What is Home Performance?

A process that involves identifying and sealing, gaps, cracks, and openings in a building’s envelope that allow outside air to enter the building and inside air to leak out. Professional contractors can quickly identify infiltration problems by performing a blower door test.

A diagnostic test that uses a fan mounted in the entrance door of a home. The fan blows air to pressurize or depressurize the building while measuring the flow rate of the air escaping through gaps or openings in the home’s envelope. The flow rate is an indication of how well the home is or is not sealed.

Describes the shift to using electricity rather than burning fossil fuels like oil, gas, and coal for heating and cooking. Also known as beneficial electrification or building decarbonization.

An understanding of how various components of a home work together to affect the overall performance of the home. This includes but is not limited to energy movement through conduction, convection, and radiation.

Energy generated from recyclable sources without emitting greenhouse gasses. Clean energy sources include solar, wind, water, geothermal, and nuclear.

An assessment of a home or commercial building that provides an analysis of current energy consumption, along with a prioritized list of items that could be completed to improve energy efficiency.

The savings of natural resources through reduction in use, waste, or operation.

Using less energy to perform the same task or produce the same result.

The structural components of a building that separate the interior, conditioned space from the exterior, unconditioned world.

Housing that is designed, constructed, maintained, and rehabilitated in a manner that is conducive to good occupant health.

A term that describes how all of the aspects of a home work together as one comprehensive system. All aspects interact on a priority basis with the goal of creating the most comfortable, healthy, and resource-efficient place to live.

A material used to stop the passage of energy through conduction. The four major types of insulation include batt insulation, blown-in insulation, sprayed/injected foam products, and rigid insulation.

The indication of an insulation’s resistance to heat flow.

Smart home technologies enable users to remotely monitor and control residential devices and appliances. They are “smart” because they are equipped with sensors to detect and respond to conditions and are typically able to make automatic adjustments to save energy.

Weatherization is the practice of protecting a building and its interior from the elements, and of modifying a building to reduce energy consumption and optimize energy efficiency. The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) reduces energy costs for low-income households by increasing the energy efficiency of their homes, while ensuring health and safety. Learn more here ›