Benchmarking is now the rage. More and more local governments are requiring building owners to compile and submit their energy usage data so that prospective buyers and renters have additional information to make their decision whether to bid, how much to bid, and to prepare for their time in the space. But these rules generally apply to large and/or commercial buildings and spaces. Since we spend most of our time in and our money on our homes, why can’t home buyers get access to a prospective home’s utility bills before you bid on it? The city of Portland, Oregon, has a program to give home shoppers such information, enabling the public to consider – if they wish – energy efficiency when buying a home. See https://www.pdxhes.com/ Other cities are looking at similar programs. After all, the energy efficiency of cars is public knowledge and used by many to decide on which brand to buy, why not the bigger investment of a home?

Portland is the first US city to require home sellers to determine and disclose a Home Energy Score through the Better Buildings Program of the US Dept of Energy, which gives a score from 1 to 10 and compares the energy performance of a given home compared to others in the US. Home owners must hire a certified assessor to perform an energy audit to determine the score.

In 2018, about 10,000 homes were assessed in Portland, achieving an average score of 4.6, slightly below average (5.0). This low score occurred presumably because many homes for sale were older, built before building codes set efficiency requirements, greatly reducing the mean. Of course, this brings up to the owners an opportunity to install insulation, replace windows, and/or upgrade HVAC to raise its energy score and, thus, improve the home’s marketability.

Austin, Texas, requires homes that are 10 years or older to have a professional energy audit performed and disclose its results when listing the property. Berkeley, California requires home sellers to develop a home energy score and disclose it to the buyer at or shortly after the sale. Montgomery County, Maryland, and Chicago require disclosure of utility bills to potential home buyers; Chicago also encourages (but does not require) including this information in listings.

Many believe that this can be successful in encouraging energy efficiency, as evidenced by automobile purchase trends. US car buyers now rate energy efficiency as important as price. Home energy ratings, already more common in Europe, has led to the correlation of higher home energy ratings resulting in higher sales prices.

CCES has the experts to help you determine how energy efficient your building is, whether it be your home, a commercial, or an industrial building. We can determine cost-effective ways to raise your score or efficiency, which will save you cost and raise your building’s asset value. Contact us today at 914-584-6720 or karell@CCESworld.com.