by Rebecca Walker — February 17, 2010—Northeast states could greatly increase the energy efficiency of homes and buildings through a public policy requiring the rating and disclosure of a building’s energy performance, according to a new report commissioned by Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships.
The NEEP report, Valuing Building Energy Efficiency through Disclosure and Upgrade Policies: A Roadmap for the Northeast U.S., lays out a guide for implementing two key tools as part of a building energy rating system:
- Mandatory building energy disclosure policies, which seek to better inform the housing market by requiring information about building energy performance be disclosed to potential buyers, renters and the public; and
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Mandatory upgrade policies, which would require adoption of certain cost-effective energy efficiency measures in relation to that disclosure.
Residential and commercial buildings account for approximately 40 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and total energy consumption, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The potential for generating as much as 17 percent in energy savings through retrofits in existing buildings is why NEEP is calling on states in the Northeast to adopt mandatory building energy rating systems.
Energy performance disclosure gives consumers the tools to make informed choices and protect themselves against poor buildings and building components, higher-than-anticipated energy bills, discomfort, or unplanned renovation needs. Building energy rating also provides a market-based mechanism for creating a common currency regarding home or building energy use, according to Susan Coakley, NEEP’s executive director.
First adopted over a decade ago in Australia and Denmark, mandatory building energy rating policies are now in place in more than 30 countries worldwide and are in place in some form or other in California, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, New Mexico, and, most recently, in New York City, which in December enacted a landmark measure to require building benchmarking and labeling. In addition, the U.S. Department of Energy is currently charged with developing a model building energy rating system that can be used by states in setting their own building energy rating policies.
NEEP’s report provides a guide for Northeast states considering the adoption of building energy rating policies by highlighting global case studies where such policies are already in place, and by identifying possible obstacles and tactics for overcoming these.
