All homes built by ABD Development are independently rated by Skyetec, an award-winning energy rating and indoor environmental consulting company based in Jacksonville, Florida.

SkyeTec’s HERS Index Rating Program evaluates and verifies the energy efficiency of a home using the Home Energy Rating system developed by the Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET). The Home Energy Rating System (HERS) Index is the industry standard for measuring a home’s energy efficiency and the nationally recognized system for inspecting and calculating energy performance.

During construction, SkyeTec energy raters visit the home to verify that the construction conforms to the approved plans and the home is on track to achieve the efficiency goals. After construction is complete, SkyeTec raters perform a blower door and duct blaster test. These tests measure how air tight the building envelope and the duct system are. A tight home and duct system equates to less air leaking to the outside and less infiltration of outside air into the home. To be energy efficient, these tests must not exceed a specified level.

SkyeTec verifies various features and building components of the home throughout the construction process and inputs this data into RESNET approved software. From this data, the software calculates the HERS Index Score for the home. The HERS Index Score falls on a scale between 0 and 150. The lower the HERS Index Score, the more energy efficient the home is. A score of 150 represents a home with major air leakage, no insulation, and extremely high energy consumption. A score of 0 represents a net-zero energy home that is airtight, well insulated, sufficiently ventilated, and requires no purchased energy on an annual basis.