THE ENERGY EXPERTS

COMFORT FIRST ENERGY CONSULTANTS

  Certified Energy Star Rating 

H.E.R.S. testing  is one method accepted by the E.P.A. Energy Star Program for the purpose of certifying a home with Energy Star. This allows a homebuyer to obtain a special  mortgage called  a Energy Efficient Mortgage that takes into account the energy savings value of the home. The HERS rating process is a third party verification of the home that ensures the performance level in terms of energy consumption of the house is above that of the minimum code standards. The buyer can then use these savings to offset the added cost of the energy improvements. Typically there is a savings of energy that is higher in $ than the amount in $ added to the monthly payment, resulting in positive cash flow for the consumer. Another great benefit to the buyer is that a Energy Star home is naturally going to be more comfortable, thus eliminating problems like hard to heat rooms, dust and indoor air quality issues, drafty spots, combustion spillage from gas vented appliances, ect. There is much more information available thru Comfort First Energy Consultants on this program. 

Certified H.E.R.S. Testing---- (Home Energy Rating System) 

HERS testing is a comprehensive analysis of the home that evaluates the construction with reference to energy efficiency of the building. Much different than a home inspection where safety and reliability are inspected, HERS inspections evaluate energy components of a structure. Often times when building a new home it is very difficult to determine what features have the greatest impact on the efficiency of the home. HERS testing looks at each home with reference to geographical location of weather , cardinal direction for sun and wind exposure, elevation of structure with reference to ground level and average frost depth. From here the structure is imputed into computer software based on exact building components and how they are all put together and perform. A standardized and recognized score is then calculated and all data is analyzed to view the most cost effective improvements with the largest return on investment  to the least. This helps buyers and builders to get the most out of their money. A blower door infiltration test is required to perform the analysis to test the air tightness of the house.

NEW CONSTRUCTION

 Blower Door Testing

A blower door test consists of a one time trip to set up the Blower Door Inflotrometer to measure the air tightness of a house. This will produce a # called natural  air change rate that is used to properly calculate heat loss and heat gain on a house and figure the proper amount of ventilation. It will also give the owner/builder about 10 minutes use of the blower door to locate leaks in the home while the test is being done. A paper report will be created based on the findings indicating the homes tightness and we'll discuss what it means. Total test time is 45 minutes or so.