Corequisite Programs

Several certification programs are designed as corequisites — they build on top of a base certification (typically ENERGY STAR) and share documentation and testing milestones. TrueGrade models these relationships explicitly to prevent duplicate data entry.

Programs With Corequisite Relationships

How Corequisites Work in TrueGrade

When you add a corequisite program to a project that already has the base certification, TrueGrade:

1. Links shared milestones — blower door results, HVAC commissioning, and rater sign-offs entered for ENERGY STAR are automatically reflected in the DOE ZERH checklist
2. Surfaces additional requirements — corequisite-specific items (e.g., DOE ZERH Mandatory Requirements beyond ENERGY STAR) are added as a separate checklist
3. Blocks advancement if base lags — a corequisite program cannot advance past a stage that requires base certification work to be complete first

DOE Zero Energy Ready Home

DOE ZERH has two tiers: DOE Ready and DOE Zero. Both require ENERGY STAR as a foundation and add mandatory requirements in these categories:

• Envelope — insulation levels, fenestration performance
• HVAC — equipment efficiency minimums, duct location
• Water heating — efficiency minimums
• Lighting & appliances — ENERGY STAR qualified fixtures
• Air sealing — blower door target (often stricter than ENERGY STAR alone)
• Renewable energy readiness — solar-ready conduit and panel capacity

TrueGrade’s DOE ZERH checklist maps directly to the program’s published mandatory requirements. Items can be marked complete, not applicable, or non-compliant with notes.

Indoor airPLUS

Indoor airPLUS focuses on indoor air quality and requires compliance with ENERGY STAR plus additional measures:

• Moisture management — capillary breaks, flashing, drainage
• HVAC filtration — MERV 8 minimum filters
• Combustion safety — no unvented combustion appliances in conditioned space
• Radon mitigation — passive or active system based on EPA zone
• Low-VOC materials — paints, adhesives, flooring

The Indoor airPLUS checklist in TrueGrade is structured by the program’s construction checklists. Your ENERGY STAR rater can also serve as the Indoor airPLUS verifier for most items.

Shared Test Results

When test results are recorded under a base certification (e.g., the blower door ACH50 for ENERGY STAR), TrueGrade automatically:

• Populates the same result in the linked DOE ZERH testing section
• Evaluates it against the DOE ZERH target (which may differ from the ENERGY STAR target)
• Flags a discrepancy if the result passes ENERGY STAR but fails the DOE ZERH threshold

This prevents scenarios where a passing ENERGY STAR result is not reviewed against the stricter DOE ZERH requirement.