What is the purpose of the Home Energy Rating System (HERS)?

The Home Energy Rating System (HERS) serves as a standardized framework for assessing a home's energy performance. This system provides a reliable scale that helps homebuyers, builders, and energy professionals understand how energy-efficient a home is compared to others. By assigning a HERS Index score, the system enables stakeholders to identify opportunities for energy improvements, ultimately fostering more informed decisions about energy use and efficiency upgrades.

This focus on energy performance distinguishes HERS from other systems that may evaluate different aspects of a building's environment or compliance with regulatory standards. For instance, evaluating water efficiency or measuring indoor air quality addresses separate concerns that are not within the scope of the HERS. Similarly, while residential building codes provide necessary guidelines for construction standards, they do not specifically measure energy performance in the manner that HERS does.