What Does HERS Rating Mean, and Why Does Home Creations Publish It?

By the Home Creations Team | Last Updated: August 17, 2026

A HERS rating is a number that tells you how energy efficient a home is, and the lower the number, the more efficient the home. Home Creations has every home in the Oklahoma City metro rated by a certified RESNET energy rater before it's sold, and publishes the score rather than just describing the home as "energy efficient." Here's what that number actually measures and why it matters more than the phrase alone.

What HERS Actually Stands For

HERS stands for Home Energy Rating System, and it was developed by RESNET, the Residential Energy Services Network, as a standardized way to measure a home's energy performance. Think of it like a miles-per-gallon rating for a house. A brand new home built to standard code requirements typically scores around 100. A home scoring 44, for example, uses roughly 56% less energy than that baseline. The lower the number, the less energy the home needs to run.

This matters because "energy efficient" on its own doesn't mean much. Plenty of builders use the phrase. A HERS score is a specific, third-party-verified number, tied to a rater's name and a real inspection, not a description someone wrote for a listing.

Why a Third Party Does the Rating, Not the Builder

The rating comes from a certified RESNET rater, someone independent from the construction team, who inspects the home and runs the calculations. That independence is the point. If Home Creations rated its own homes, the number wouldn't mean anything to a buyer trying to compare it against another home. Because the rater is certified and outside the company, the score is something you can actually trust and compare.

What Actually Gets Measured

A HERS rater doesn't just look at the thermostat or the windows. The rating accounts for the whole system working together, including insulation, air sealing, windows, the HVAC system, and the water heater. A few examples of what goes into a Home Creations home in the OKC metro:

• R-44 attic insulation, well above the state code minimum of R-30, which means less heat escaping in winter and less heat coming in during summer
• Low-E windows filled with argon gas, which slow down heat transfer through the glass compared to standard windows
• Radiant barrier roof decking, which reflects heat away from the attic instead of absorbing it
• A 96% efficient Navien tankless water heater, one of the highest-rated Energy Star gas tankless units available
• A 96% efficient furnace paired with 16 SEER air conditioning, compared to the 14 SEER minimum required by code
• Mastic-sealed HVAC joints, which keep conditioned air from leaking out of the ductwork before it reaches a room

None of these are things a buyer can easily see or verify on their own by walking through a home. The HERS score is what ties them all together into one number you can actually use to compare.

What the Score Looks Like on Real Home Creations Plans

As an example, the Azalea plan carries a HERS score of 44, and the Berkeley 3-car plan scores a 49. Scores vary by plan and by community, since square footage, window placement, and layout all affect the number, but every home gets rated individually rather than relying on a single company-wide claim.

Home Creations markets its homes as over 60% more energy efficient than a typical existing home in the Oklahoma City metro, and the HERS score is how that gets backed up. It's not a slogan. It's a number tied to a specific home, verified by someone outside the company.

What a Lower Score Means for Your Monthly Bill

A lower HERS score generally means a lower utility bill, since the home needs less energy to heat and cool. It won't tell you an exact dollar amount, utility rates and how a household uses a home both affect the final bill, but it gives you a real basis for comparison between homes instead of guessing from the age of the HVAC system or taking a seller's word for it.

For buyers who want to push the number even lower, Home Creations homes in the OKC metro are wired and ready to add solar through a partnership with EightTwenty. With solar added, HERS scores can reach the teens, and the EightTwenty Zero app lets a homeowner monitor energy use in real time, with the home also ready for an EV charging station if that's ever needed.

Why Home Creations Publishes the Number Instead of Just Describing the Home

Plenty of builders talk about efficiency in general terms, and it's easy to write "energy efficient" on a website without anything behind it. Publishing the actual HERS score, tied to a specific plan and verified by a certified rater, is a different kind of claim. It gives a buyer something concrete to compare, not just a phrase to take on faith.

That's really what this comes down to. A number you can check is worth more than a phrase you have to trust.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a good HERS score? Lower is better. A score of 100 represents a home built to standard new-construction code, and a score of 0 would represent a net-zero energy home. Scores in the 40s, like the Azalea plan's 44, mean the home uses roughly half the energy of a code-standard new build.

Is HERS the same as an Energy Star certification? No. Energy Star is a general certification a home either does or doesn't have. A HERS score is a specific number from a RESNET-certified rater, unique to that home, which allows for a more precise comparison between two different homes.

Who actually performs the HERS rating? A certified RESNET rater, independent from the builder's construction team, inspects the home and calculates the score. That independence is what makes the number meaningful to a buyer instead of just being the builder's own claim.

Does every Home Creations home get a HERS score? Every Home Creations home in the Oklahoma City metro is HERS-rated individually. Scores vary by floor plan and community since layout, window placement, and square footage all affect the calculation.

Can I lower my home's HERS score after moving in? Adding solar through the EightTwenty partnership can lower a home's effective HERS score into the teens. The home is wired and ready for solar at the time of purchase, and the EightTwenty Zero app allows a homeowner to track energy use afterward.

Does a lower HERS score guarantee a specific utility bill? No. It indicates the home needs less energy overall to heat and cool, but the actual bill depends on local utility rates and how the household uses the home. It's a reliable way to compare homes, not a fixed dollar prediction.