The HTRC

The Homeowners & Trades Resource Center

HERS

HERS or the Home Energy Rating System is the industries benchmarking tool for modeling a home’s energy use. The system is comprised of two parts; an index and a score. The index is linear with two static points; a “0” equates to a net-zero home (one that produces as much electricity as it uses) while […]

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HRV

HRV stands for Heat Recovery Ventilator & is designed to exchange stale indoor air air from the outside while preconditioning it. The HRV while similiar to an  differs in the fact that while the two streams pass through the core, they never touch which only allows for the transfer of heat, not mouisture.

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HSPF

HSPF or Heating Seasonal Performance Factor, is an efficiency rating for Heat Pumps which takes the estimated seasonal heating output in BTU’s & divides that by the amount of energy that it consumes. The higher the HSPF the better. Currently units must have a 7.7 HSPF or better with 13 being the most efficient.

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HVAC

HVAC stands for Heating Ventilation and Air-Conditioning which many use to reference an all in one heat pump/ furnace & AC unit. It also refers to a professional group of tradesmen licensed & trained to work on those three systems &/or the board that oversees them.

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IAQ

IAQ stands for Indoor Air Quality

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ICC

The ICC or International Code Council is a non-profit organization made up of code officials, organizations, and numerous others individuals who are responsible for creating & modifying the base set of Building, Energy, & other Specialty codes for the “built environment”

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ICF

ICF or insulated Concrete Form is a form that generally consists of two layers of foam. This form is designed to stay in place after the concrete pour resulting in a monolithic insulated wall structure.

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Industry Standard

An industry standard is defined as “Generally accepted requirements followed by the members of an industry.” While this sounds like a good thing, buyer beware as point out in our Industry Standards 101 article

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Infrared

Infrared can be shorthand for numerous items but mainly it always revolves around Infrared Radiation which is part of the electromagnetic spectrum. This part of the spectrum is invisible to the human eye because of its wavelength, but one can still sense it through feel; how hot or cold an item is or see it with a speciality […]

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IR

IR is short for Infrared Radiation which is part of the electromagnetic spectrum. It is invisible to the human eye because its wavelength in the spectrum is too long for the sensors in our eyes to detect it. While our eyes may not see it, we can still sense it through feel; how hot or […]

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