Energy Modelling a House

I have spent the week in a course learning how to use a computer program (“Hot 2000”) that is able to figure out roughly how much energy a new home will use. Once I’ve passed the tests I will be able to call myself a “Certified Energy Advisor” for new houses.

Why is this training important? For the same reason automobiles are sold with a government label that identifies their expected gas mileage. This is certainly helpful information, especially as fuel prices resume their upward climb. The purchase price of a vehicle is only one consideration; how much it will cost to operate it is quite another.

Because houses and other buildings have not, until recently, been given a label that offers a way to compare to other buildings, buyers have not had reliable, impartial, information about the expected energy usage –especially a house that has not yet been built.

Even existing homeowners only know how much energy they are using. The number of occupants, the temperatures they keep their home at, the blinds being used (or not used!) at night, the number of baths and showers taken, the electronic devices used and other factors all affect the end result.

So this software takes the average user profile and applies it across the board. House "A" can now be compared to House "B| in a meaningful way. Eventually all homes will be labelled.

Given the fact that a much more energy-efficient home costs a bit more to build (typically around 5% more) but that the extra payments more than make up for this through lower energy bills, energy modelling is a good thing.

But my head hurts a little. Sorting out how to measure the volume of a lower level walk-out house, or a house with all kinds of cathedral ceilings and walls at strange angles to each other is not easy!

But if it helps us to prepare for rapidly rising energy prices by greatly reducing our wasteful energy practises, it is worth it.

Both our wallets and our planet will thank us.