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Home plans that are qualified as Designed to Earn the ENERGY STAR include requirements for the energy-efficient features and construction details typically found in ENERGY STAR qualified homes—tight construction and duct systems, properly installed insulation, high performance windows, efficient heating and cooling equipment, and ENERGY STAR qualified lighting and appliances.
When built, Designed to Earn the ENERGY STAR home plans will result in a home that is at least 15 percent more energy efficient than a home built to the 2004 International Residential Code (IRC), and include additional energy-saving features that typically make them 20–30 percent more efficient than standard homes.
Architects and designers who want to label a home plan as Designed to Earn the ENERGY STAR must submit it to a Home Energy Rater for review.
These raters are experienced in evaluating home plans to help you choose the most appropriate and cost-effective approaches for meeting ENERGY STAR guidelines.
Find a Home Energy Rater near you.
Each home plan can be evaluated in one of two ways:
The rater will also verify that your home plan contains all other elements required for it to be labeled as Designed to Earn the ENERGY STAR. This review will be performed using a specially designed checklist. The completed checklist, as well as the HERS rating or BOP checklist, should be attached to the final home plan. Once all of these requirements are met, the rater will issue the Designed to Earn the ENERGY STAR logo for the designated home plan.
A home built according to a Designed to Earn the ENERGY STAR home plan does not automatically earn the ENERGY STAR qualified home label (image right). Field verification, including onsite inspections and testing by a Home Energy Rater and completion of a Thermal Bypass Checklist, is required to ensure that energy-saving measures specified in the home plan are incorporated into the as-built house. This field verification may or may not be performed by the same rater who reviews the home plan.