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The Northwest ENERGY STAR Homes program offers a sampling protocol (word download) that allows Verifiers to randomly inspect a minimum of 15 percent of homes within a batch of similarly constructed homes. It is intended to minimize production interruptions and verification costs while ensuring homes meet or exceed the criteria for qualifying homes as ENERGY STAR.

To be eligible for sampling, the builder must have built at least ten ENERGY STAR qualified homes under the program and must either:

  • Build a minimum of 85 qualifying ENERGY STAR homes within a one-year period (defined by the date of signing the Sampling Protocol Agreement) and apply the sampling protocol to homes built within the same two-month period and with the same Builder Option Package (BOP) and applicable Technical Compliance Option (TCO); or
  • Build subdivisions and apply sampling protocol to batches of homes with the same construction type, BOP and TCO's and subcontractors.

Download the Sampling Protocol Agreement:
Sampling Protocol Agreement (word download).

Submit completed agreements to your appropriate State Certification Office. 

Washington Addendum
Washington State has adopted an addendum to the Sampling Protocol Agreement which allows the application of the sampling to performance testing. Under this addendum, builders who qualify under the existing agreement can apply performance testing sampling if they either:

  • Commit to building build 100% of their homes to ENERGY STAR Homes Northwest (ESHNW) specifications, or
  • Build 100% of homes within subdivisions (of 20 or more homes) to ESHNW specifications

An initial 20 homes must consecutively pass both prescriptive and performance requirements for ductwork; in addition, three homes must successfully pass the quality assurance process, with a special emphasis placed on the duct requirements.

This addendum is intended to reduce performance testing costs for builders who are willing to substantially commit to the ESHNW program. However, given that improved performance of forced air distribution systems is a cornerstone of the ESHNW program, increased QA will be provided on homes built under the scope of this addendum. Failures of the duct system in QA will result in suspension from performance testing sampling until additional testing is undertaken, a report detailing the cause(s) of failure are provided to the State Certifying Organization, and subsequent QA visits indicate no recurrence of the problems.

For more information on the details of this sampling protocol addendum, contact Andy Gordon at GordonA@energy.wsu.edu
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