Oceanside nonprofit’s rating system for homes gaining traction
as key industry tool  Q: Is the score motivating people to make
home efficiency upgrades?  A: It’s not empirical evidence, but
we’re seeing cases anecdotally where people get a rating and
upgrade the home so it can have a higher resale value or be sold
faster.  Q: Could the day come where builders put energy
upgrades ahead of, say, granite countertops?  A: What the
builders are finding out is that it’s not a case of either/or.
Many times by making these improvements your utility bills go
down to a certain extent that you actually can afford granite
countertops, too.  Q: Is this the equivalent of a government
certification?  A: This is completely a market-driven approach.
But a lot of the research comes from government programs. The
Energy Department uses the HERS index for its Builders Challenge
program. The EPA uses the HERS index for the Energy Star home-
efficiency label. And the IRS uses our standard for the energy-
efficient home credit.  Q: Pr