Welcome to the 2023 RESNET® Conference!

Everything you need to know as we kick of the second and final day of the 2023 RESNET Conference.  

In this session, Phil Crone of Leading Builders of America will share the near and mid-term outlooks for the housing market.

In this session, Ryan Meres, RESNET® Program Director, will share relevant updates on RESNET®’s cutting-edge programs and how they affect the industry. 

On May 1st-2nd, 2024 RESNET® is proud to host a Policy Forum in Washington, D.C. that is open to all. The 2024 RESNET® Policy Forum is a unique opportunity to lobby for your local and state energy-related initiatives and effect change in your own backyard. In this session, Carl Chidlow, WSW will dive deeper into exactly how this works and what to expect. 

RESNET's QA standard is seen by the housing industry as the Gold Standard for inspecting, testing, and rating a home's energy performance.  RESNET continually strives to make the QA process more efficient and effective. This is of great importance as the industry faces a competitive environment. Over the past few years, significant changes have been made and more proposed to accomplish these goals.
 
In this session, the RESNET QA Team will explain the changes that have been made and are being proposed to make the QA process more effective and efficient. This session is not targeted solely to QADs but rather is aimed at HERS® Raters, builders, and program sponsors to be aware of these changes.

Water is increasingly a great concern. Water and sewer rates are increasing faster than energy costs. Many parts of the nation are facing supply constraints. What are the stakes for builders with the issue? How does water efficiency play into this equation? This session will feature KB Homes, a large national production builder. The builder is seen as a national leader in water efficiency. In 2022 the builder had over 1,700 homes HERSH20® rated. These homes are calculated to save over 84 million gallons of water annually and save homebuyers over $562,000 annually in water bills. KB Home has also committed to having all new developments in Arizona, California, and Nevada HERSH20® rated and certified under the EPA’s WaterSense for home program. This session will explore why this national builder has committed to water efficiency, what it means to its bottom line and why other builders should commit to greater water efficiency. 

The 2023 CEE Integrated Home Competition is pleased to present awards to seven innovative connected home devices that exemplify the four tenets of the CEE Integrated Home vision: energy savings, demand flexibility, consumer amenity, and security. The CEE Integrated Home is a connected, fuel-neutral, interactive, and efficient home where devices and systems effectively communicate to provide new value to customers, utility systems, and society. The Integrated Home Competition supports this vision through public promotion of commercially available solutions that are simple, reliable, well-designed, and highly functional.

ROOM- Toucan

There are dozens of different energy codes in the US. Most states and many cities have created their own unique codes. This adds complexity, cost, and inefficiency to code compliance. In this session we will take a zoomed-out look at the situation and the various codes that exist, review how we got here, and discuss some possible improvements that could be made.

ROOM- Macaw

This session will provide an overview of the Phius Certification requirements, the QA process, and the opportunity for Raters to add Phius Certification to their offerings.

ROOM- Cockatoo

Join David Choo, CalCERTS Director of Compliance, to learn about the changes the California Energy Commission is proposing to the Field Verification and Diagnostic Testing program. David will discuss the proposed changes and how they could impact California’s HERS® Raters and HERS® Rating Companies that verify compliance of the Building Energy Efficiency Standards for new and existing homes. 

ROOM- Rousseau Center

This session will highlight the importance and use of the HERS® Index in Freddie Mac’s single-family green products, including both green mortgages and green bonds. We plan to discuss the challenges we are facing as well as the opportunities in these areas, using the session as a call to action for builders and lenders, stressing the importance of their role in creating standardization and salability in this market. We could also discuss the Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD) Redesign and the inclusion of energy efficiency rating information in the future.

ROOM- Rousseau West

Attend this session to learn about the key changes included in ENERGY STAR Single-Family New Homes Revision 13 and ENERGY STAR Multifamily New Construction Revision 04, with an anticipated release in late 2023.

ROOM- Kon Tiki

The array of ventilation solutions available has come a long way in a short period of time, AI especially, for whole home applications. As energy code requirements become more rigorous, ventilation systems need to keep up. ”Build Tight, Ventilate Right” is becoming more meaningful every year. Options range from the more simple exhaust or supply air products to increasingly more common ERVs and HRVs which can significantly improve energy modeling results. This session will briefly cover some ventilation basics before delving into the pros and cons of the various system types.  Special attention will be given to energy recovery products including installation options. Dehumidification and smart ventilation will also be touched on. 

ROOM- Toucan

Texas HB 3215 which was enacted into law in 2021 amended the state’s energy code to recognize HERS® ratings as a compliance option to the state’s energy code. The law presented a glide path to Lone Star builders where over time the required HERS® Index Scores grow lower. This presents dependability for builders who know over time they must improve their homes' energy performance. The law also has a backstop of requiring the 2018 IECC envelope requirements.

 

The new law is having immediate effect. In the first year of being in effect the number of homes HERS® rated in Texas increased by 19%.

 

This will only grow in 2023 RESNET® partnered with the Texas Association of Builders to undertake education programs in all of the states local builder associations on the HERS® Index and the new code compliance option.

 

This session will explore what effect this new option is having in the nation’s largest new housing market and how the Texas movement is relevant to other states. There will be an interview with the Leading Builders of America where the national implications of the Texas law will be explored. 

ROOM- Macaw

The Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Agriculture are considering requiring their mortgage programs to comply with the 2021 version of the IECC. This session will provide the reasons for this action, explain the two agencies' mortgage programs, and other energy efficiency initiatives.

ROOM- Cockatoo

Join Jeremiah Ellis of CalCERTS as he discusses the 2022 California Energy Code. This session will provide an update on Low-rise Multifamily Projects and an overview of registering LRMF projects. The CalCERTS Team will highlight essential changes and provide energy consultants with the support necessary to navigate these new requirements.  The discussions will include relevant energy code updates and the process for registering LMCC projects, uploading field verification pictures, and supporting documentation.

ROOM- Rousseau Center

Energy efficiency program administrators are under increasing pressure to deliver diverse integrated demand side management (IDSM) goals relative to energy savings, carbon reduction, resource flexibility, load forecasting, and customer amenities. Through the promotion of new, innovative, and efficient technologies, voluntary energy programs are well-positioned to advance these objectives and steer the transition toward decarbonized “homes of the future.” The Consortium for Energy Efficiency (CEE) membership has worked over many years to define consensus-based efficiency and load flexibility specifications that provide a foundation for program administrators to design new construction offerings that specify product functionalities necessary to support energy management objectives. 

 

For utilities to track progress on decarbonization targets and measure greenhouse gas emissions, they need accounting on a much more granular level than annual consumption, as emission intensity varies by both time of day and season. In addition, on-site fuels have a significant impact on the distribution system and forecasting long term emission levels. The new RESNET® Carbon Rating Index (ANSI/RESNET®/ICC 301 Standard CO2e Rating Index) presents an exciting opportunity for utility incentive and load flexibility programs to measure carbon emissions by addressing when energy is used in the home and how much energy can be reduced. This session will highlight CEE member program administrator activity to design and deploy residential new construction program offerings that incorporate the latest technological advancements and mechanisms for measuring impact. 

ROOM- Rousseau West

When the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) first developed the ENERGY STAR Certification System for Homes and Apartments Using an Energy Rating Index or Dwelling Unit Modeling Compliance Path in 2018, it included requirements for Home Certification Organization (HCO) “Quality Control Protocols”.  Since that time, compliance matters have brought additional information to light that suggests room for improvement in those requirements. In addition, the 45L tax credit’s newfound reliance on the ENERGY STAR program is expected to put the quality and reliability of ENERGY STAR certifications under greater scrutiny than ever before. 
 
Based on this, EPA believes it is necessary and appropriate at this time to strengthen the ENERGY STAR Certification System’s quality assurance/quality control (QAQC) requirements. EPA has developed a draft proposal designed to improve the effectiveness of current QAQC activities, give HCOs new tools to oversee participants operating in their ENERGY STAR certification programs, and ultimately create more confidence in the quality of ENERGY STAR certifications.
 
This session will focus on the proposed changes and how you can submit your input on them.

ROOM- Kon Tiki

This will be an overview of the history of Blower Doors- discussing the origins of development and its connection to supporting the work done by energy raters. This session will then discuss the key issues and opportunities to improve testing, data management & integrity, and maintenance of equipment for Raters and providers.

ROOM- Toucan

Increasingly, home builders are building single-family homes aimed at rentals as well as purchases. As mortgage loans become harder to qualify for, more families are attracted to such an option.

 

Rental home developers are interested in attracting financing through ESG. This then leads to having the homes HERS® rated. What is the role of HERS® ratings and ESG in this movement? 

 

This session will feature HERS® Rating companies who are positioning themselves for this new emerging opportunity and an investor working with a HERS® rating company to launch a net zero energy HERS® rated Build to Rent community. Project details and the roles of HERS® Raters and Green funding will be explored. 

ROOM- Macaw

The most energy efficient home is still vulnerable to environmental threats; hazard resilience is key to sustainability. This session will cover advances in hazard resilient construction technology, strategy, and verification options while describing energy efficiency itself as a hazard mitigation tactic. The session will also address how energy efficiency and hazard resilience work together to create long-term housing affordability.

ROOM- Cockatoo

The HERS® industry is in need of an infusion of new and more diverse talent. To meet this need, RESNET® has collaborated with  Building Talent Foundation to create a platform where new people can learn of the opportunities of the HERS® industry and rating companies can new talent. This session will introduce Building Talent Foundation, its collaboration with RESNET®, and how rating companies can take advantage of this opportunity.

ROOM- Rousseau West

Everyone is talking about heat pumps these days, and how they are a critical technology needed to meet decarbonization and electrification goals around the world. But how much credit should a home get for different kinds of heat pumps? Inverter-driven heat pumps, cold-climate heat pumps, variable capacity heat pumps...what's the difference!? And what can SEER2 and HSPF2 tell us about how they will perform in real life? This session will review the current state of modeling heat pump technologies and the challenges being addressed by a new RESNET® Heat Pump Modeling Working Group.

ROOM- Kon Tiki

Radiant barriers are increasingly used by homebuilders to help boost their homes’ HERS® Index Scores. The RESNET® 2023 Statistical Abstract, ”Trends in HERS® Rated Homes", reports that in 2022, 32 percent of all HERS® rated homes had a radiant barrier. This is up from 29 percent in 2021.  

 

Just how accurate is HERS® rating software in calculating the performance of radiant barriers? To answer this question, the University of Tennessee’s Mechanical Aerospace and Biomedical department conducted a detailed analysis. The analysis included a detailed energy assessment of radiant barrier performance in buildings and sensitivity of thermal emittance on roof and attic. The study resulted in the development of a simplified algorithm for calculating heat flow crossing attic floor. This development could be an important tool for HERS® rating software developers to improve their software analysis.

ROOM- Toucan

If you have heard about the new 45L tax incentives associated with ENERGY STAR and Zero Energy Ready Homes, but are not sure how Indoor airPLUS fits into that, this session is for you!

EPA’s Indoor airPLUS team will give an overview of the program, how it’s being updated in Version 2, how it applies to single-family homes as well as multifamily buildings, and how it relates to 45L. We will cover key design changes builders will need to prepare for in 2024 and beyond, as they pursue certification for improved source control, ventilation, and air cleaning for their clients. Indoor airPLUS Verifiers also play an increasingly important role in Version 2, with enhancements to moisture management requirements and performance testing for numerous building components and systems. Join us to learn how Raters can leverage their current Rating skills while expanding their business services to include this IAQ-focused certification for industry-leading builders. 

 

1. Understand the key updates and enhancements in Indoor airPLUS Version 2 including revised program requirements and a new framework for verification and quality control.

2. Learn about EPA’s recently proposed two-tier certification model for Indoor airPLUS, how the program has adapted various elements of program design based on stakeholder feedback, and how the program interfaces with ENERGY STAR, DOE Zero Energy Ready, and the 45L tax credits. 

3. Learn the role of Indoor airPLUS Verifiers in assessing and promoting indoor air quality protections in residential buildings of all heights, both newly constructed and gut-rehabilitated, along with best practices for incorporating IAQ enhancements during design.

4. Understand the implementation timeline for Indoor airPLUS Version 2 and how builders and raters can participate.

ROOM- Macaw

Pearl Certification involves the labeling of homes for the real estate market. RESNET® and Pearl have a long history of collaboration to involve HERS® Raters in their certification program.

 

The Inflation Reduction Act has allocated billions of dollars in federal funds for energy upgrades of existing homes and workforce development.  This session will explore how Pearl Certification is positioning itself to take advantage of these programs and how RESNET® HERS® Raters can become involved in these efforts.

ROOM- Cockatoo

Fannie Mae Single-Family green financing business’s goal is to enable positive environmental impacts and better financial outcomes for homeowners by providing mortgage financing for energy-efficient single-family homes that have been HERS® rated and are certified under the EPA’s ENERGY STAR New Homes program.

 

To qualify the homes must be:

 

·Certified as ENERGY STAR or other equivalent Green Building Certifications 

·Rated by a certified RESNET® HERS® Rater

·Entered into the RESNET National Registry

 

This session will explain Fannie Mae’s commitment to leading and innovating in green finance, program overview and progress, and a view into what’s next.

ROOM- Rousseau West

This session will provide an overview of the new AeroBarrier system and software innovations that better align with ANSI/RESNET 380. These innovations aim to enhance operations and ensure greater consistency with industry standards and best practices.  
 

We will also discuss how HERS® Raters can leverage pre-construction energy modeling to optimize customer projects through value engineering, particularly by using performance testing metrics. This approach adds additional value for HERS® Raters and their customers and can help to reduce overall construction costs.  

 

The session will specifically explore exactly how AeroBarrier can fit into HERS® Raters business model.

ROOM- Kon Tiki

Learn about innovations in recent decades of whole house fans, which are facilitating a new common-sense approach to space cooling, home ventilation, and passive cooling.

 

Learn about the efficacy of common-sense cooling approach, and whole house fans in the HERS® rating system changes that are coming. Discuss impacts of common-sense cooling, HVAC cooling load offsets, basic usage, modeling information, and how whole house fans have significant relationships with HVAC systems, solar, decarbonization, and grid reduction.