High Performance Home Tech Talk


Welcome to the Build Omaha Certified High Performance Home Blog.  My name is Jesse Krivolavek and I am a building scientist with experience testing over 4,000 homes.  I am delighted to serve as the moderator and bloggerator for all things that impact performance, building science and energy efficiency in new homes.

We will start with introducing the Certified High Performance home Program.  The program is sponsored by Build Omaha and is a recognition, marketing and training program.  The website is certifiedhph.com and here are a few fun facts about the program:

  • Certified High Performance Homes EARN a HERS Index of 65 or lower during a Third-Party Certified HERS Rating.
  • A Certified High Performance Home is built by a HIGH QUALITY BUILDER that undergoes continuous training in climate zone specific building science, current best practices and the HERS INDEX.
  • Certified High Performance Homes are DESIGNED to use at least 35% less energy than the average similar new home and 50% less energy than a similar existing home.
  • In addition to using LESS ENERGY to lower operating costs and reduce environmental impacts, Certified High Performance Homes are built to have better air quality, durability and comfort.
  • A Certified High Performance Homes has a HERS Rating label and national recognized documentation (40% of all new homes in the U.S. were HERS Rated in 2011).
The next topic will be on "What the Heck is a HERS Rating" . . . but I would like to encourage anyone wanting to know more about building science, home performance or energy efficiency, to please submit topic requests.