Need a “reference house” energy use estimate (Utah – 7000 HDD/200CDD)
Does anyone have a link for a website where I can get estimated energy use for the RESnet “reference House” built to IBC 2006. We want to validate the HERS index (24) on our new house, and now have one year of data to compare it to.
thanks
GBA Detail Library
A collection of one thousand construction details organized by climate and house part
Replies
Richard and Miranda,
I may be misunderstanding your question, but it seems to me that the answer is contained in your HERS Index score.
There is no single reference home; when the REM/Rate software is run for your house, the software creates an imaginary reference house the same size as the house being rated. The software assumes that this rated house is built to barely meet the 2006 IECC.
In your case, your home design uses only 24% of the energy of this imaginary reference home. Of course, your actual energy use may differ from the software projection, because you may take more or fewer hot showers, or you may watch more or fewer hours of television, than the software program assumes.
For more information, see How Is a Home’s HERS Index Calculated?