurate reports which can be used to identify opportunities to improve the property’s energy efficiency and performance.
Call us today at 305-910-1171 if you would like to know your HES score so you can make the necessary adjustments to make your home more efficient.