The Benefits of a High-performance Home

High Performance Homes

E-Star's statewide home energy rating program facilitates the design and construction of energy-efficient homes and High Performance Homes.

Definition

A High Performance Home relies on systems-engineered design, quality-controlled construction, and performance testing to ensure that it is healthy, comfortable, affordable, energy-efficient, durable, and environmentally responsible.

To qualify as a High Performance Home, the dwelling must consume 40% less energy than a home built to the 1995 Model Energy Code. Such an energy-efficient home will receive a score of 86 points or more on the 100-point E-Star Home Energy Rating scale. High Performance Homes can receive the ENERGY STAR^® label, which is issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Homes that score between 80 and 85 points on the E-Star scale are energy-efficient but cannot display the ENERGY STAR^® label.

Benefits to Homebuyer

  A High Performance Home offers many benefits to owner and occupants:

• Saves money. The high scores on the E-Star Home Energy Rating mean the home will generate lower utility bills.
• Increased comfort. The added features of High Performance Homes-quality windows, high-efficiency heating systems, and increased insulation in walls and attics and around pipes and ducts-improve the comfort level in the dwelling.
• Robust structure. High Performance Homes incorporate durable construction practices that increase the life and robustness of a home.
• Healthy air. Other features of High Performance Homes, such as careful use of vapor barriers and conscious ventilation, improve moisture control and indoor air quality.

E-Star's Contributions

• Increasing the number of High Performance Homes contributes to the overall E-Star goal of promoting energy conservation in buildings.
• Measurement scale. The E-Star Home Energy Rating system makes it possible to measure the performance of these homes in a consistent way with a comparable format.
• Trained Raters. E-Star trains and certifies E-Star Raters, independent contractors who perform the work for profit. E-Star controls the quality of Raters' work to ensure consistent and comparable ratings.
• Technical resource. Raters and builders can rely on the E-Star program's technical staff to facilitate design and construction of High Performance Homes.
• Homeowner education. E-Star works with builders of High Performance Homes to tell homebuyers about the link between good building science and higher comfort, increased durability, lower long-term ownership costs, and healthy indoor air quality.

Related Information

Home Energy Ratings

ENERGY STAR^® Web Site

Building America

Basement Insulation and Mold
Steve Andrews, Homebuilder Magazine, August 2002. (PDF)

A Growing Market for High Performance Homes