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City mandates home energy audits

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By Tiffany Young Friday, 22 May 2009

Selling a home will have an additional step and cost for home sellers on June 1, but it could save homebuyers on utility costs in the long run.

The City of Austin will begin requiring an energy audit by owners before a house is sold. Based on past real estate data, the city anticipates the ordinance will affect about 3,000 homes per year. Austin will be the first city in the U.S. to require an energy audit during the selling process.

Energy Conservation Audit and Disclosure Ordinance exemptions

In November 2008, the Austin City Council approved the Energy Conservation Audit and Disclosure Ordinance to improve efficiency of homes and buildings in the City of Austin that receive electricity from Austin Energy to help meet its goal of offsetting 700 megawatts of peak energy demand by 2020. If Austin can offset 700 megawatts, it may avoid building more power plants.

“The benefit to Austin as a community will be we won’t have to build two new power plants and our taxes won’t be raised to build those power plants, our environment will be that much cleaner, and people’s homes will be that much more comfortable,” said Susan Marler of Energy Action, a business that does energy audits on homes.

The ECAD ordinance requires the seller to provide a copy of the energy audit to a purchaser or prospective purchaser before the time of sale and a copy for filing must be provided to Austin Energy no later than 30 days after the audit is complete. While the city is mandating that an audit be done, they are not requiring any updates be done to the house.

Originally, the city planned to mandate that all Austin homes be upgraded to a certain level of energy efficiency, but the Austin Board of Realtors and many homeowners campaigned against the policy with the slogan, “Motivate, don’t mandate.” The resulting ECAD ordinance was made to motivate homeowners and homebuyers to make improvements without mandating energy efficiency improvements.

Cost and time

Austin Energy believes the audits will cost between $250 and $300 based on a 1,800 sq. ft. home, but will leave it up to auditors to determine the price based on the market. Energy Action estimates about two hours for completion of an audit based on what they have seen on the inspection checklist the city published. Noncomplinace with the ECAD ordinance will result in a Class C misdemeanor, which will be forwarded to the City of Austin legal department for review and action. In Texas, Class C misdemeanors can be fined up to $500.

Exempt and variances

Some exemptions will be given to newer homes and facilities that have participated in Austin Energy programs, keeping a seller from having to do unnecessary audits. Sellers unsure if their home has had energy updates in the past 10 years can contact Austin Energy, which keeps record of energy audits and energy-efficiency improvements made by registered Austin Energy contractors. Also, homes which will be demolished or dramatically renovated can file a variance to avoid an audit.

Disclosure of audits

Included in the energy audits will be home specifications, such as the type of cooling and heating systems in place, as well as information on windows and shading, attic insulation, air infiltration, heating and cooling air duct system and appliances. Each section of the audit includes recommendations, when necessary, on ways to improve the efficiency of the property and show if rebates are available from Austin Energy on energy efficiency upgrades.

With this information disclosed to buyers, it is expected that they will be able to compare similar houses’ long-term energy costs and even use it as a bargaining tool with sellers.

“Buyers don’t really know how to look at a house for conservation — they just don’t know where to start, and I think that a disclosure like this would give them an interesting starting point and there are many factors that make it appealing,” said Justin Marler, owner of Energy Action. “First is savings on utility bills. Some people buy a house and they are shocked at utility bills. This will address some of that, but also it’s a comfort thing as well. When a house is energy efficient and when it’s not leaky, it’s more comfortable and it’s easier to maintain comfort.”

Rebates

The audit will also show a homebuyer if there are rebates available for energy upgrades on a new home. Home Performance with ENERGY STAR Rebates covers up to 20 percent of the cost of certain improvements — up to $1,575.

Rebates are available on improvements for air conditioners or heat pumps, duct repair and sealing, additional attic insulation, solar screens, window film, and Low-E glass, caulking and weather stripping and attic radiant barrier/reflective material.

“There has never been a time in this community or in the country, where you could get more money to help you make the energy efficiency improvements [to your home],” said Ed Clark, spokesman for Austin Energy. “For instance, the two improvements that end up being needed the most are additional attic insulation and duct repair, and you get an Austin Energy rebate and a Texas Gas Service rebate on both of those improvements.”

Certified auditors

In order to give energy audits, an auditor must be certified through Residential Energy Services Network or Building Performance Institute and be registered with Austin Energy. While there are a few businesses that will be doing audits, most will be individuals. The city already has about 80 certified auditors and does not believe that the ordinance will affect the housing market.

“If you’re thinking about selling your home, do [the audit] now,” said Clark. “It doesn’t matter if you’re selling your home in a year, if you have an energy efficiency improvement need and you make it, you’re just going to save money.”

Energy Conservation Audit and Disclosure Auditors

360 Home Inspections, Bill Deatrick, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , (512) 636-6962
AAA Austin Audits, Vincent Farelli, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , (512) 797-9811
Accountable Energy, Scott Young, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , (512) 785-4533
Apple Energy Group, LLC, Randy Barfield, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , (512) 638-7999
Approved Energy Audits, Amir Faghig, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , (512) 255-0701
ATS Engineers, Inspectors, & Surveyors, Dondi Atwell, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , (512) 748-4986
Austin Green & Conservation, Jeffrey Geissen, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , (512) 832-1700
Austin Green Energy Audits, LLC, Moore McDonough, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , (512) 785-1505
Austin Quality Green, Lynn Howden, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , (512) 944-7020
Avial, LLC, Randell Jennings, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , (512) 481-9393
City Conservation/Jay's AC/Totally Cool/Eastland, Stewart Ford, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , (512) 467-2689
ECO Inspections, Roland Huettel, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , (512) 784-3429
Ecorate, LLC, Erik Bell, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , (512) 964-3008
Effective Energetics, LLC, Rick von Schiner, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , (512) 986-8305
Energo Consultants, LLC, Charles Hughes, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , (512) 586-7120
Energy Action, LLC, Justin Marler, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , (512) 828-1980
Energy Action, LLC, Scott Phillips, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , (512) 934-8789
Energy Audit Masters, James Davis, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , (512) 589-3038
Energy Performance Analysts, George Cornwell, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , (512) 263-9866
Fox Service Co., Gary Cremeans, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , (512) 448-9239
Green City Energy Audits, Andrew Pell, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , (512) 363-5181
Green City Energy Audits, Brady Zaitoon, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , (512) 363-5181
Green Footprint Solutions, Thomas Pardue, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , (888) 789-0906
Green Zone Home, Matt Stevens, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , (512) 467-0005
Green Zone Home, Ben Chessey, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , (512) 467-0005
Green Zone Home, Greg Schroeder, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , (512) 467-0005
Ledger Home Makers, Inc., Michael Leger, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , (512) 826-8302
Quality Home Inspections, Joey Biddle, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , (512) 894-0404
Strand Brothers, Chris Strand, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , (512) 834-8628
Strand Brothers, David Renault This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (512) 834-8628
Veritas Building Consultants, LLC, Jason Embry, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , (512) 918-1818
Veritas Building Consultants, LLC, Scott Cunningham, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , (512) 918-1818
Veritas Building Consultants, LLC, Donnie Cunningham, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , (512) 918-1818