On March 7, 2014, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) announced approval of ANSI/RESNET 301-2014, Standard for the Calculation and Labeling of the Energy Performance of Low-rise Residential Buildings Using the HERS® Index. This action by ANSI exemplifies the first American National Standard on the increasingly popular HERS® Index score. In 2013, more than 218,000 homes were labeled with the HERS® Index score, representing about 50% of all new home sales across the nation. Also in 2013, the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) incorporated the use of a building energy rating index as a code compliance option within the 2015 building code. These actions by ANSI, the IECC and the uptake by leading home builders across the nation give the HERS® Index score a firm foundation across the nation as the method of choice for rating and labeling the energy performance of homes. More than two years of volunteer effort, including three rounds of public comment, went into the consensus development process for ANSI/RESNET 301-2014. ANSI approval of the Standard represents a hallmark in RESNET’s leadership in America’s move toward greater and greater efficiency in the residential building marketplace. The Standard covers both new and existing home energy performance, including procedures for calculating ratings, estimating energy savings, and labeling the energy performance of homes. The provisions specify the standard operating conditions to be used in the analysis, the minimum features that must be considered in the analysis, the methods for calculating energy and pollution saving in new homes and existing home retrofits and the procedures to be used to calculate economic cost effectiveness. A copy of ANSI/RESNET 301-2014 can be found at ANSI/RESNET 301-2014 Information on the HERS® Index can be found at http://www.hersindex.com/
