The Architectural Energy Corporation (AEC), in cooperation with AGA, has released a new software package that gives home builders, consumers and energy purchasers the tools to measure energy efficiency more completely and accurately than was previously possible. AGA supports the program's capability to calculate energy consumption over the entire energy cycle, instead of just at the site of consumption. AGA has worked with members of Congress and the executive branch to educate them on the benefits of "total energy efficiency." This method of measuring energy efficiency is more comprehensive and realistic than existing energy rating tools, which ignore the energy that is lost from the point of generation of the energy to the point of use.
Not only with the software program, REM/Rate (v9.12), make it much easier to measure the total energy efficiency of homes and equipment, the REM/Rate software package also meets the requirements for conducting Home Energy Rating System (HERS) ratings under the National Association of State Energy Officers National Home Energy Rating Technical guidelines. As an added value, REM/Rate includes the capability to calculate air pollutant emissions. Emissions calculations take into consideration house and equipment specifications and include heating, cooling, water heating, and lights and appliances.
Source energy and emissions calculations are based upon analysis of the Environmental Protection Agency's E-GRID97 database. The REM/Rate source energy and emissions report provides a comparison with the rated house against a reference home that uses all-electric equipment for space conditioning and water heating. But the software can be used to compare and rate an unlimited combination of envelope and equipment packages to determine source energy and emissions impacts.
For more information on the REM/Rate software, contact:
Architectural Energy Corporation
2540 Frontier Ave., Suite 201
Boulder, CO 80301
(303) 444-4149
www.archenergy.com
For more information on Total Energy Efficiency, contact:
Ted Williams
Director, Codes, Standards and Technical Support
American Gas Association
(202) 824-7313
twilliams@aga.org