The Home Energy Rating System (HERS) ratings provide a standard measurement of a home’s energy efficiency. The HERS index is the official number that comes from the rating. Every new home that is built is required to have a HERS score of at most 100 (lower numbers are better). Three Brothers Painting shares the key points on HERS scores, how they effect your newly purchased or current home, and how you can improve the HERS score of your home.
HERS ratings are determined by a third-party onsite inspection. They identify your home’s key characteristics such as insulation levels, window efficiency, wall-to-window ratios, the solar orientation of the home and more. Also included in the rating are performance tests such as a blower door test for air leakage. For every rating point above or below 100, the home is that percent less or more efficient than the same building built to standard code. This scoring system allows comparison of apples to apples, rather than apples to oranges. For example, if your large home has a HERS score of 65 that means that it will use less energy than the typical large home – but it will still use more energy than a small house with a HERS score of 100.
Improving the HERS score of your home – and therefore increasing your home’s energy efficiency and reducing heating and cooling costs – is quite simple and can be done on a budget. While major changes such as switching out your windows for more energy efficient ones and changing the heating and cooling systems are always an option, Three Brothers Painting offers several solutions that can improve your HERS score within a few hours.
It is common that the seals around old windows and door frames can dry up over time leading to cracking and the potential of leaking air. When you are letting cold air in and your warm air out, are you losing the battle against winter temperatures that your heating system is trying so hard to keep up with. Calling Three Brothers in to scrape out the old caulk and reapply a new seal will stop the leaking around the seals in your home’s exterior.
Wood rot can cause its own problems, allowing the elements to invade the warm cocoon of your Roswell, Georgia home. Wood rot is caused when moisture gets trapped in the wood siding, door facings, or window frames on your home. This allows moisture and air to work their way through the cracks and crevices, right into your home. Three Brothers Painting offers wood rot repair and other small wood repair services to keep your home not only looking its best but performing its best!