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RESNET Recommends
Home Energy Ratings Should Serve as the Verification Mechanism for all Federal Residential Energy Efficiency Programs to the U.S. Department of Energy
The Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET) has recommended to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) that home energy ratings serve as the verification method for all federal residential energy efficiency programs.
RESNET recommendations were given in response to DOE's review of programs called for in President Bush's National Energy Policy. DOE is conducting a public review process including written comments and seven public meetings that will be held across the country throughout the month of June. The first-of-its-kind public outreach effort will allow the public, elected officials and energy experts to provide the department with information regarding the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy programs.
In the recommendations, Steve Baden RESNET Executive Director wrote: "RESNET believes that residential energy efficiency can play an important role in addressing the nation's energy crisis in the near and long terms. We also believe that market forces can be tapped to improve the energy efficiency of our housing stock.
A national infrastructure for mortgage financing and home energy ratings is now in place. The secondary mortgage markets of FHA, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and VA have adopted mortgage financing products that add the home's projected energy savings to the borrower's income in the mortgage qualification process. The projected energy savings are documented through a nationally accredited home energy rating. Working with the mortgage industry and the nation's state energy offices, RESNET has developed a set of national standards that ensures national consistency and the accuracy of home energy ratings. This same infrastructure should serve as the verification mechanism for the U.S. Department of Energy's residential energy efficiency programs and any tax credit incentives that Congress decides to enact."
This recommendation is a key element of the home energy rating industry's "Blue Print for Action" adopted at the 2001 RESNET Conference. To view the document, click on HERS® Industry Blue Print for Action.
View the full text of the comments and HERS Flow Chart.
