It is time to take stock of what 2024 had in store for the HERS® industry and RESNET. The year brought many challenges, but it also revealed how resilient and adaptable our community is. 2024 has been a very successful year for the HERS industry and RESNET and I am very excited about what 2025 will bring. Despite the anxiety over inflation, the number of homes HERS rated increased in 2024 over the 2023 record-breaking year by 18%. 2024 saw our organization and industry in sound health as demonstrated by: • Steady Demand for HERS Ratings – 436,798 homes were HERS Rated in 2024 as compared to 365,265 rated in 2023. • RESNET in Sound Financial Footing – RESNET was able to meet its 2024 budget through the market without government funding. • RESNET Properly Managed – Received clean bill of health from its annual independent financial audit. Notable accomplishments that were achieved in 2024 include: • Exceeded the 4.4 million homes HERS Index rated milestone. • Increased demand for RESNET HERSH2O® ratings by 34% • Increased demand for HERS Carbon Index® ratings by 82%. • Investment in additional Quality Assurance support staff. RESNET has added a Quality Assurance Project Manager, Quality Assurance Investigations Project Manager and is recruiting four Regional Quality Assurance Compliance Specialists. • RESNET and the International Code Council entered into a formal agreement to launch a new program designed to enhance energy code compliance. The “IECC/HERS Code Compliance Program” aims to enable certified RESNET HERS Raters to have a more active role in ensuring code compliance. • RESNET and Pearl Certification collaborating to enhance the visibility of home performance in real estate transactions. • Created a RESNET Executive Director’s Build to Rent Advisory Council to guide the organization in its efforts to leverage HERS Index Scores in the emerging Build to Rent market. The group is composed of representatives of HERS firms and builders. • Increased the number of national production builders using their homes’ HERS Index Scores as part of their sustainable reporting. • Began the standard amendment process to amend its Quality Assurance standard to make it more efficient and cost-effective while enhancing its procedures as the Gold Standard. • Increased volume of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac green mortgage-backed securities for single-family HERS-rated homes. • Initiated standard development process for adoption of a RESNET standard for calculating embodied carbon in residential building materials. • RESNET and the Alliance for Water Efficiency proposing a federal tax credit for WaterSense Labeled Homes. • Hosted the RESNET 2024 Policy Forum in Washington DC that featured Congressman Jake Ellzey R-TX and representatives from the White House; insulation manufacturers; home builders; the federal sponsored secondary mortgage programs and the DOE and EPA residential programs. • 49 representatives of the RESNET community meeting in person with their House and Senate representatives explaining the importance of home energy performance, the HERS Index, and RESNET. • RESNET certified HERS Raters Recognized by the U.S. Department of Energy for “Energy Skilled” Assessment Program These and other accomplishments will be covered in the soon-to-be-released 2024 RESNET Annual Report. We could not achieve these notable gains without the contributions of the HERS Raters and Providers, builders, strategic allies, program sponsors, and the allied RESNET network. Together we achieved much in 2024 to celebrate, but the team at RESNET is not content to rest on its laurels. The RESNET Board of Directors has set the audacious goal of having a million ratings conducted annually by the end of 2028.RESNET has defined its role in assisting its network to achieve this goal. The role is defined as: Supporting Market Mechanisms: • Valuing HERS ratings in real estate transactions, including real estate listings, appraisals and the primary and secondary mortgage markets. • Recruiting more builders to have all of their homes HERS rated. • Recruiting more builders to have their homes HERSH2O rated. • Supporting the use of HERS Rating data in environmental and sustainability reporting. Supporting Policy Mechanisms: • Federal, state and local policies for energy, carbon and water efficiency. • Tax credits and utility incentives for energy and water efficiency. • Performance-based building energy codes. Cultivating Partnerships and Collaborations: • Driving the demand for RESNET ratings through strategic collaboration with industry associations, utilities, governments and corporations. Developing and Supporting Programs: • Increasing business opportunities for our network through new and innovative programs like HERSH2O, HERS Carbon Index, ENERGY STAR, Zero Energy Ready Home, WaterSense Labeled Homes, the IECC/HERS Code Compliance Program and embodied carbon. • Having HERS Raters seen as the “go to” source of energy code compliance by code officials. Leveraging Data and Enhancing Quality Assurance: • Quality assurance is the backbone of our industry – fostering trust in all we do! RESNET has made a major investment in enhancing its quality assurance oversight. • The data in RESNET’s National Buildings Registry is leveraged to support market and policy mechanisms, collaborations and programs that help grow business opportunities for our network.
