ENERGY STAR Certified Homes Version 3 Program Requirements

Should I use the Version 3 Program Requirements?

To earn the ENERGY STAR, a home must be certified under Version 3 of the program requirements, unless it is located in California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Guam, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Texas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Vermont, or Washington. A home in these locations must be certified using Regional Specifications.

How to Certify a Home

Select the core energy efficiency measures

Working with a Home Energy Rater, builders configure the preferred set of energy measures for their home and verify that the resulting HERS Index meets or exceeds the ENERGY STAR HERS Index Target. The National Program Requirements contain more information about how the target is defined and the typical measures used to meet this target. See the National Program Requirements (182KB).

Complete Mandatory Measures

Certification of a home also requires the completion of the following:

• Rater Design Review Checklist and Rater Field Checklist (632KB)
• HVAC Design Report (338KB)
• HVAC Commissioning Checklist (184KB)
• Water Management System Builder Requirements (120KB)

Issue ENERGY STAR Label and Certificate

EPA requires that ENERGY STAR certified homes be labeled and that homeowners to receive an ENERGY STAR certificate for their homes. Using RESNET-approved energy rating software, Providers can print labels and generate certificates that contain specific information about homes. Once a home has been certified to meet ENERGY STAR requirements, Providers will send ENERGY STAR certified home labels and certificates to builders. The labels should be affixed to the circuit breaker box of the home, and the certificates should be distributed to homeowners. Certificates can be generated with or without the HERS Index.

Sampling Protocol

’Sampling’ allows builders who have demonstrated an ability to consistently meet the ENERGY STAR Program Requirements to minimize production interruptions and verification costs. For more information, see Chapter 6 of the Mortgage Industry National Home Energy Rating Standards .

Policy Changes and Clarifications

EPA periodically makes policy changes and clarifications, typically in response to a unique situation within a particular climate zone, and shares frequently–asked questions. See Recent Policy Changes and Clarifications.

Sector–Specific Policies

EPA has developed eligibility and verification guidance for the following specific housing sectors:

• Manufactured homes built to HUD code
• Modular homes built to local codes
• Homes undergoing gut rehabilitation

Training Requirements and Resources

Version 3 includes new and more rigorous requirements for builders, raters, and HVAC contractors. EPA requires that they each complete training on Version 3 to promote successful adoption and has created a number of resources to assist them in understanding the Program Requirements. Learn More

Version 3 Development Archives

• Estimated Cost and Savings (2.2MB). This document includes estimates of representative incremental costs and savings for the ENERGY STAR Version 3 Program Requirements.
• EPA has archived documents related to the development of the Version 3 Program Requirements, including the draft specifications, public comments, and EPA responses. View the Archives.