LMG. Inc is providing Home Energy Rating services for Energy Star homes and home improvement projects. We will work with you and guide you through the process of building the most energy efficient and environment friendly home.
The following systems based items will be reviewed:
• Building Envelope, rating of insulation, windows, doors and other components
• Review of lighting and some appliances
• Heating, cooling and water heating generation
We will meet with you to review the building envelope details, and the mechanical and plumbing system for the house. We will discuss with you the pro’s and con’s of geothermal heating and cooling system, compared to conventional, low energy fossil fuel systems and review the possibility of installing Solar Thermal and Solar Electric. We will recommend general areas for system installation and the potential installation costs and energy savings.
A home energy rating involves an analysis of a home’s construction plans and onsite inspections. Based on the home’s plans, the Home Energy Rater uses an energy efficiency software package to perform an energy analysis of the home’s design. This analysis yields a projected, pre-construction HERS Index. Upon completion of the plan review, the rater will work with the builder to identify the energy efficiency improvements needed to ensure the house will meet ENERGY STAR performance guidelines. The rater then conducts onsite inspections, typically including a blower door test (to test the leakiness of the house) and a duct test (to test the leakiness of the ducts). Results of these tests, along with inputs derived from the plan review, are used to generate the HERS Index score for the home.
The HERS Index is a scoring system established by the Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET) in which a home built to the specifications of the HERS Reference Home (based on the 2006 International Energy Conservation Code) scores a HERS Index of 100, while a net zero energy home scores a HERS Index of 0. The lower a home’s HERS Index, the more energy efficient it is in comparison to the HERS Reference Home. Each 1-point decrease in the HERS Index corresponds to a 1% reduction in energy consumption compared to the HERS Reference Home. Thus a home with a HERS Index of 85 is 15% more energy efficient than the HERS Reference Home and a home with a HERS Index of 80 is 20% more energy efficient.
For more information on Home Energy Ratings and Energy star homes, please visit:
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