This is what is known as a “Net Zero Energy Home.” This home produces as much energy as it consumes, resulting in net zero energy consumption. This home has gone far beyond energy saving, and begun energy producing with methods such as solar power, wind power, and geothermal. These methods mean a significant up-front investment, but with no utility bills, it won’t be long before you forget all about it.
A home with a score of 10 is very difficult to achieve! It has begun to use multiple energy producing measures instead of just energy saving. This means that in addition to your non-existent energy bills, you are protected from changes in energy prices or even energy shortages. Your home uses so little energy, the power company will wonder if anyone even lives there!
This is a truly amazing score. A home with a score of 20 means that this home is beginning to employ energy producing techniques rather than just energy saving. This home is very close to being a “Net Zero Energy Home” which produces as much energy as it consumes. Many of these measures are costly, but can be worked into the plans of a new home much easier and more cost efficient than in an existing home. Energy Bills are almost non-existent at this point.
A score of 30 is outstanding! This home has extremely low energy bills and high quality construction. Many of the building materials such as shingles, stones, flooring, and carpet may be from recycled materials. This home has minimal impact on the environment and is comfortable all year.
A score of 40 is quite impressive. A home with a score of 40 is starting to invest in energy efficiency by upgrading to some more costly energy saving techniques. You might find all LED light bulbs in this home, specially certified building materials, or specialized building practices that help the environment and reduce the home’s carbon footprint. Energy bills are getting lower and lower the further down the HERS scale we go!
A score of 50 is really good, and is 50% more efficient than a standard new home. A score of 50 means that the builder is paying special attention to energy savings, and this means big savings for you on your bills. Your home is comfortable year-round and it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg to keep it that way.
A home with a score of 60 is 40% more efficient than a standard new home and a whopping 70% more efficient than a standard resale home. The average HERS score for an Eaglewood Home is between 60 and 70 and you can see from the numbers that this means significant savings on your energy bill over both resale and standard new homes. These homes have high quality construction and insulation, efficient appliances, high efficiency heating and cooling equipment; all to keep you comfortable in your home without breaking the bank.
A score of 70 means that this home is 30% more energy efficient than a standard newly constructed home, and is almost twice as efficient as a standard resale home. You can see that the savings are already substantial. Again this is a great reason to buy or build a new home with Eaglewood. Adding these energy saving features to your home is much less costly when building from the ground up. Bringing an older home to this level would be costly and inconvenient.
A home with a score of 80 goes above and beyond the industry standards. The average Energy Star rated home has a score between 80 and 90 and takes additional measures to save you money and lower impact on the environment. Eaglewood Homes takes extra measures to ensure that your home meets (and in most cases exceeds) Energy Star requirements to make sure you are saving money on each monthly utility bill./p>
A home with a score of 90 means that it is 10% more energy efficient than a standard new home and 40% more than a typical resale home. You can see that purchasing a new home starts saving you a lot of money every year on your energy bills. The lower a score is on the HERS index, the better it is for the environment and the easier it is on your wallet. Homes with a low HERS score also command a higher resale price.
A score of 100 means that this home is as efficient as a current newly constructed home. The building codes and standards of today ensure that your home is much more energy efficient, easier on the environment, and comfortable to live in than most 10+ year old homes on the resale market. Although this is standard, it is still only the minimum. Eaglewood Homes builds to much stricter environmental standards than is required.
A score of 110 means your home is only 10% less efficient than a standard new home. Even though this is close to a standard new home score, keep in mind that those are the minimum standards for new construction. Homes in this range are not as hard on the environment, but still will have much higher energy bills than a new Eaglewood home.
A score of 120 means that this home will perform slightly better than the average resale home, but still not nearly as well as a newly constructed home. This home’s energy bills will still be high, and achieving your optimum comfort level will be difficult. Your appliances probably aren’t very efficient, and will still have to work very hard to keep the home’s occupants comfortable.
A score of 130 means that this home is 30% less efficient than a standard newly constructed home; it is a typical score for a standard resale home. Most of these homes still don’t have very many energy saving features because of more relaxed building standards when the home was built. Even though it could be worse, it still has nearly DOUBLE the average score of a new Eaglewood Home. Energy savings and utility bills are a great reason to choose a new home over a resale if you are in the market to buy; it’s much cheaper in the long run because of the money you save every year.
A score of 140 is only slightly less than the worse score you can receive on the HERS index. It means that your home is 40% less efficient than a standard newly built home. This is typical of an older resale home you might find on the market. There is almost no energy saving features, the bills will still be tremendously high, and it is still difficult to achieve a comfortable temperature in the winter and summer. This home may not have quality insulation, or enough of it, and is probably not sealed well; this means drafts in the winter and hot spots in the summer.
This home is 50% LESS ENERGY EFFICIENT than a standard new home. This might be an older home with no energy saving features at all. In addition, this home will be very difficult to keep at a comfortable temperature due to its inefficient construction and insulation. This means your energy bills will be through the roof on this home. This home is also harsh on the environment, and consumes a lot of energy just to function.
