RESNET Board Establishes HERS Software Committee
OCEANSIDE, Calif. — The RESNET board of directors has adopted a HERS Software Consistency Collaborative Modeling Process, to create a mechanism by which RESNET can improve the consistency of HERS Index Scores and modeled energy consumption between RESNET accredited software tools and enhance accreditation testing parameters.
The key feature of this new process is the creation of a formal RESNET board standing committee, the Software Consistency Committee (SCC). The SCC will have one primary purpose: to hear, evaluate, and respond to software modeling consistency inquires put forth by RESNET members. In addition, the SCC will have the ability to proactively promote updates to the RESNET Modeling Guidelines, recommended updates to Publication No. 002 test boundaries, and requests for standards interpretations. To support the SCC, RESNET will recruit a technical consultant with extensive knowledge of building energy software modeling, who will serve as the energy modeling director.
“A key to ensuring the quality of HERS ratings is to enhance the consistency in which the various accredited HERS software programs calculate HERS Index Scores,” said Steve Baden, executive director, RESNET. “Too often in the past, the same home could receive a different score based upon the software program being used. This modeling process is part of a continuous, ongoing process to improve consistency.”
For the past four years, the RESNET Board has strived to enhance the consistency of the calculation of HERS Index Scores. To date, many steps have been taken, including:
- Adopting of the RESNET Publication No. 002, Procedures for Verification of RESNET Accredited HERS Software Tools;
- Establishing limits on input variables for whole-house ventilation systems;
- Incorporating bounds checks into software to limit or warn HERS raters when input values are beyond reasonable limits;
- Establishing Quality Assurance Designee (QAD) flags for internal inconsistencies that should be checked prior to entering a building file into RESNET registry; and
- Developing a RESNET building input common schema.
Publication date: 5/28/2018
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