In 2018, there were 236,116 homes in the United States that were HERS® rated and issued a HERS® Index Score. This broke the previous record for the number of homes HERS® rated in a year with 227,840 homes HERS® rated in 2017. Of greater significance is the over $235 million in annual energy bill savings that is calculated from the RESNET National Registry for home buyers who purchase HERS® rated homes in 2018, as compared to the HERS® reference home. At an average of $450 per home for a HERS® rating (reported recently in a recent RESNET Rater survey), it is estimated that the number of homes rated in 2018 generated over $106 million in HERS® Raters and RESNET Accredited Provider economic activity. In addition, it is calculated that the HERS® rated homes will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by over a million tons annually. This savings will, according to the EPA calculator, equal to 194,017 passenger vehicles taken off the road for one year. RESNET Executive Director Steve Baden commented on the over 236,000 homes HERS® rated in 2018, “Homebuilders are increasingly seeing energy efficiency as a major selling point for buying a new home. To take advantage of this opportunity, builders across the nation are presenting their homes’ energy performance in a way that every home buyer can understand, the home’s HERS® Index Score. I expect that this trend will continue. It is particularly encouraging that the average HERS® Index Score was 61. This is 39% more efficient than homes built as recently as 2006 and 69% more efficient than a typical home built in 1970. I congratulate the Energy Smart builders, HERS® Raters and program sponsors that are leading the trend to mainstream high-performance homes in the marketplace. RESNET, however, is not content with the current market share of homes that are HERS® rated. In 2019, RESNET will be working with the rating industry, builders, and program sponsors to increase the demand for HERS® ratings. By the numbers: The six leading states in terms of homes receiving a HERS® Index in 2018 were: Texas- 44,680 Arizona- 20,599 Florida- 15,996 North Carolina- 15,545 Colorado- 11,340 Indiana- 9,781 The six states with the lowest average HERS® Index Scores in 2018 were: Maine – 29 Vermont – 42 South Dakota – 42 Minnesota – 51 New York – 53 North Dakota – 53 The following is the number of homes issued a HERS® Index Score in 2018 and the average HERS® Index Score by climate zone: IECC Climate Region Number of Homes Rated Average HERS® Index Score 1A 725 57 2A 47,407 61 2B 19,685 59 3A 42,116 63 3B 6,913 59 3C 100 60 4A 42,576 63 4B 2,258 63 4C 1,464 58 5A 42,396 59 5B 14,544 58 6A 11.189 53 6B 659 60 7 18 46 8 186 57 The following is the number of homes issued a HERS® Index Score in 2018 and the average HERS® Index Score by state: State Number of Ratings in 2018 Average HERS® Index in 2018 Alabama 2,327 66 Alaska* 1 62 Arizona 20,128 59 Arkansas 491 74 California** 1,052 60 Colorado 13,930 58 Connecticut 1,323 55 Delaware 2,390 58 DC 541 76 Florida 17,823 59 Georgia 6,639 68 Guam 48 53 Hawaii 325 50 Idaho 1,164 61 Illinois 2,611 60 Indiana 8,745 67 Iowa 4,642 58 Kansas 1,591 70 Kentucky 2,004 68 Louisiana 254 64 Maine 7 29 Maryland 7,116 57 Massachusetts 8,293 54 Michigan 3,166 57 Minnesota 7,014 51 Mississippi 58 67 Missouri 907 69 Montana 198 62 Nebraska 1,106 54 Nevada 4,313 58 New Hampshire 873 59 New Jersey 5,015 58 New Mexico 1,919 56 New York 4,219 53 North Carolina 15,877 66 North Dakota 67 53 Ohio 7,583 62 Oklahoma 3,435 54 Oregon 455 64 Pennsylvania 4,445 59 Rhode Island 406 74 South Carolina 9,649 65 South Dakota 249 46 Tennessee 2,111 72 Texas 44,291 62 Utah 2,565 62 Vermont 197 42 Virginia 8,236 63 Washington 1,199 56 West Virginia 198 67 Wisconsin 2,436 59 Wyoming 34 55 *Does not include homes rated under the State of Alaska program **Does not include homes rated under the State of California program To learn what is driving these trends, attend the 2019 RESNET Building Performance Conference in New Orleans on February 25 – 27. The RESNET Conference is the “not-to-miss” event on home energy ratings and home performance. For more information go 2019 RESNET Conference
