Insulation for New Construction & Remodeling

When undergoing a home remodeling project the homeowner has about a million things on their mind. If the homeowner is also acting as his own contractor then he has close to 2 million things to keep straight and in order. Energy efficiency is likely not going to be high on the list, although it should be. Remodeling gives an ideal opportunity to get rid of the old outdated equipment and to bring the energy efficiency of the home into the 21st century.

Our company provides and installs most types of insulating products used for temperature control in all kinds of buildings. The types of insulation include:
  • Floor
  • Wall
  • Attic

HERS Ratings and Verifications

HERS stands for Home Energy Rating System and was established in the early 1990s as a method to calculate and put a number on the energy efficiency of a residence. The first raters were certified in the early to mid-1990s. The ratings produced by these first raters were to be utilized by mortgage lenders to allow a home buyer to extend their debt to income ratio if buying a home already up to energy standards, or to allow more money to be included in the mortgage so energy efficiency upgrades could be installed in a newly purchased home. The HERS rating gave a number to a home energy conservation performance much like a “miles per gallon” number for a car. These types of raters are also known as “whole house raters” and require special certification to perform these ratings.

HERS Raters are also tasked with performing verifications, or special inspections, of new HVAC equipment or other building features. These Raters provide valuable information to the local Building Department so that the issued permit can be signed off and finalized. Some HERS Raters can also perform a “verification of existing conditions” for remodeling projects to allow homeowners to take compliance credit for certain upgrades they might not otherwise be eligible for.

See www.Calcerts.com, www.cheers.org or www.energy.ca.gov for more information on the HERS system. Our company has Raters trained for every certification available to provide any required services.

Title 24, Part 6: The Energy Codes

Title 24, Part 6 is the section of the California Building Code that regulates energy efficiency. This section outlines all the rules and procedures for new and retrofit construction regarding mandatory and optional energy-saving equipment. Every three years, or so, the California Energy Commission revises the codes to keep up with new energy standards and to help reach California’s goal of Net Zero by 2020. The latest code cycle is known as the 2016 code cycle which took effect January 1, 2017.