What If Your Home Came With a Fuel Economy Sticker?

Oklahoma summers are not subtle.

When the heat index pushes past 105° and your air conditioner runs for six straight hours without stopping, you feel the cost of that — not during the walkthrough, not at closing, but every single month for as long as you own the home.

Most buyers spend more time comparing countertop finishes than comparing what a home will actually cost to operate. That's understandable. Finishes are visible. Utility bills are invisible until you're living them.

That's exactly why the HERS Index exists.

Think of It Like MPG — But for Your House

HERS stands for Home Energy Rating System. It is the nationally recognized standard for measuring how efficiently a home performs, and it works the same way a miles-per-gallon rating works for a car.

The lower the number, the less energy the home uses. The less energy it uses, the less it costs you every month.

A standard new home built to basic code requirements typically scores around 100 on the HERS Index. Older resale homes often score significantly higher — sometimes 130 or above — meaning they use considerably more energy to stay comfortable.

Many of today's high-performance homes score much lower because they are built with better insulation, tighter air sealing, more efficient HVAC systems, and more advanced construction practices.

At Two Structures Homes, our homes typically score in the mid-40s on the HERS Index, with some homes scoring as low as 41 through independent third-party testing and verification.

Energy Efficiency Is a Whole-Home System

It's worth understanding that a low HERS score is not the result of one upgrade or one feature. It's the result of how the entire home is designed and built to work together.

Insulation quality, air sealing, window performance, HVAC engineering, ventilation strategy, and duct design all contribute. Many of those components are hidden behind the walls and ceilings — which is why two homes that look nearly identical on the outside can perform dramatically differently once you're living in them.

A certified HERS rater evaluates the home as a complete system and assigns a verified score based on actual testing — not estimates or marketing promises.

What Does the Difference Actually Cost You?

Here’s where energy efficiency becomes more than just a number on a report.

Unlike many purchases, utility costs are not something you pay once. They are a recurring expense you pay month after month for as long as you own the home.

A home saving $100 per month in energy costs compared to a less-efficient home saves roughly $1,200 per year. Over a 30-year mortgage, that adds up to more than $36,000 — and that does not account for future increases in utility rates.

What does $36,000 mean to an Oklahoma family?

It could help pay for a year of in-state tuition and housing at OU. It could fund a kitchen remodel, help purchase a vehicle without financing, cover several family vacations, or create a meaningful head start on a college savings account.

The home that costs a little less to build is not always the home that costs less to own.

Why Oklahoma Makes This Even More Important

Oklahoma does not go easy on a home.

Long cooling seasons, extreme summer heat, high winds, humidity swings, and sharp winter cold snaps create year-round stress on a home's envelope, mechanical systems, and insulation. A home that was built to minimum code standards may struggle with uneven temperatures, higher-than-expected bills, and an HVAC system that runs harder than it should.

A home built for performance — with proper air sealing, engineered HVAC design, and quality insulation — is better equipped to stay comfortable through all of it.

How Our Standards Have Changed Over Time

Years ago, we were genuinely proud to deliver homes scoring in the low 60s on the HERS Index. At the time, that was well ahead of most builders in the market.

Today, that same commitment has pushed our typical scores into the mid-40s, with some homes achieving a 41.

That progression didn't happen by accident. It happened because we kept asking what the next level of performance looked like — and then building to it.

This Is a Starting Point, Not the Whole Story

If you've never thought about HERS scores before, that's completely normal. Most buyers haven't.

But once you understand that there's a measurable, independently verified number that tells you how much a home will cost to operate — and that number can vary dramatically from builder to builder — it changes the way you compare homes.

These articles go deeper if you want them:

Or if you'd like to talk through what this means for your next home, our team is happy to walk you through it .