Home certification for DIY improvements?
john.p.reuter
| Posted in General Questions on
Hi,
I am based in Illinois and have a energy star certificate program available to me,(http://www.illinoishomeperformance.org/) but it requires that the contractor do the work I would rather do myself for 15-20% of the cost.
Is anyone aware of a low cost certification where I can do the work myself?
I am hoping a certification will help me get a better appraisal/sales value in the future which is a long term goal of making some of the changes. This for an existing home 67′ and the projects will mostly focus on sealing and insulation additions / improvements.
Thanks,
John
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Replies
John,
The most well-regarded method of rating the energy performance of a house is to obtain a HERS rating. Once you have completed your work -- work that you can certainly perform yourself, without hiring a contractor, if that's what you want to do (and if local electrical and plumbing codes allow you do proceed that way) -- you can get a HERS rating and brag about it.
Of course, only a certified HERS rater can rate your house, and getting the rating will cost you some money. But if you go this route, the HERS rater won't care who did the renovation work.
I am fine paying for the rating work, it is the improvement work I want to be able to do myself.
How likely is it you will actually be able to get a better sales value, buyers don't place a big premium on a more efficient house, now solar panels or solar hot water are sexy and may make part of their price back even if they are high hanging fruit
IMO you should do this for environmental and money saving benefits.