fbpx

HERS Requirements

Boulder Green Building Code

Special process and community solar agreement to meet Energy Conservation or BuildSmart Code requirements

SunShare can be used to meet HERS rating offset requirements

Within the jurisdictions of both the City and County of Boulder,
a Sunshare Community Solar subscription can now be used to meet energy offset requirements for new home construction or for an addition/remodel of an existing home (eg. hot tub, fire pit, additional square footage, etc).

Your community solar subscription can be eligible to meet City of Boulder Energy Conservation Code §R406.4 or Boulder County BuildSmart Code §N1101.18. Plus, being a part of SunShare Community Solar allows you to offset both your existing and new generation with clean energy from one of our solar gardens.

How to Proceed

1. Permitting

Work with your permitting authority/authorities to determine if your home is eligible for offsite solar generation offsets, typically because onsite solar is infeasible or insufficient.
Note that if the home is in the City of Boulder, the first step is to provide a report to the City demonstrating that on-site solar is “technically infeasible” and get their approval to fulfill all or part of the required offset with off-site solar (eg. a SunShare Community Solar subscription). The current contact at the City is Kirk Moors (moorsk@bouldercolorado.gov).

2. Offset Requirement

The next step is to determine the energy offset requirement in kWh per year. HERS reports often call out a power rating of a rooftop PV system (units of kW). The HERS rater who developed the report will be able to provide the required energy offset in kWh so that we can be sure to size your community solar subscription appropriately.
Note that the required offset is not necessarily the same number as the overall annual electricity usage of the home.  Also, note that in some cases a portion of the energy offset requirement will be met with on-site solar, and the remaining portion will be met with a SunShare subscription.

3. Subscribe to SunShare

Begin the process of applying for your SunShare Community Solar subscription, by reviewing the checklist and completing the form below.
SunShare will work with you to ensure you have everything you need to provide documentation to the City and / or the County, but it will be your responsibility to provide this documentation and communicate with your Contractors, HERS raters, and permit officials.

SunShare Checklist

What you’ll need before continuing in the process to meet your HERS rating offset requirements with SunShare

Permanent Xcel Energy Account Holder’s name and contact information (phone and email)

Required energy offset to be covered by a SunShare subscription, in kWh per year

Documentation of approval by the City (if required)

Square footage document (if required)

Start the Process with SunShare

After you submit this form, a SunShare representative will reach out to you for next steps

Have
Questions?

New Subscriber?
Feel free to contact jnelson@mysunshare.com or call 720.703.9660 to get started.

Already Underway?
Contact our friendly Customer Care team at customercare@mysunshare.com or 800.793.0786.