Earth Advantage Launches Easy-to-Use Home Energy Audit Software for Generation of 'Miles-Per-Gallon' Rating Labels

First Pay-as-You-Go Online Tool for Auditors Speeds Home Assessment, Debuts at ACI 2011

PORTLAND, Ore., March 2, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Earth Advantage Institute, a nonprofit green building resource that co-developed the Energy Performance Score (EPS) home rating system, today announced it will launch EPS Auditor, a cost-effective and easy-to-use online home energy assessment tool for auditors that generates EPS Scorecards and recommendation reports in real time.

The tool, tested during extensive pilots in Seattle and Bellingham, Washington, has received highly favorable feedback because of its accuracy and simplicity. EPS Auditor enables auditors to conduct on-site energy assessments faster and provide customized, professional-looking reports and recommendations to homeowners within minutes. EPS Auditor requires fewer data inputs per site visit while using templates to accelerate the real-time generation of home energy reports and scorecards.

EPS Auditor will be the first "pay-as-you-go" web-based audit tool, eliminating the need for association membership costs, software licensing fees, and provider approval fees. The only requirement is that auditors be certified by the Building Performance Institute (BPI) and that they complete an EPS training webinar.

"Energy auditors need to conduct audits quickly and effectively, and then deliver reports to homeowners while their interest level is high," said Bruce Minturn, chief building analyst at Vesta Home Performance in Seattle. "The online EPS Auditor's template allows us to immediately generate great-looking reports with photos, recommendations, and illustrative EPS scorecards. The reports also serve as a complete scope of work that homeowners can pass along to contractors for bids."

The EPS Auditor tool is based on SIMPLE, software developed by expert Michael Blasnik that was shown to outperform other software in estimating a home's expected total energy consumption while maintaining superior accuracy for both new and existing homes. The tool's auditor interface was developed based on feedback from working auditors.

The software will be demonstrated at  ACI (Affordable Comfort Inc.) 2011 in San Francisco, March 28 to April 1. Auditors who wish to sign up in advance for a two-part online training can do so at the Earth Advantage website.

About EPS

The Energy Performance Score (EPS) is a home energy rating system similar to the miles-per-gallon (MPG) rating for the auto industry. The scorecard provides an estimate of home energy consumption as well as related carbon emissions, and shows home buyers and homeowners where the home ranks in energy use on a regional and national scale. Home-related businesses, from real estate to lending and insurance companies, see the EPS as a metric to help them increase demand for existing and new service offerings.

About Earth Advantage Institute

Earth Advantage Institute works with the building and design industry to help implement sustainable building practices. Its nonprofit mission is to create an immediate, practical and cost-effective path to sustainability and carbon reduction in the built environment. The organization achieves its objectives through a range of innovative certification, education and technical services programs.

SOURCE Earth Advantage Institute