Homepage Header Links

Homepage Header Search box

 

Sponsoring an ENERGY STAR Residential Program

ENERGY STAR, the government-backed symbol for energy efficiency recognized by more than 89% of American households

ENERGY STAR, the government-backed symbol for energy efficiency recognized by more than 89% of American households, provides a powerful platform for utilities implementing demand side management programs.

Residential buildings consume approximately 22% of the energy used in the United States each year.1 Working with the residential new construction market to ensure that homes are built to rigorous energy efficiency standards is an important opportunity to maximize end-use efficiency and avoid or postpone the construction of costly new power generation facilities.

Most types of residential new construction can earn the ENERGY STAR Certified homes label, including: single family, manufactured, and modular homes, as well as units in low rise multifamily buildings (3 stories and below). Units in most mid and high rise buildings (4-5 stories and above with central systems) can earn the ENERGY STAR through the Multifamily High Rise (MFHR) Program.

ENERGY STAR provides utility partners with a variety of marketing, technical, and programmatic resources and support:

  • ENERGY STAR provides utility partners with a variety of marketing, technical, and programmatic resources and supportResources to distribute to potential program partners, such as builders and Home Energy Raters, to help educate them about the benefits of participation and increase energy efficient home awareness in the market
  • Technical one-on-one support as well as online training and webinars for utilities and partners
  • Best practices for program design and implementation
  • Networking opportunities including an annual Stakeholder Meeting for top performing ENERGY STAR utility, builder, and Rater partners

Sponsor an ENERGY STAR Residential New Construction Program

Become a Partner

ENERGY STAR Certified Homes

ENERGY STAR certified homes are designed and constructed to be significantly more energy efficient than those built to code, while lowering homeowner utility bills and providing superior comfort, quality, and durability. Homes built to the ENERGY STAR Program Requirements are designed to be 15% more energy-efficient than homes built to code. The National Program Requirements are benchmarked against the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). In states that adopt the 2012 IECC, the program is benchmarked to be 15% more efficient than the 2012 IECC. Sponsoring an ENERGY STAR Certified Homes program is an opportunity to promote energy efficiency in the residential market and to capture long-term peak and energy demand savings that can stand-alone or complement other residential energy efficiency initiatives.

ENERGY STAR Multifamily High Rise

Utilities interested in expanding their residential energy efficiency portfolios to include mid and high rise multifamily buildings should consider sponsoring an ENERGY STAR Multifamily High Rise program. For units in multifamily mid and high rise buildings to earn the ENERGY STAR, a new or substantially rehabilitated mid or high rise multifamily building must be designed to be at least 15% more energy efficient than a building built to the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Standard 90.1-2007 or Standard 90.1-2010 depending on local code. These buildings must also undergo rigorous testing and verification to ensure that efficiency measures are properly installed and that the buildings achieve their energy savings targets.

1 Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, http://www.eia.gov/totalenergy/data/monthly/pdf/flow/total_energy.pdf.