Home buyers and owners aren’t just concerned about energy efficiency, they’re increasingly interested in the water efficiency of homes as well, due in part to double-digit increases in water costs over the past few years in many areas of the country. Growing interest in water efficiency has prompted Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET) to partner with the International Code Council to develop a national consensus standard for home water efficiency dubbed HERS_H20. The standard will define how to calculate a rating index for home water efficiency.

The metric will consider the indoor and outdoor water use of a home as well as leaks and pressure. The information will be used to formulate a water rating, similar to a HERS score. RESNET announced the development of the new water index rating during its 2018 RESNET Building Performance Conference held Feb. 26-28.

Process for Developing the HERSH20 Standard

The development of the national standard is co-chaired by Jacob Atalla of KB Home, Ed Osann of the Natural Resources Defense Council and Jonah Schein of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s WaterSense program.

RESNET’s Water Efficiency Rating (WER) Index Advisory Council will oversee the development of the HERS_H20 and will examine information from subject matter experts before submitting a proposal for RESNET’s public review and comment process.

RESNET’s WER Index Working Group is responsible for developing the draft WER Index Guidelines to be submitted for public review and comment before finalization of the standard. Subcommittees of technical experts will:

• Model and develop a reference home
• Rate inspecting and testing procedures
• Manage rater training and qualification requirements
• Consider indoor water appliances and outdoor water use

For more information on the development of the standard, visit the RESNET HERS_H20 web page.