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Energy Smart Homes

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Energy Efficiency Starts with the first elements of a design

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Energy Smart Homes Start by Design
Energy efficiency is generally thought of in terms of “high dollar” items. However the, largest impact per dollar is in how the original design was conceived. When correct energy-saving design parameters are incorporated into the initial design they are very inexpensive..
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All new home construction is better than it has ever been in the history of this country. Some areas of the country are producing homes with very low HERS Ratings. A HERS Rating of 100 is considered the norm (based on 2004-2006 CODES). Over 50% of all new residential construction had HERS ratings in 2013. Some states have averages in the mid-fifties. Other states, like Missouri, were higher, in the seventies. Not all houses were rated, so it is fair to say that average construction is way below what can be done.

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Energy Strategy Study - Spec Information

Everybody is an expert on housing because everybody lives in one. You can go to bgdrafting.com, our main site, to see the process in starting a house design. This site is about one of the seven design elements of a great house: Energy Efficiency. It starts at the design stage at B&G and the Energy Strategy Study, showing all the steps to Building a Great energy efficient house.

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B and G can provide, as an added service,  an Energy Strategy Study detailing how to build your Energy Smart Home. It is between 60 to 100+ page spec book showing the details needed by you, your General Contractor and sub-contractors. It specifies and explains a total system approach to energy savings and comfort. 

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Designed Into the Plan - Energy Savings

Design – The Unseen Secret to Energy Efficiency
The Invisible Key to Success Starts with “Geometrical Design”

Energy efficiency is generally thought of in terms of “high dollar” items. Things like high tech windows, state of the art HVAC equipment, inventive widow features, or the latest spray foam insulation are the things first considered. While all these are important, I have found that the largest impact per dollar is in how the original design was conceived. When correct energy- saving design parameters are incorporated into the initial design, the result is often less expense than normal construction. It is often too late, after the house is designed to incorporate these lost opportunities. All you can do is try to add energy saving components, and they all cost money.

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Go to bgdrafting.com

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Let’s look at an example with a design from the team at B & G.  Frank’s house design from the start used the correct energy parameters, but using simple building concepts. This house was built with 2x6 studs, cellulose and a gas-fueled heating system. It tested out with a HERS Rating of 42 and was awarded LEED for Homes Silver. Some questioned the extremely low HERS Rating with the lack of high-tech products. The key to the success was in the hidden element called design.

 

 

In this project many of the parameters were predetermined by the original house from the existing foundation left by the Joplin tornado a year before. Fortunately, the shape was workable and added to the energy savings of the project. Those who might have walked through the house during construction often failed to see the design tricks that ultimately resulted in such an efficient house.

 

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Decision 1 - Kind of Insulation

One of the first decisions you must make with the design team is the type insulation to be used in the house. This choice not only affects the thermal values that p rotect from heat loss and gain, but how the house will be built.

Read more to see the most common choices:

Decision 2 - Kind of HVAC

Getting Started - Types of HVAC Systems

 


The HVAC, Heating – Ventilation – Air Conditioning, industry is full of words and acronyms unique to itself. Below is a brief overview of some of the terms to help. It starts with types of fuel, types of distribution systems, then sizing then ends with the forgotten “V” of ventilation.

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Systems to look at - the big three are: Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHP), Ground Source Heat Pumps (GSHP – this is also referred to as geothermal.) A Gas Furnaces combined with ASHP and GSHP is called Dual Fuel system.  Each system has a major advantage with ASHP being the least expensive to install and least efficient and GSHP the most expensive (before rebates) and most efficient, with Gas Systems in between.

A successful Energy Efficient project starts in the planning phase. Construction drawings prepared by the professionals who are certified by the top national Rating Systems at B & G Drafting put years of experience and testing into your design - We are not guessing.

                ----  Plan to succeed ----

Rating Systems

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Most energy model we use are based the one Energy Star has developed based on a national standard with RESNET.  The current model is assigned 100 points, based on building codes. This “reference model” is said to have a HERS (Home Energy Rating System) rating of 100.  The Energy Star goal is to have a house with a HERS rating of 15% better than code (the lower the number the better).  Houses built in the 1980’s have HERS ratings generally between 120 and 150 plus, older homes much higher. Those in the 1990’s are a little lower.  Building codes around 2003 began to include energy standards that required conservation.  It is fair to say that most houses before that are less than efficient.  The strategy we will suggest can easily result in HERS ratings in the sixties and seventies being very common. We have seen them well under fifty.  This strategy study has been assembled to produce the best energy saving answers using only the most cost effective choices. This proposal was assembled based upon the shape, size, orientation, location and details of your specific home.  Success depends on the quality of the products used and the correct installation of the products into a correct system.

HERS - Energy Star

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The HERS number is based on a national standard with RESNET.  It starts with code back in the 2003/2006 era.  Your house built to this code would be assigned, by definition, 100 points. This “standard model” is said to have a HERS (Home Energy Rating System) rating of 100. Houses built in the 1980’s have HERS ratings generally between 120 and 150 plus, older homes much higher. Those in the 1990’s are a little lower. Local building codes by 2004 began to include energy standards that required conservation, but it is fair to say that most houses before 2004 are less than efficient. hat is a HERS Rating. A HERS energy rating on a house is more like golf than football. Football is loud, rough, and high score wins.  Golf is quiet, skillful, and low score wins.  Our goal is to produce a house with lower utility bills, better comfort, and avoid costly maintenance issues in the future. This is accomplished by developing a total system that works together. Like golf, there are many small and subtle things we can tweak. Experience always helps, but unlike any sport I have seen, our strategy can be pre-tested using computer analysis.

 

In golf, minor adjustments can significantly help lower a score, and in building houses these adjustments are in shape, size, orientation, location, windows, insulation, HVAC equipment, and hundreds of other details that result in a score lower.  It is not difficult to improve the rating, but at some point cost begins to be the limiter for any budget. What is needed is smart choices and correct energy saving building practices, not big money.

A HERS Rating requires field testing of a house, Blower Door, Duct Blaster, measurements, insulation data, location of home, plus much more. The information is placed into page after page of input for computer analysis. The result is a computer model that produces a very accurate utility projection. I have modeled houses that have been within $5 of actual utilities. But, this is not the point. Once modeled we can change things like amount of insulation, orientation, efficiency of HVAC equipment, window quality… or whatever, to see how much it improves the product. The Energy Stagey Study was developed from past modeling of similar houses. The HERS Rating is also required for the Energy Star Program, LEED for Homes, PHIUS, and NGBS. A HERS Rating can also be used to help meet IRC 2012 Building Code. There are also rebates and tax credits that require a HERS rating.

 

Stop and think about what a rating of “70” means.  That is almost a one-third lower utility cost.  This means we can build three houses for about the same utility costs of two older homes.  This is good news to a growing community.  Price-wise, building new power plants is becoming impossible.  More houses mean peak loads that eventually can't be met.  Homes with low HERS Ratings do best in peak load conditions and outperforms normal construction, particularly in extreme conditions.

 

A HERS rating of 70 may not bring thousands of fans to their feet with a thunderous applause, but if you listen closely, you can almost hear the sigh of relief as the homeowner scores another small utility bill.  That’s reason for a standing ovation any day of the year!

Energy Star General Concepts

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I seldom meet a chocolate chip cookie I do not like.  Occasionally, I come across one that is to “die for.” You know what I am talking about, the ones that are so good they should be illegal.  You would think that all chocolate chip cookies would be about the same.  They all have flour, sugar, milk, and little chips of chocolate.  But some stand out as unbelievably good, even when they are not just “fresh out of the oven.” What makes the difference?  Is it the experience of the baker, the quality of ingredients, the kind of oven, or could it be the recipe?

The answer of course is yes to all of the above.  If any one of the things is lacking, the result may not be as expected.  Even an experienced baker will fail with bad ingredients or a lousy recipe.  Those “to die for” cookies might be an accident, but my guess is they come from master chefs who make sure that every component of the process is perfect.

 

This is why master builders like the ENERGY STAR program.  It provides them a master recipe with built-in quality control to produce highly efficient green homes every time. There are several areas or ingredients in an ENERGY STAR home. 

  • The Thermal enclosure system includes insulation, infiltration, framing, windows, doors and all other things that involve heat/cold transfer to the exterior
  • An expertly designed, installed and tested furnace, air conditioning and ventilation system
  • A durability plan to manage things like bulk and water vapor issues from foundations to attic
  • ENERGY STAR certified appliances and lighting systems
  • And everything else that involves energy consumption in a house

 

The right combination of each of these areas has been tested and proven over the last decade or so.  Those who want to produce the most efficient house possible, start by making a few choices, such as type of insulation and kind of HVAC System. The remaining ingredients for a great house depend on these first two, and thereafter each new choice helps select the next component.  As we all know, the results heavily depend on the final step, like the heat of the oven for cookies and the sweat of the brow for a house.

 

But, it is here that a big difference appears.  A bad batch of cookies has a short life, but a bad “energy hog” of a house lives on for years wasting money.  Unlike a master chef, a master builder does not enjoy the liberty of much experimentation.  That is where the ENERGY STAR Programs provide the proven recipe. There are two paths a builder can take.  A prescriptive path, based upon years of testing (over a million houses) or a performance path with the aid of a HERS Rater (HERS = Home Energy Rating System).

 

The HERS Rater is credentialed by RESNET to assist the builder in making the correct choices.  He brings the testing tools, such as the Blower Door, Duct Blaster and third party experience to the project. Specially trained HERS Raters are certified to run the approved computer modeling and checklist for ENERGY STAR that can analyze each component of a project, proving which combination of materials will provide the best results.  It is a little bit like having your cookie and eating it too.  With very little added cost, a home owner can have a house that uses less than 50% of the energy of other new homes, and a small fraction of the utility bills of older homes.  So as the saying would go, if you don’t like the chocolate chip cookie you are making, get a better recipe.

 

LEED - NGBS

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LEED for Homes Rating System

Where Green, Efficiency, Durability, and Education come together
LEED for Homes is from USGBC which is known for their transformation of commercial architecture into the successful green buildings we see everywhere. While all the rating systems are similar each using building science, rating checklist, inspections, and experience, LEED for Homes adds several exceptional tools to the art of building energy efficient residential projects.

            Team approach is required

LEED for Homes requires two teams that work together.   The project team led by the design team, LEED AP and general contractor works with an experienced Green Rater and their providership. Many of the areas require licensed professionals. This raises the quality of the end product to a very high level.

            Professionalism and accreditation is required.

Most professionals involved are required to have years of extensive training, experience, and accreditation.

            Durability issues move from being hidden in the checklist to being installed.

Durability issues must be identified and solutions preplanned.  Then there is a final inspection with accountability forms. The often neglected things, like pest and moisture control, are moved to the front of the list to a place of importance. The result is a house that has a long life expectancy and better sustainably.

            Material Resources becomes formulated with required preplanning.

LEED for Homes requires accurate preplanning on the purchasing and delivery of framing material.  If extra material is ordered and shipped, it is often wasted in unnecessary framing practices. Framing details require that the structural system be preplanned, not shade tree engineered by wasting lumber.

            Education for the homeowner and the general public is built into the rating system.

The single biggest issue with efficient green building systems that we can build today is that nobody seems to know they exist.  It starts with those builders who do not have enough working knowledge of building science to apply it, to the home owner that does know the questions to ask, or use green concepts. Green is just a mystery.  LEED for Homes provides the tools needed to get the information in the hands of the people who need it most.

Owners and General Contractors work with the LEED for Homes checklist.

All involved can purchase a copy of the extensive LEED for Homes Reference Guide. This manual gives details on all levels for the Green Requirements.

Energy systems can be rated on one of two different paths.

Using Energy Star and HERS ratings or a LEED for Homes based on the project and people involved.

The result of the extensive planning, inspections and rating is a Certified, Silver, Gold or Platinum certification. This system adds value to the project in proving the level of sustainability the project achieved. The years of easy maintenance, comfort, heath and energy savings are predicted by this certification level.

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NAHB – A Total Rating System

There does the National Green Building Standard verification system fit in the process of building an energy efficient house? I have often compared ENERGY STAR homes built by master builders to the delights of a master chef who prepares meals to “die for.” The experience of a master, the quality of ingredients, the right equipment, and most importantly the correct plan or recipe produces extraordinary results.  It takes all of these things to produce great chocolate chip cookies OR great houses.  So where does the NGBS rating system fit in?  It’s easy.  The NGBS is more of a full meal deal than just a nice house, a gourmet meal that is.

Home Innovation Research Center (known before as the National Association of Homes Builders Research Center) has a proven program that goes beyond an energy efficient house.  It is like a complete meal with all the extras.  Inside the NGBS (National Green Building Standard) we find that ENERGY STAR is still the core of the energy section. But there is much more.

 

  • Lot Selection and Construction - gives guidelines for choosing the best possible site and directions to protect your site as you improve it.
  • Resource Efficiency – guidance on selecting the correct reproducible path and how to protect what you built from old, wasteful practices.
  • Energy Efficiency – based on ENERGY STAR recognized principles with lots of added prescriptive concepts and guides.
  • Water Efficiency – showing step by step techniques proven to save a valuable resource.
  • Pollutant Control – aids in the unseen area of good air quality and moisture control.
  • Operation and Maintenance – through owner education and a collection of material provided to the owner on how to keep the efficiency of a green home at an optimum level.

Each of these sections is broken down into points, 600 + with minimum requirements in each category.  This helps keep the project in balance.  It is easy to focus all the attention on one area, like energy, and forget about sustainability. This is a major issue today. If left out, time and nature can ruin all the extra work on energy. This is so important that ENERGY STAR has recently added sustainability issues, like water management to its rating system.  NGBS has always had it, and provides detailed credits to keep water and moisture out of the places it can do harm.  For example, I have seen many damp and wet crawl spaces resulting from lack of attention to certain details during the first day of construction.  Issues easily avoided, but often overlooked.

The NGBS (National Green Building Standard) ICC 700-2012 is the only ANSI approved rating system for residential construction. It is connected to the professional builders of the NAHB and building inspectors with the ICC (International Code Council).  But the system is for anyone to use. The rating system is what I call “builder friendly” in that it is written in the way contractors work.  This rating system is written by builders for builders, based on the latest building science principles with a local third party verifier who is overseen by the Home Innovation Research Center in Maryland. 

A gourmet meal, like a well-built energy efficient house, is comprised of various components that must work together.  The ICC700 Standard gives the recipe, the builder provides the experience, and the third party verifier provides the inspections (without being connected financially to the project).  This is how we determine how green is green, or how efficient is efficient. The result of the rating is a national certification ranging from Bronze, Silver, Gold, to Emerald. 

Jim D. Baker – Senior Designer at B & G Drafting, HERS Rater, LEED AP for Homes, LEED Green Rater, NGBS Verifier, PHIUS Rater BPI, ACCA Residential HVAC Designer, QAP Trainer

 417-883-5420     info@bgdrafting.com

 

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About B & G

Introduction:

 

B & G Drafting is the leading provider of custom 
house plans
 and Home Energy Auditing Services in Southwest Missouri, faithfully serving 

the four state area and beyond since 1971.  

As a design consultant for contractors and individual 
homeowners alike, the company's reputation has 
been established by consistently providing 
outstanding design solutions that coherently integrate 
each project's unique considerations.  


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B & G delivers accurate construction documents in a 
format that has been carefully tailored to respond to
the Residential Building Enterprise of Southwest 
Missouri and surrounding areas.  As such, drawings 
produced by this firm are immediately recognized in 
virtually all regional building jurisdictions, planned 
communities, trades, and finance organizations.

Thinking of building a home or addition?  B & G 
Drafting has created this website as a resource to 
introduce prospective customers to the process of 
designing and building a house in Southwest 
Missouri, including our company, services, 
deliverables, and other resources.

Use the navigation bars above and at left to browse 
this site and find the most important information for
your project.  As always, feel free to contact us if you have any questions or would like further information.
 

Our History

B & G History:

B & G Drafting was founded in 1971 as a general drafting service in Springfield, Missouri. The drafting talents of its founders were utilized in a variety of applications, including residential design, mechanical drawings, patent drawings, and technical documentation of existing facilities. Long before computer-aided drafting had been developed, B & G Drafting was producing crisp, highly accurate drawings using the finest manual drafting standards.

From the earliest commissions, the firm established a strong reputation for accurate and timely project delivery and for maintaining open lines of communication between all involved parties. At the same time, a special aptitude for residential design was emerging, and prominent residential developers chose this visionary new design company to bring fresh ideas to the Homebuilding Enterprise in Southwest Missouri.

Over the next few years, B & G Drafting became a strong influence on the regional housing market, integrating market-sensitive designs, innovations, and economy into outstanding approaches to home design.

In 1983, B & G Drafting became a licensed Architectural Corporation in the State of Missouri and expanded its roles to include commercial design and related services for area architects and engineers. The firm's special emphasis on quality Residential Designs continued to grow, however, and continually expanded, even to the present time, as the primary service offered.

Today, B & G Drafting employs a talented team of architects and other professionals equipped with state-of-the-art computer-aided design systems and reprographic technologies. One of the firm's founders, Jim Baker, continues to lead the company as President and is the primary design consultant on most new projects. Our firm continues to grow and meet the ever-changing needs of an expanding community.

Why Choose B&G

Why Choose B & G?

 

Building a new home can be a very satisfying experience - if you get off to a good start.  B & G Drafting can help.  We have carefully assembled BGDRAFTING.COM as a resource to familiarize our customers with the process of designing and building a house in Southwest Missouri, including our company, services, deliverables, and other resources.  Our goal is to make sure you get the best possible design represented in sets of accurate construction drawings that are appropriate for our regional building enterprise.

B & G Drafting strives to listen and respond to client needs and helps assure that the aesthetic, proportion, and geometry of your home design will exceed your expectations as you move forward into building phases.  Thousands of clients have enjoyed the attention and quality services offered by this firm, and have experienced how our accurate, professional plans have been essential for a positive homebuilding outcome.  Experienced clients and professional builders return to B & G because our Design Team helps reduce construction hassles before they start by thinking through critical design factors and producing house plans that have proven market appeal.

Continuously serving Southwest Missouri since 1971, no other company in the area can surpass our reputation for providing residential designs that work.  Top selling realtors report that they can identify homes designed by B & G because of the "professional quality" reflected in our well thought-out design.  The B & G Design Team offers various levels of architectural services to meet your project requirements and budget.  We hope that our online information will provide the answers you need, but we would be glad to answer any additional questions that arise before, during, and after completion of your project plans.  We remain available to assist with any additional information needed to help you build your "ideal new home."

Remember . . . a successful homebuilding project starts in the planning phase.  Having your construction drawings prepared by the professionals at B & G Drafting doesn't cost - it pays!  Plan to succeed!
 

Contact Information:

B & G Drafting, Inc.
2104 S. Stewart Avenue
Springfield, MO 65804

Tel: (417) 883-5420
Fax: (417) 883-1450
Web Sites: bgdrafting.com
bgbuildinggreat.com
info@bgdrafting.com

Business Hours:
Monday - Friday
8:00am - 5:00pm
USA Central Time

Directions and Map
plan0
We're all about HOUSE PLANS.

WELCOME TO B & G DRAFTING. We're all about HOUSE PLANS.
B & G Drafting is the place to start planning. Our main website features
our “baby steps” on how to get started designing your new home or remodeling job.

Tell us your needs and we will produce ​ construction plans for you .
Looking for the
Perfect House Plan?
B AND G DRAFTING
strives to listen and respond to your needs and helps assure that the aesthetic, proportion, and geometry of your home design will exceed your expectations as you move forward into building phases.

Thousands of clients have enjoyed the attention and quality services we offer, and have experienced how our accurate, professional plans have been essential for a positive home building outcome.

Experienced clients and professional builders return to B &G because our Design Team helps reduce construction hassles before they start
by thinking through critical design factors and producing house plans that have proven market appeal.
REMEMBER:
a successful building project starts in the planning phase.
Having your construction drawings prepared by the professionals
at B & G Drafting doesn't cost - it pays! Plan to succeed!

How We Work

B & G Drafting has been providing custom residential designs for contractors and individual homeowners since 1971. Although every project is unique, our most common service level includes, at a minimum, the following basic design phases and communication drawings:

 

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Preliminary Design Phase: Every project begins with an initial conference, either in person or on the phone. During this conference, our objective is to listen to your concerns and priorities about your home design. Based on our experience, we will guide you through a series of questions geared at understanding any basic design considerations that you may not have considered yet. Approximately a week after your initial conference, Preliminary Design Drawings [more info] are produced for your review.

Intermediate Design Phase(s): Additional preliminary design cycles [more info] may be required if changes need to be visualized before "going final." This varies by project, based your preferences and the types of changes proposed.

Production of Final Drawings: When the overall design has been established, our office produces Orthographic Plans, Sections, and Elevations [more info] that describe the geometry of your design. The number and type of drawings are dependent on the services ordered and the configuration of floor levels.

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Our Drawings

How We Work

 

B & G Drafting has been providing custom residential designs for contractors and individual homeowners since 1971.  Although every project is unique, our most common service level includes, at a minimum, the following basic design phases and communication drawings:

 

Preliminary Design Phase:  Every project begins with an initial conference, either in person or on the phone.  During this conference, our objective is to listen to your concerns and priorities about your home design.  Based on our experience, we will guide you through a series of questions geared at understanding any basic design considerations that you may not have considered yet.  Approximately a week after your initial conference, Preliminary Design Drawings [more info]  are produced for your review.

More...

Intermediate Design Phase(s):  Additional preliminary design cycles [more info]  may be required if changes need to be visualized before "going final."  This varies by project, based your preferences and the types of changes proposed.

 

Production of Final Drawings:  When the overall design has been established, our office produces Orthographic Plans, Sections, and Elevations [more info]  that describe the geometry of your design.  The number and type of drawings are dependent on the services ordered and the configuration of floor levels. 

Go to bgdrafting.com

 

To Fail to Plan --

     --is to Plan to Fail...

 

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National Certifications to guarantee success and increase the value of your new Home

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Energy Savings starts with the first stoke of the design pencil. These National Certifications get it right the first time.

To find out more about Energy Computer Analysis call us -we do them every day. 

Why Use a Rating System

What value is to be had in having a house’s energy efficiency rated? Does it make a difference? Why is a rating important? These are good questions. But the answer may surprise you. Some things are easy to evaluate. Which is bigger in size, a nickel or a dime? While it is easy to see, it distracts from the important truth of “which is more valuable?”

B and G Drafting is very unique in the home design business in that we offer several national certifications for your house. They are listed below. Here are some of the expected values:
• Rebates and tax credits. They do exist but they come and go. Ask at the time of construction, but don’t count on them.
• Increased value for your house. This is big, but not as big as it will be. Real Estate appraisers have been slow to get on board with what is happening. Their methods require comparison to other houses. The new, high-tech houses are not found in every neighborhood so it makes it difficult for them to make an evaluation. This is starting to change. New reports are suggesting 10% to 25% increases in value are becoming common.
• RESNET reported that 50% of all new houses built in 2013 had a HERS Rating. The gas mileage sticker on a new car has changed the automobile industry. Who would not want to know the energy cost on a house before they bought it? This is why the HERS Rating is becoming the national standard that is driving the housing industry to a better product. The dollar amount of savings to a home owner is staggering over the lifetime of a house.

The question is, “How do you know?” Green construction has many important benefits but it is like a nickel to a young child. Because the nickel is bigger it should be superior to the dime. Some things look more valuable than they really are. So a home buyer can easily be led to focus on one feature that is easy to see, but not have a clue about the real efficiency of the home. The house has a Green feature, that’s good, isn’t it? Well, it depends on the feature.

As a home buyer, I want to know how “green” is “green”. Is it a gray “green” or is it the color “green” of a dollar bill that I will be saving? Energy efficiency is not visible to the eye. The features that produce the greatest savings are hidden, un-glamorous things that make no sense to an untrained eye. In fact it takes thousands of dollars of testing equipment, a comprehensive inspection, computer analysis, and experience to know how a house will perform. And to be fully accurate, it takes a third party to evaluate objectively. This is why a proven rating system is necessary.

There are actually many rating systems out there. On a national level there are several major systems/codes that can be used. They all have a different focus and viewpoints with unique features, but the core issues are all the same.

More on Rating Systems

Here is the list.

1. 2009 IECC or 2012 IRC - ICC Building Codes. This system is based on minimal requirement by law. It is a prescriptive method for efficiency.
2. HERS Rating by RESNET - A comprehensive inspection and computer evaluation that accurately predicts the energy usage of a house (similar to MPG sticker on a car). This can be done on any house with a HERS rating of 100 being a code built house based on 2004/2006 code (R13 wall, R38 Ceiling, SEER 13 AC…) being the bench mark. The lower the HERS rating the more efficient the house. Your house is listed in a national registry for future resale.
3. Energy Star Certification - This system exceeds code by at least 15% and adds rigid nationally approved requirements using a HERS rating as a guide to performance. Now in version three with new, major bench mark improvements from years of research, over a million houses have been certified by the Energy Star program.
4. National Green Building Standard, NGBS, by the Home Innovation Research Center (new name for the NAHB Research Center) with the ICC700-2012 NGBS ANSI standard. An in depth verification system using a HERS Rating and Energy Star certification with over 600 areas of computerized verification giving a rating of Bronze, Silver, Gold or Emerald.
5. LEED for Homes by USGBC. A LEED for home certified house requires the most training and experienced raters. This system also uses Energy Star and a HERS rating, but adds durability inspections, material usage monitoring, and extensive education opportunities to the public. There is a range from Certified, Silver, Gold or Platinum for levels of efficiency, and sustainability is determined using a comprehensive computerized check list. The system also requires certification of the experts, and accountability forms to guarantee quality. LEED for Homes is one of the most rigorous and well known rating systems.
6. There are even systems to help guide you to NET ZERO, off the grid efficiency. Passive House Institute helps produce houses with a HERS rating of 10. At this level you can seriously be off the grid if you so desire. There are not many of these in the USA. They are more common in Europe. B & G has a PHIUS Rater on staff.

Each of these systems has a focus and emphasis. While they all overlap, each provides a different viewpoint. Some houses undergo multiple ratings at the same time. These rating systems will give a clear and comprehensive review of the house’s efficiency and why. These national systems tell us what color “green” the house really is. With a rating system the real value of the dime is made known over the nickel. With these rating systems the buyer can know what they are getting. It levels the playing field. It is like the new car market where they make an SUV which is 5% more efficient than last year’s model. It is “greener”, but a 12 MPG car is not nearly as efficient as a 50 MPG car.

Each of these Rating Systems produce a better house. The rigorous details of each system demands better performance from all subcontractors and suppliers. While a HERS Rating can be made on any house, it is possible to fail with Energy Star Three, LEED for Homes, and PHIUS ratings. Even if a house fails to obtain a certificate, the HERS Rating is established.

So why try, if you can fail? I have only seen a couple of houses fail a rating system. Most errors can be corrected. The end product, even when a house fails, as a result of the demanding rating system, has a superior HERS Rating and actual performance in the real world. The point of failure was not significant in the performance of the house, just a mandated requirement of the rating system not met.

These rating systems are not for everyone. But, those that use them end up with the most efficient house possible. The certificate establishes the house as superior for the time of a future sale. It goes back to the old concept of no effort, no gain.

Jim D Baker – Senior Designer at B & G Drafting
HERS Rater (certified for Energy Star 3), LEED AP for Homes, LEED Green Rater, NGBS Verifier, PHIUS Rater, BPI Analyst, ACCA Residential HVAC Designer, QAP Trainer, CGP, CGA, CAPS

417-883-5420 jim@bgdrafting.com

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Springfield, MO 65804

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