Drive to Net Zero Home Competition Guidelines

Qualifications:

The home must be built in the service territory of one of the participating utilities (e.g., Eversource, Liberty, New Hampshire Electric Cooperative, Unitil)
The home must participate in the NHSaves® ENERGY STAR® Homes program
- The home will still be eligible for Home Energy Rating services and NH ENERGY STAR® Homes incentives
The home must earn the ENERGY STAR® Label
The home must be completed and in move in condition by August 30, 2025
The home must be inspected and tested by one of the contracted NHSaves® HERS® raters during construction and at the completion of home
The home’s renewables must be installed and operation at final inspection to be considered for scoring

Requirements:

The builder and homeowner must be willing to participate in promotional activities including advertising, media events, website profiling, video interviews, publications and a final awards ceremony, among other opportunities
During the building process, the homeowner and builder must agree to occasional inspections, to take photos to support the renewable energy and/or technologies involved (especially those that will be inaccessible at completion), and monitoring and evaluations to ensure compliance with the qualifications of the challenge

Judging Criteria:

The home’s overall HERS® Index score (Technical) – HERS® rater provided using nationally accredited software
The home’s HERS® index prior to renewables technologies (Technical) – HERS® rater provided using nationally accredited software
The home’s affordability – cost per square foot of conditioned space, (Technical and will be treated confidentially)
The home’s estimated total annual net operating cost using a nationally accredited software (Technical)
The home’s technological innovation (Judged by a panel)

Awards & Benefits: