Energy Performance Score...
 

I just became aware of a system that is being used in Oregon to rate how energy efficient a house is.


The system is called EPS (Energy Performance Score). Apparently it is easily and economically conducted, and accurately predicts the amount of energy that will be used in operating a building.

Here is a brief video:
Energy Trust of Oregon

And here is a document that provides a bit more information:
http://www.imt.org/files/FileUpload/...IMT-Oregon.pdf

Do other states (or countries) have similar rating systems in place for rating a house's energy efficiency?

-AC

Poland (and the rest of EU, I believe), has an energy certificate:

It shows the building's yearly non-renewable energy usage in kWh per sq. meter of floor area. It is required for every new building, and for buildings undergoing a large renovation. It was implemented a few years ago to help buyers choose buildings with lower heating costs, which would force builders/sellers to invest in efficiency. In practice people haven't learned to pay attention to it. I guess that a pretty house is more important an efficient one:rolleyes:

The only thing I have available relates direclty to money:

Total energy usage:
http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1333138781



Electricity usage:
http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1333138791



Natural Gas usage:
http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1333138791

Hi,
As Piwoslaw says most of Europe uses an energy certificate. I know Germany does. It does help when you're trying to decide which home to buy or the value of a house you're trying to sell. When you buy a car you expect the EPA sticker to tell you how efficient the vehicle is- why would you not want the same information for a house? When comparing houses you now have an additional factor (efficiency) to compare.
I like the idea. I think it has led to more fuel efficient cars and hopefully it will lead to more energy efficient homes. It also keeps sellers honest about energy use.
This is the first time I have heard it is offered in Oregon, good news, thanks AC.

Contact the Oregon Energy Trust {1(866) 368-7878}, they seem to have loads of good info.

In talking to them, it seems that Oregon is set up to only certify new construction. When I spoke briefly of what I am doing, he asked if I had made any substantial modifications to the structure. When I said no, that I had avoided any changes to the structure, he said that the Oregon Energy Performance Score system would not apply to me. But when I went into details, and described going down to the studs and filling the walls with air-tight layers of rigid foam sheets, he said that it seemed that I fell somewhere between their customary categories. When I told him that I was trying to follow Passive House Practices, he really started to get interested and paid close attention.

He sent me a blizzard of documents detailing interesting incentives, guidelines, and standards.

In deed there is a gulf between what average home owners might do to improve energy efficiency, and what is common practice here on ER.

Well folks, it looks like we might be breaking new ground. ER might as well be 'Energy Revolutionary'.

Viva ER!

-AC

Energy Certificates are required in the EU as a consequence of signing on to the Kyoto Protocol (50% of GHG emissions come from fossil fuels burned heating & cooling buildings). ALL residential or commercial buildings that are to go on sale MUST have an energy audit done & results made available so that the potential buyer knows what it will cost to operate the building. Also, the sticker also tells you what reasonable conservation measures could be done to improve energy efficiency & how the building would rate after said improvements.
It created ALOT of jobs for energy auditors & raised public awareness of energy efficiency.

We tried to implement this in PA, but Realtors, Developers & Construction lobby defeated it. They do not want an informed consumer.

Energy Scores
 

I wish I'd started caring about efficiency much earlier, I could've saved a lot of money over time. After reading about others having a home energy audit several times, I finally decided to quit being a cheapskate and have one done.

I didn't do too bad, but I do have a couple of areas that need attention. The worst is leaky HVAC ducts, about 7.7% of my conditioned air is lost in the attic. :(

Attached below is our score. A real part of the reason I did this was to prove to myself before having a new HVAC unit installed that it would be correctly sized. If I never heard, "Well, the rule of thumb says" then I could quit saying, "I don't have a rule of thumb house!" We'll be downsizing from a 3 ton unit to a 2 ton unit. Swapping 12 SEER AC for 19 SEER and being out of the 77% gas heat and into 10 HSPF electric heat, but I don't understand this number.

I was told that if I used this particular unit {I'd given him the PN's from Maytag so he could look this and a 16 SEER unit up}, my HERS score would drop to 13, where if I replaced the unit with the 16 SEER model, my score would only drop to 15. We ordered the 19 SEER unit yesterday.

I also have a page from the report that gives the house energy efficiency score, but I can't put my hands on a copy to post. It said 100 is the baseline for a typical house built to minimum code {in 2006, I think}, the average house in this country is ~ 130, to be Energy Star rated a house would need to be no more than 70, and my house scored 79. I think repairing duct leaks and the new HVAC would drop that number a noticeable amount.

He also made a comment to me that the scores are based on typical usage patterns with 1 person in the house per bedroom, plus 1 more, so 4 people in our 3 BR house. Then he said he recognized that my wife and I are not typical. Sometimes it's nice to not be normal. :D

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1373460781


Don't know what I did wrong posting the label. I wanted it to just show up, not a link.

You can't post PDFs as images. You'd have to save them off as jpgs or something. I did this for ya.

HSPF = Heating Seasonal Performance Factor. It is a way to rate a heat pump's performance with regard to heating efficiency. SEER is more about cooling, HSPF is more about heating.

HSPF is a number derived in a lab, assuming typical American climate (what is that?) and typical response of the heat pump to that climate. When the outside temperature is higher, air-source heat pumps are more efficient. When the outside temperature gets colder, air-source heat pumps become progressively less efficient. So, HSPF looks at the whole heating season and comes up with one average number.

In Europe, heat pumps are rated in COP (Coefficient Of Performance), which I think would be a better number to use. COP means the 'energy input' divided by the 'energy output'. For instance, a typical car has a COP of about 0.15 or 15%. Pretty low.

Your rig has a HSPF of 10, which can be converted to COP by dividing HSPF by 3.412

COP = HSPF/3.412 = 10/3.412 = 2.93 = 293% efficient.

That's pretty good.

If you want to compare how your heat pump compares to your old furnace, trot on over to Build It Solar, and check out their FUEL COMPARISON CALCULATOR.

This will let you put in your own local electricity and gas costs, the efficiency of your old furnace, and now that you know your COP (293%), you can also put in the efficiency of your heat pump.

You will be amazed.

Best,

-AC