Expanding Value: Pearl's Updated Home Energy Scoring

Solar pros, we’re excited to announce a new update to our Scoring System, designed to drive homeowner demand for renewable energy upgrades. Starting Tuesday, October 28, 2024, solar panel arrays, home energy storage, and electric vehicle (EV) charging stations will now be scored alongside energy-efficient home features like HVAC and insulation. This enhancement will provide you with another powerful tool to communicate the value of your installs to homeowners.

Background

Solar, batteries, and EV charging stations have long been part of Pearl’s Certification System because of their high impact on a home’s performance and value. Our Solar Badge and solar equity calculation, both found in the Certification Report, have been a strong signal to homeowners, real estate agents, appraisers, and others that renewable home energy assets deserve to be counted alongside non-energy features in a home’s appraisal assessment. Now, our Pearl Score provides another way to send this message and rewards homeowners with a new path to a Pearl Silver Certification tier.

Key Enhancements in the Pearl Scoring System

• Scoring Categories: The enhanced Pearl Score now includes a dedicated section for solar panels and arrays, EV chargers, and energy storage. By spotlighting these features within the scoring system, their crucial role in a home’s performance and value is properly documented.

• 200 Dedicated Points for Solar: Pearl has added 200 points just for solar, batteries, and EV charging to the total points available in the Pearl Score, taking the total from 1200 to 1400. This ensures that all other home assets are still weighed appropriately while highlighting the impact of solar on performance.
  

• A New Path to Silver: Homeowners with solar have a new, easy way to qualify for a valuable Pearl’s Silver Certification — a minimum of 700 points plus at least one verified solar panel and array. And that makes it easier for you to showcase the value of your work.

How to Certify Your Installs with Pearl

Including Pearl Certification with your solar installs ensures that crucial information such as equipment details, impact on overall energy performance, and the potential added value are captured and your customer sees a return on their investment with you. To start leveraging Pearl Certification to showcase the equity value of your projects, schedule a call with the Pearl team today.