Energy Performance Score

A Miles-Per-Gallon Rating for Your Home

Conceptualized by Earth Advantage Institute and supported by funding from the Energy Trust of Oregon, the Energy Performance Score (EPS) is a home energy rating system similar to the miles-per-gallon (MPG) rating for the auto industry.

Proven Accuracy

The EPS enables home buyers to directly compare energy consumption between homes while offering homeowners a natural market incentive to upgrade their homes as much as possible. The EPS methodology was validated during a 2008 pilot program conducted on 300 existing homes by Earth Advantage Institute and partner Conservation Services Group, with the support of Energy Trust of Oregon.

Scalable Pilot Program

The EPS is already in use on a voluntary basis for new homes in Oregon and for existing homes in a 5,000-home pilot program in Seattle and in a 1,200-home pilot in Bellingham, Washington.

Earth Advantage has created a scalable pilot program infrastructure for municipalities and states that enables rapid deployment of training resources, home audits, education and a web portal that matches homeowners with qualified energy contractors. For more information on this program, please see our pilot resource page.

This comprehensive initiative has attracted national interest. Many metropolitan areas and several government agencies, including the U.S. Department of Energy, are receiving reports on the pilots. In September 2010 the Department of Energy will issue its own voluntary residential energy labeling standard.

Why is it different?

Unlike other existing rating systems such as HERS (Home Energy Rating System), EPS enables home buyers to assess actual energy consumption between homes, rather than comparing energy efficiency levels that could be similar for both a large and a small home. It also eliminates the confusion that can occur in comparing homes to a hypothetical “index” house.

EAI’s pilot program report details the best protocol, audit procedures, software modeling tools, price points, and consumer messaging for wide scale deployment of the EPS performance metric. The report also outlines the training curriculum developed by EAI that is needed for the trade contractor network, agencies, cities, and state energy offices.