Builder Adds Solar System to Lower HERS Ratings

For a new model home, builder Stanley Martin Homes aimed low. And sometimes scoring low can be a good thing – the lower a HERS index number is, the more energy efficient the home.

The builder’s new model home in Charlottesville’s Westlake Hill at Foothill Crossing, Va., achieved a very low 29 on the Home Energy Rating System Index, compared to the standard rating of 100 which the U.S. Department of Energy awards to the average new home.

To achieve this goal, the builder offered a 5.2 kWh Sigora Solar power plant on the roof, enabling buyers to save money on energy costs and sustain the Virginia environment in which the house sits.

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