How New Homes Earn the ENERGY STAR

To earn the ENERGY STAR, a home must meet strict guidelines for energy efficiency set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), making them 20–30% more efficient than standard homes.  Homes achieve this level of performance through a combination of energy–efficient improvements, including,
  • Effective Insulation Systems
  • High–Performance Windows
  • Tight Construction and Ducts
  • Efficient Heating and Cooling Equipment
  • ENERGY STAR Qualified Lighting and Appliances
To ensure that a home meets ENERGY STAR guidelines, third–party verification by a certified Home Energy Rater (or equivalent) is required.  This Rater works closely with Scott Daves Construction throughout the construction process to help determine the needed energy–saving equipment and construction techniques and conduct required on–site diagnostic testing and inspections to document that the home is eligible to earn the ENERGY STAR label.

Step 1:  Scott Daves Construction Partners with ENERGY STAR

Through a Partnership Agreement with EPA, Scott Daves Construction agrees to affix an ENERGY STAR label on homes that are independently verified to meet program guidelines and to build at least one ENERGY STAR qualified home every 12 months to maintain their partnership.  Through the Partnership Agreement process, Scott Daves Construction also selects a Home Energy Rater to work with to qualify their homes.

Step 2: Builder Works with the Rater to Select Appropriate Energy–Efficient Home Features

Scott Daves Construction submits their architectural plans to their Home Energy Rater for review and analysis.  The Rater looks for key information on the plans to help the builder choose the best combination of energy–efficient features to ensure that the home will earn the ENERGY STAR label when constructed.  Some Raters rely on a prescriptive package of energy improvements developed by EPA, while other develop a customized approach for each home using specialized home energy modeling software.  Learn more about the different approaches to selecting features for ENERGY STAR qualified homes.

Step 3: Builder Constructs Home and Rater Verifies Features and Performance.

With the energy–efficient features selected,Scott Daves Construction  then proceeds with construction of the home. Throughout the construction process, the Rater performs a number of inspections and diagnostic tests to verify the proper installation of the selected energy–efficient features and overall energy performance of the home.  Learn more about the home analysis and inspection process.

Step 4: Rater Qualifies the Home as ENERGY STAR and Issues an ENERGY STAR Label 

After the Rater completes the final inspection and determines that all requirements have been met, the Rater will provide Scott Daves Construction with an ENERGY STAR label, which is placed on the circuit breaker box of the home.
Courtesy of EnergyStar.gov