This is what you should be asking the builder of any home you are looking to buy. If they claim to be a “Green Builder” and don’t have a score, they more than likely have just built to a minimum green or performance standard or it is just a marketing tag. However, if a builder has an EPS or a HERS rating, that builder has built to a much higher standard and their homes will result in real energy savings and performance.
Performance rating for new homes is equivalent to the Miles Per Gallon (MPG) rating for a car. Whether you chose your next car specifically because of its MPG rating or not, in most cases it at least makes up some part of the decision making process. The building industry believes that energy efficiency, utility costs and environmental impact are factors to consider when buying or building a home. Because these factors can affect the real and perceived value of a home. The Energy Performance Score (EPS), developed by Energy Trust of Oregon, provides a clear and quantitative way to compare a home’s energy use and costs. The lower the score, the more efficient the home is and the lower your estimated utility costs.
Marnella Homes, as an Energy Star and Earth Advantage Builder, is using this rating system. Our homes have an EPS as low as 42 which rates our homes as some of the most efficient new homes built in Oregon (as Compared to an average home score in Oregon of 81). These homes have estimated average monthly energy costs of $70. Our home owners realize that choosing an energy-efficient home not only benefits the environment, but can also help you save money.
So, whether a low EPS is the deciding factor in the purchase of your next home or just “a” factor, it will be made available to you by participating home builders. Our industry hopes that this rating system will be easy to understand and will be adopted by consumers much the same way the MPG rating is in the auto industry. As this becomes more main stream it will become one more tool that consumers can use to make informed decisions on their home purchases.
Marnella Homes is an Oregon based home building company building energy efficeint high performance homes ranging in price from $200k to $400k. 
Very intersting. This is someting that should be taking up by NAHB and made availble in all areas.
I always thought the higher the EPS, the better the efficiency and savings. It is good to know that it is the other way around. Even though I am not buying a home soon, this will become very useful when that time comes. Thanks for sharing! =)
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I certainly hope our house has a high performance rating. But I have a feeling it’s not as good as we would like. Kinda like having a 20 year old Volvo and only getting 25 mpg!
Great article. Good read to give to clients to help them realize the “green” side of things.
Thanks so much for the great info. I didn’t know there was an objective way to actually quantify which builders are the most energy efficient. I will definitely ask builders in the future about their EPS.
.-= Desert Mountain Real Estate´s last blog ..Living Large In Desert Mountain Scottsdale =-.
I like the analogy related to MPG for an automobile. However, I am not so sure that this scale is accurate. There are so many variables during home construction and factors in various physical environments. How will this scale fit in an environement like Alaska or Nevada?
Thank you all for visiting and commenting on the article. I hope to hear from you again.
Great article interesting facts about EPS I didnt know about until I read the blog.
Good question Chris. The EPS could certainly be used in either Alaska or Nevada, as it’s possible to model energy consumption in any location. It’s a dynamic tool that was developed, in part, so that it could be used throughout the country. Energy Trust of Oregon uses energy efficiency modeling software, weather data, home specs, etc… as the basis for the calculations and could certainly be replicated depending on the climate region.
As a note, I updated the article with an illustration of the Energy Performance Score. The difference between EPS & HERS is that EPS is based solely on energy consumption, where as the HERS is percentage based.
I have never heard of EPS. Thanks for pointing it out. I will definitely be looking for it the next time I run into a ‘green’ builder.
I’ve been looking for a more green alternative to getting my house in order. I’m quite pleased to find this information.
I feel these green homes are not only beneficial for the owner in terms of loan, resale value and energy utilization expenses but also for the environment.
The Advantages of Going Green at Home are obvious to almost everyone who knows about the effects of acid rain, global warming, poor air quality and the efforts being made to reverse the effects of these environmental disasters we have created for ourselves.