Energy Star for homes: building to higher standards

Anthracite Place being built to the standard

by Olivia Lueckemeyer

Over the past two and half decades, building standards have evolved to address a growing concern for energy efficiency. Because the motives behind owning a “green” home span a broad spectrum, it is rare to encounter a prospective buyer who has no vested interest in sustainable living.

Many builders have adjusted their practices to conform to these values, and as a result energy efficiency has become a pillar of the modern day housing market. And while international guidelines have been set for builders to follow at a baseline level, there is a higher set of standards that isn’t always adhered to.

The Energy Star for Homes program, introduced in 1992 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, goes above and beyond the conventional standards to ensure a home is of the greatest quality, comfort and durability.

Earning an Energy Star certification boils down to several key factors, including third-party testing to verify energy efficiency measures. Locally, Tyler Sweeney is the only active Energy Star certified rater.

“What you get out of an Energy Star rating is that you have a third-party quality assurance inspector who, during various stages of the process, is there to make sure things are being done correctly,” Sweeney explained. “There are certain details that have to be paid attention to during the building process, and the builder has to spend a little more time and effort and focus to ensure that the building will comply with Energy Star.”

Homes that comply with Energy Star guidelines receive a targeted score on the Home Energy Rating System Index, HERS, the industry standard by which a home’s energy efficiency is measured, set forth by the Residential Energy Services Network, RESNET. To determine the desired score, several factors come into play.

“To determine a HERS score, factors such as volume, square footage, window type and orientation, insulation values, efficiency of heating, water heating equipment and tightness of the building shell are taken into account,” Sweeney explained. “The higher performance of the building’s system, the lower the HERS score.”

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, a typical resale home scores 130 on the HERS Index, while a standard new home is rewarded a rating of 100.

Energy Star’s first version, established in 1995, required homes to meet a HERS score of 86, which equated to 30 percent more efficient than a home built to the 1992 Model Energy Code. Since then, Energy Star has released two additional generations of guidelines in response to increased codes and standard practices nationwide, causing guidelines to grow more stringent.

In Energy Star’s 3.0 version, released in 2010, new checklists were created to take into consideration thermal enclosures, HVAC quality installation and water management.

In Crested Butte, current building codes require that a home be built to the minimum 2009 International Energy Conservation Code requirements. Sweeney said that Energy Star improves on these requirements, taking energy efficiency to a higher level while adding requirements that ensure proper indoor air quality and durability of the home.

“Homes built to the new 3.0 guidelines will be at least 20 percent more energy efficient than homes build to 2009 IEC codes,” he said.

Still, achieving Energy Star standards doesn’t significantly hinder the builder’s process. Sweeney says that in the Gunnison Valley, many builders meet this higher set of guidelines, yet few go through the trouble of acquiring the Energy Star certification.

“It does take a little bit of extra effort, but not a whole lot,” Sweeney said. “I think a lot of builders aren’t educated enough on it or don’t see the value in it, and they just aren’t jumping through the hoops to take the next step and get that certification.”

In many areas, Energy Star homes represent 20 percent or more of local home starts. In the Gunnison Valley, the trend isn’t as widespread. Sweeney believes fewer than 20 homes valley-wide have earned an Energy Star certification, not because of a lack of concern for sustainability, but due to a small amount of housing stock historically. However, within the past five years, the local housing market has grown dramatically, leading to a higher demand for sustainable home starts.

In response, many builders have committed to building energy efficient homes, but only a handful push the boundaries by adhering to Energy Star standards.

Of those local builders, Dusty Szymanski of Straw and Timber Craftsmen is the only contractor committed to building 100 percent of his homes to Energy Star Version 3.0 guidelines, even if it means sharing the cost of the certification with his client.

“I got interested in natural building about a decade ago, which led me to study the building science of it in order to make sure we were able to build really high-quality, high-performance, low-impact homes,” he said.

Szymanski specializes in straw bale construction, a sustainable method for building that uses bales of straw as structural elements, building insulation or both. When compared to conventional building systems, straw bale construction is energy efficient by its renewable nature and high insulation value. After learning about the energy-saving benefits of natural building, Szymanski’s curiosity about energy audits was piqued.

Over the next seven years in Gunnison County, Szymanski certified six Energy Star-rated homes under the 3.0 guidelines, but as his career advanced, he opted to put his job as a rater on hold to focus on his building projects. Having seen the benefits of Energy Star-rated homes firsthand, Szymanski became an Energy Star-certified builder.

“Dusty sees the value in this because he used to be a rater himself,” Sweeney explained. “He is setting a higher bar for himself and in doing so is building a reputation as more and more people understand the value of the certification.”

Since earning his certification, Szymanski has built or is in the process of building three Energy Star-rated homes in the county.

“The commitment to building Energy Star is one that, even if it’s not the client’s priority, it is my priority and my commitment, so even if we have to pay for it, I’m willing to pay for half of the cost of certification,” Szymanski said. “That is how important it is to me.”

In a nutshell, the benefit of having an Energy Star-certified home is that it is tested and verified, and therefore should cost less to maintain and holds a higher market value.

Features required to meet Energy Star performance guidelines include effective insulation systems, tight construction and ducts, efficient heating and cooling equipment, and high-performance windows and appliances. Perhaps most significant is the ongoing presence of an independent home energy rater who conducts onsite inspections and testing to verify the energy efficiency measures.

Currently, Energy Star requires compliance with the 2009 International Energy Conservation Codes, in accordance with what the town of Crested Butte also requires. Besides the mechanical ventilation and exterior water management requirements, the main difference between what the town and Energy Star mandates, according to Sweeney, is advanced insulation and framing to reduce heat lost through thermal bridging.

“Energy Star tries to mitigate that by requiring that the house is either wrapped in rigid foam insulation, or utilizes advanced framing to minimize the amount of wood framing to reduce the amount of bridging,” Sweeney said.

This may be the reason that some builders are hesitant to strive for Energy Star standards. To wrap a home in rigid insulation could cost several thousand dollars; the alternative is to retrain framers in an advanced technique that they may be unaccustomed to.

Energy Star also requires mechanical ventilation of the home to ensure that indoor air quality standards are being met. According to Szymanski, in an effort to tighten up homes, many builders have overlooked proper ventilation, which leads to problems like buildup of internal moisture and poor indoor air quality.

“You could build a super tight house with spray foam and new carpet and new paint, but if there is no ventilation in the wintertime and all of your windows are shut, you could be breathing in heavy concentrations of poor indoor air,” Sweeney explained. “That is definitely where Energy Star is beneficial—you know you are getting the proper indoor air quality that makes for a healthy home.”

All of these factors contribute to a home’s overall durability and maintenance costs. Although Sweeney and Szymanski say it is difficult to assess an exact savings figure, the idea is that your upfront investment will pay off in the form of reduced maintenance and utility bills, and a higher market value.

“Knowing that certain things occurred during the building process that will lead to more longevity and durability of the home means fewer repairs and less money to be spent down the road because things were done correctly up front,” Sweeney said.

Locally, the trend toward building Energy Star-rated structures has resonated with the town of Crested Butte, which recently required that Anthracite Place affordable housing units to be Energy Star-certified. Sweeney will perform the ratings and says it will ensure the units are built to last and protect occupants from exorbitant utility costs.

“The operating cost of the units will be reduced because they are being built to a higher standard,” Sweeney said.

For Szymanski, isolating the Energy Star niche of the market has bolstered his reputation and generated business. Still, his ultimate wish is that more builders in the valley would adhere to these higher standards.

“I’ve spent a lot of money and done a lot of training to nail that corner of the market, but at the same time I’ve learned it would be better if more and more people did it,” Szymanski said. “Cooperation and collaboration within this thing is actually the way to sustain resilient communities, more than a lot of competition and ugliness, and I find that especially true in our valley.”

With the upsurge of building in the valley, Sweeney and Szymanski believe Energy Star will become more prevalent and Gunnison County will emerge as an example of a community that considers the bigger picture.

“Not only can we build a better building, but we can also care for our children’s children because we are paying attention to resources,” Syzmanski said. “Now that we are starting to build again, the bar is slowly being raised and people are starting to do a better job of implementing these things.”

To learn more about Energy Star for Homes, visit www.energystar.gov.