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Energy Efficiency
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Energy Efficiency

Silverwood Design focuses on beautiful structures that are highly energy efficient and comfortable to live in.

A home designed to use less than half the energy of the "average benchmark" puts a variety of tools to work towards a common end. Fully insulated concrete slabs and basement walls not only keep below grade areas dry, but use the preserved temperature of the earth as a "free natural heat pump". Proper wall thickness and framing technique combined with air tight insulation and house wrap stop energy waste. Using the right type of window and the right size window makes for pleasant living spaces that are efficient to condition.

Most Silverwood house plans have been built at least once, and most of our plans have been submitted to third party energy evaluation companies for review upon completion. Site inspections by such parties have been performed during construction, and field tests, including blower door pressure testing, conducted on the completed residence. These designs consistently return HERS Ratings below 50. 

If you are planning a home that will be Energy Star rated, or built to a LEED standard, a Silverwood plan will help you achieve your goal.

What is The HERS Rating?

A Home Energy Rating involves an analysis of a home's construction plans and onsite inspections. Based on the home's plans, the Home Energy Rater uses an energy efficiency software package to perform an energy analysis of the home's design. This analysis yields a projected, pre-construction HERS Index.
Upon completion of the plan review, the rater will work with the builder to identify the energy efficiency improvements needed to ensure the house will meet ENERGY STAR performance guidelines. The rater then conducts onsite inspections, typically including a blower door test (to test the leakiness of the house) and a duct test (to test the leakiness of the ducts). Results of these tests, along with inputs derived from the plan review, are used to generate the HERS Index for the home.
Unlike a Building Performance Audit or a weatherization assessment, a home energy rating is a recognized tool in the mortgage industry. Home energy ratings can be used in a variety of ways in the housing industry. Since a rating quantifies the energy performance of a home, the HERS Index provides an easily understandable means to compare the relative energy efficiency of different homes.