Homes that participate in the program must meet guidelines for energy efficiency set by the Sponsors of the Massachusetts New Homes with ENERGY STAR® Program. Participating homes will be required to meet one of three performance Tiers. Home performance is measured against a baseline home for Massachusetts known as the User Defined Reference Home(UDRH). In addition to meeting the performance criteria homes must include the following or report the required information:

• Participating homes must be located in a service territory of one of the participating sponsors of the Joint Management Committee (JMC) as evidenced by town, zip code and, ultimately, a permanent electric and/or gas meter number.
• Homes participating in the Massachusetts New Homes with ENERGY STAR® Program, must be verified using the Performance Path method. This path requires independent verification by a RESNET qualified Home Energy Rater, or "HERS Rater"
• Homes can be either individual or master metered electric or gas, and will be eligible for additional heating, cooling and appliance equipment Program incentives based on the program’s requirements. Some multi-family units sharing a master meter are eligible for participation when heated with natural gas by a Program gas sponsor (this does not include master metered units). Only Homes serviced by a municipal electric company are eligible for 100% sponsorship.
• All homes must have at least one of the following Program outlined mechanical ventilation devices:
  • One bath fan rated for continuous use < 1.5 sones and controlled by a 24-hour programmable timer or one whole house mechanical ventilation system (includes an ERV or HRV) or A balanced supply and exhaust system without heat recovery or A multi-port exhausts only system with a remote mounted fan.
  • A controlled outdoor intake, with a controller and a motorized damper ducted into the return of an internal forced-air distribution system.
• Homes with HVAC ducted systems have a leakage rate at or below 6 CFM to outdoors per 100 sq. ft. of conditioned floor area. Testing is required on ALL ducted system, including systems with all of the ductwork located within conditioned space. Rater verification that the HVAC contractor performed a Manual J load calculation in accordance with the design conditions outlined in the ENERGY STAR® Version 2-Performance Path guidelines for proper sizing of central air conditioning equipment.
• Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) must be installed in at least 80% of all hard-wired, screw-based fixtures in the home and verified by a HERS Rater during final inspection.

All homes participating the 2011 Massachusetts New Homes with ENERGY STAR® Program must comply with the following:

• Compliance with sections 3 and 5 of the EPA’s ENERGY STAR® Thermal Enclosure System Rater Checklist
• ENERGY STAR® qualified appliances (refrigerator and dishwasher,) if installed by builder prior to inspection.
• A Thermal Expansion Valve (TXV) or Electronic Expansion Valve (EXV) is required on all cooling systems.
• The participating home must be “completed” as defined by the Program between December 11, 2010 and December 31, 2011.

Scheduled Field Inspections
Homebuilders are responsible for contacting their HERS Rater to schedule inspections that include required testing and verification. Below are descriptions of the inspections.

• HERS Raters offer additional consultation and inspections, to assist homebuilders new to the Program. These optional inspections usually take place before insulation is installed to identify and address potential problem areas such as duct sealing of the HVAC system and air sealing of the building shell.
• The first mandatory inspection is conducted after the insulation is installed but before drywall installation to verify the completion of sections 3 and 5 of the Thermal Enclosure System Rater Checklist(TEC).
• The final mandatory inspection consists of a blower door test (to test for air leakage in the house) and a duct blower test (to test leakage of the ducts). At this time, completion of the TEC will be conducted, if needed.

Earn the ENERGY STAR®
All homes built through the Massachusetts New Homes with ENERGY STAR® Program are encouraged and eligible to seek ENERGY STAR® qualification. To learn about specific requirements consult your HERS rater or view the ENERGY STAR® guidelines.