Pivotal Energy Solutions announced today new functionality available within its AXIS software platform enabling generation of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Home Energy Score™ from REM/Rate™ energy model inputs. The U.S. Department of Energy’s Home Energy Score lets homeowners quickly and affordably know how their homes compare to others in terms of energy performance and what steps they can take to improve their home’s efficiency. Typically used for existing homes, Pivotal’s unique approach enables a Home Energy Score to be generated from REM/Rate energy model inputs, which are generally collected as part of the energy rating process for new home construction. “There are literally millions of energy models that have been created over the last two decades for regional, national, and utility-sponsored residential new construction energy efficiency programs and this functionality enables generation of a Home Energy Score for these homes that can be used in both the real estate and financial markets,” said Bob Burns, president of Pivotal.

Pivotal developed this functionality in partnership with Energy Trust of Oregon, which uses Pivotal’s AXIS platform to administer its EPS™ New Construction offering. To support City of Portland’s Home Energy Score ordinance, Energy Trust sought to streamline the generation of a Home Energy Score for builders and verifiers already participating in EPS New Construction. EPS New Construction verifiers who are also Home Energy Score assessors affiliated with the City of Portland Home Energy Score program may use AXIS to generate an official Home Energy Score using the same REM/Rate energy model created for submission to Energy Trust’s EPS New Construction offering. For energy raters, verifiers, and assessors not affiliated with a Home Energy Score Partner, a Home Energy Score generated by AXIS is “unofficial” since the required assessor training and quality assurance oversight is not met. “Although the generation of a Home Energy Score using legacy energy model data does not result in an official score, we believe that there is still tremendous value in unofficial scores being generated for large volumes of homes to help inform home buyers who value energy efficiency and in assisting the real estate and financial industries in properly valuing high performance homes,” said Burns. “Moving forward, generating a Home Energy Score as part of an energy rating for new homes will simply augment the data available to the home owner and appraiser when it comes time to sell the home. It’s a win-win for everyone,” Burns added.

To learn more about AXIS, contact Pivotal Energy Solutions directly. Click here to learn more about the Home Energy Score and how to become a Home Energy Score Partner or Assessor. Click here for more information on Energy Trust’s EPS New Construction offering.