A blower door is used to see how leaky a home is by depressurizing it. Image courtesy of Jim Gunshinan.

In a recent blog post, I wrote about what it takes to become certified as a Building Analyst through the Building Performance Institute (BPI) (“Am I certifiable?”). A BPI certification or becoming a certified HERS (home energy rating system) rater through the Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET) are the most recognized ways to enter the home performance marketplace.

But in several blogs I read on a regular basis and in conversations with building analysts and HERS raters, I’ve found a lot of frustration, even anger, at the slow pace of the economic recovery. Here’s a typical response: “I bought the tools and put time and money into training, but where are the jobs? ” Being certified as a Building Analyst will no doubt make me a better writer and editor. But for thousands of men and women, being certified and finding work in the home performance field is a matter of economic survival.

The problem right now is financing. Who has the money to spend on a home energy upgrade nowadays? The costs can run anywhere from about $2,000 to over $10,000. Municipal governments all over the country are experimenting with financing mechanisms for home energy retrofits—the city pays for the retrofits and recovers its costs through an increase in property taxes, for example. The city of Babylon, New York, charges building owners a tax on carbon emissions, and uses this as seed money to do retrofits. But all these efforts so far have not brought about the expected increase in “green jobs”.

This may soon change. Heard of the “Cash for Caulkers” program? This is the nickname for HOME STAR, a program to provide incentives for homeowners to upgrade their homes to be more energy efficient, healthy, and affordable to live in. The program was born in the minds of private sector advisors, including the Silicon Valley venture capitalist John Doerr; members of Efficiency First, a national advocacy group started in the Bay Area; and others. On November 2, the group presented its ideas at a meeting of the Presidents Economic Recovery Advisory Board. Word on the street is that the plan has the support of the President.

The HOME STAR program would reimburse homeowners for a list of qualified home energy retrofits such as air sealing, insulation, and new, energy efficient lights and appliances. Homeowners would get up to $2,000 for making two upgrades, and up to $3,500 for four upgrades. Homeowners who decrease their energy use by more than 20% would get more money. The government would cover up to half of the costs of a project, and homes would be audited at random to ensure quality work and real energy savings.

So what would taxpayers get for an expected investment of $23 billion over two years? The projected outcome of the program is 500,000 well paying jobs in the depressed construction industry; close to 6-million homes retrofit; billions of dollars in energy savings over the life of the retrofit measures; power plants that don’t have to be built; and according to the consulting firm McKinsey & Company, the equivalent in green house gas emissions reduction of taking half the cars in the country off the road.

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Blower door equipment is used to measure a home's
air leaks. A blower door test is part of the evaluation for
determining a home's HERS Index.
Photo by: D&R International

Remember the day when most men knew the horsepower of their muscle cars? Now most of us are concerned about miles per gallon. But what can we use to bring prestige to our houses? It used to be that a large square footage gave us bragging rights. But if all goes according to the plan of the Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET), the talk around the water cooler will be "What's your house's HERS score?"

Home energy ratings have been around since 1981. The idea began in the mortgage industry to credit the energy efficiency of homes towards the home mortgage. An energy efficient home means that the homeowner is spending less each month on electricity and natural gas and therefore has more to spend on the mortgage. RESNET has been developing the Home Energy Rating System (HERS) since 1981. In the beginning, it was the higher the HERS score the better. But because of the more widespread introduction of renewable energy systems, such as photovoltaics (PV) and solar hot water systems, into homes, and the ability of many houses today to produce as much electricity and/or hot water as they need over the course of a year-these are called net zero-energy houses-a HERS Index of "0" is the goal. A HERS score of 85 means that a new home meets Energy Star standards. A HERS score of 150 means you're living with an Energy Hog. The typical existing home in the United States has a HERS Index of 130.

HERS raters look at a home's heating and cooling efficiency, insulation levels, appliance and lighting energy use, window efficiency, a home's solar orientation, and other factors that are tailored to the home's climate region, and use computer software to calculate a HERS index.

Some readers my be asking, "Why should I care?" You should care because the HERS score is becoming the standard du jour for homebuilders. If you want a bigger, energy efficiency mortgage, you'll need a HERS rater to measure the efficiency of the home you want to buy and to tell you what retrofits you need to do to qualify. If you are a builder and want to catch the "green wave" by earning an Energy Star rating for the new homes you are selling, you've got to get those homes rated by a certified HERS rater.

Many states have Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standards and Energy Efficiency Credit trading, and many more will in the future as we move towards national standards for meeting greenhouse gas emissions goals. The HERS Index is in place to serve the need for a third-party verifier of energy efficiency improvements.

Want energy efficiency tax credits for your new home? Better find a RESNET-certified rater. Moving to Canada? The Canadian RESNET, or CRESNET, is in the process of accepting the U.S. standards. I don't know the HERS Index of my home, but we did recently have some air sealing and insulation work done-but not quite to Energy Star standards. My guess is we'd score about 100. What's your HERS score?

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