Home builders in Jacksonville and across the nation are choosing to differentiate their products as being energy efficient and actively promoting special features to buyers. The end result is a more energy-efficient and durable home being delivered to consumers.
“Builder companies of all sizes are signing a memorandum of understanding with the Residential Energy Services Network to become EnergySmart builders,” said Dan Copeland, customer solutions field services representative with JEA and chair of the E-Council’s Marketing/Public Relations Committee. “Signing the memorandum commits builders to having the energy efficiency of their homes assessed and then promoting their product’s added-value.”
The promotion of the builder’s product uses the HERS Index to illustrate the difference EnergySmart makes in the construction of a new home.
“Realtors, sales agents and builders probably are already familiar with the HERS Index,” Copeland said. “It’s a simple scale often displayed as a graphic similar to a thermometer. The lower the score, the less energy the home will use. The baseline of 100 is used for a standard home. Many older existing homes will be well above the 100 baseline. New construction in Jacksonville often falls in the 60s to 70s range.”
By promoting the HERS Index of any given home, consumers become aware of the post-sale costs of operating a home.
An existing home may be lower in initial price, but the cost of operating that home over time may be significantly greater than new construction. This can be a valuable tool for realtors and builders to promote the value of a more expensive but energy-efficient home.
The HERS Index presents a similar value for the existing home market, as well. Realtors looking for an edge in sales can become an even better source of information to their clients.
By leveraging energy ratings for existing housing stock, agents and brokers can help buyers make the best decision between two seemingly similar homes that may ultimately have vastly different long-term costs.
The use of the HERS Index is continuing grow as more builders market themselves as a designated EnergySmart Builder.
“Many of the high-volume production builders in Jacksonville have already partnered with RESNET,” Copeland said. “Several regional builders in our area are also found on the list of EnergySmart Builders. There is no cost to builders to partner with RESNET in this effort to move toward higher performance homes.”
Information about E-Council membership, CEU opportunities, trainings, seminars, luncheons and events is available online at ecounciljax.org. A marketing brochure and information about becoming a RESNET EnergySmart Builder are is available at resnet.us/professional/resnet-energy-smart-builders.