HOME ENERGY SCORE

Description

The HOME ENERGY SCORE is a scoring tool to give homeowners easy access to credible information about how to save money and energy in their homes. The HOME ENERGY SCORE provides a standardized method for quickly assessing the energy performance of a home's major energy systems and envelope. The scoring tool generates a list of recommended energy improvements and their estimated cost savings. Homes are scored on a scale of 1 to 10, with a 10 being the most efficient. The HOME ENERGY SCORE allows partners and assessors to customize information for homeowners. For example, assessors have the option of providing their own recommendations for efficiency improvements or using those generated by the tool. The U.S. Department of Energy is recruiting partners throughout the country to offer the HOME ENERGY SCORE and help drive investment in home energy-efficiency upgrades. Partners include utilites, state and local governments, and non-profits that implement the HOME ENERGY SCORE as part of their residential energy-efficiency programs and through other efforts. HOME ENERGY SCORE partners commit to scoring a minimum of 500 homes per year and rescoring 5% of the homes to meet quality assurance requirements. The HOME ENERGY SCORE is designed as an "asset rating", meaning that the score reflects a home's structure and mechanical systems only, for instance, its insulation, air leakiness, and heating and cooling equipment-not how the occupants use the home