Green Communities/Stretch Code/HERS Index

From Green Needham

Jump to: navigation, search

The HERS Index is a rating of a home's energy efficiency.

  • Homes built to the standard energy building code, the 2006 International Energy Conservation Code, are assigned a HERS rating of 100
  • Each 1% reduction in energy consumption results in a decrease in the index of 1.
  • A home that is 10% more efficient than the standard home has a HERS index of 90.
  • A zero net energy home has a HERS index of 0
  • A HERS index of 85 (in Massachusetts, climate zone 5) qualifies as an Energy Star home
  • Massachusetts is implementing a building labeling standard so that purchasers and owners of buildings will be able to estimate the costs of owning or leasing their buildings.
  • The HERS Index is used in establishing that a construction project meets the performance-based standards of the new Stretch Energy Code
  • HERS ratings are determined through a combination of analysis of building plans and onsite inspections


More information on the HERS rating system is avialable from:

  • The US Government's Energy Star Program
  • Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET}, the non-profit organization that establishes and maintains the rating system and the qualifications for the people that do the ratings


Retrieved from "http://wiki.greenneedham.org/gnc/index.php/Green_Communities/Stretch_Code/HERS_Index"
Personal tools