The Value of a Green Built Home

Herrington Homes offers homebuyers energy efficiency at the right cost.

Homebuyers today want to know that their new homes are built to be as energy-efficient as possible. At Herrington Homes, every home is built green in order to provide customers an increase in comfort and savings with less of an environmental impact.

In the industry of green building, it all boils down to the Home Energy Rating System (HERS) index. Much like a thermometer on a wall, the lower the HERS rating, the more energy efficient a house is, while the higher the rating, the less efficient the house is. North Carolina State Building Code requires all new homes to meet a maximum HERS index score of 85. Herrington Homes has created a company policy of delivering homes between a score of 50 and 62 and never above a 65. This reduced energy consumption means that customers are receiving a high performance home that will ultimately be less expensive to own.

Just how does Herrington Homes create such energy-saving homes? By utilizing a variety of energy efficiency features and benefits. Some of their techniques are using 2×6 studs on all exterior stud walls for more effective insulation and a reduction of heat transfer, foil-backed radiant barrier roof sheathing to reduce attic temperatures by as much as 30 to 40 degrees, and hybrid hot water heaters with heat-pump technology.

At the start of any project, Herrington Homes will consult a third-party HERS rater to ensure that all mechanical, structural, thermal, plumbing and electrical systems are working together to operate at peak performance. Using computer model software, the rater can predict how much energy a home is going to use and just how much money a customer’s future energy bills will be. Duke Energy then guarantees this energy bill prediction for three years, giving customers peace of mind knowing that they are investing their housing dollars wisely.

As leaders in the market, Herrington Homes offers home-buyers many valuable residential benefits in addition to greater energy efficiency. With homes built to maintain both proper temperature and humidity levels in every season and properly constructed to avoid drafts, customers are ensured a more comfortable home. In addition, Herrington Homes are extremely durable and made to preserve their energy-efficiency properties for decades to come. Another benefit is overall wellness, as they are each built to ensure healthy air quality. The end result is a high-performance home that’s not only more valuable and enjoyable to live in, but also holds a higher resell appeal as well.

“At Herrington Homes, our company policy is to always build as efficiently as possible but at the right cost,” General Manager Craig Johnson says. “We want to give our customers the most bang for their buck. In this country, 22 percent of our energy consumption is used in homes. My job as a builder is simply to find ways that I can help save some of our reliance on energy.”