Offical HERS Score came back...

Just got a call from our contractor about the official HERS score for our house. The preliminary score - based on the actual readings - was 41, but after all calculations were done the house actually came in 3% better.

Therefore, both Charis Homes and de Jong family are proud to present a HERS score of... 38!!

Our contractor was just as happy as it is their first house in the 30's. Keep in mind that the average new house is between 100 and 75 (with 0 being a net-zero house).

Note that this HERS score of 38 was achieved without the use of any renewable engery sources (geothermal, solar, wind). By adding solar in the future we can reduce this even further. As a comparison, it's the same score as the HGTV Green Home from last year but that house is using solar for a large part of their electricity need.

Having a HERS score in the 30s with just smart building and a properly constructed tight building envelop reduces the need of using energy. This is the first and - in our opinion - the most important step. After that it is time to see if or when you want to generate (a portion of) the remaining energy needs from renewable resources.

Thank you, Charis Homes for building us the engery-efficient house we wanted!