New Home Energy Efficiency Label Similar to MPG Ratings for Cars

The Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET) and Lennar, one of the nation’s leading builders of quality homes, today announced that they have entered into an agreement to include RESNET’s Home Energy Ratings System (HERS) Index as part of Lennar’s Everything’s Included program.

The HERS Index, a nationally recognized standard for measuring home energy performance, operates much like the MPG rating for automobiles. Recognized by the federal government and private industry, the HERS Index has been used to monitor and calculate energy efficiency for more than 1 million homes across the country.

Under the HERS program, Lennar will include a label that indicates the energy efficiency of the home in comparison to a typical existing home, as determined by the U.S. Department of Energy. Lennar also will provide an estimate of how much money homebuyers can save on annual utility bills. Excluding mortgage payments, one of the highest costs of home ownership is energy.

“Smart consumers examine the HERS Index to determine a home’s energy efficiency before buying, much like checking the MPG sticker on a car,” said Steve Baden, Executive Director of RESNET.

We are thrilled to be working with Lennar, already the nation’s leading builder of solar homes, and its continued leadership in advancing the energy efficiency objectives of the nation.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, a home built today is at least 30 percent more efficient than the average existing home.

David J. Kaiserman, president of Lennar Ventures and chairman of RESNET Housing Industry Advisory Council, said homebuilders view energy savings as another benefit of buying a new home today. “Energy efficiency is top of mind for home purchasers and RESNET and its HERS Index have long been the industry’s dominant standard,” Kaiserman said. “Lennar is very excited to be working with RESNET to help demystify the complexities of energy efficiency ratings by promoting the HERS Index.”

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