What's Happening from Environmental Building News
August 1, 2009
Austin Requires Energy Audits and Labels
Building owners in Austin, Texas, are getting a crash course in energy efficiency. A new ordinance that went into effect on June 1, 2009, requires Austin Energy electricity customers—the vast majority of city occupants, both residential and commercial—to perform audits on homes and multifamily residential properties and pursue energy labeling on commercial buildings. The ordinance tackles only energy reporting, but some are hopeful that mandatory energy-efficiency improvements will be next.
The Energy Conservation Audit and Disclosure (ECAD) ordinance requires owners of houses more than ten years old to have an energy audit performed before resale. The results of the audit, which include suggested energy-efficiency improvements, must be disclosed to prospective buyers. Houses that are younger than ten years, or have had energy-efficiency improvements performed through Austin Energy programs within the past decade, are exempt from the requirements.
According to Nathan Doxsey, who sat on the task force that developed the ordinance, the goals of ECAD were originally much broader, including both audits and mandatory energy-efficiency improvements. Resistance from the real estate industry meant that only the audits made it into the ordinance, and even now, says Doxsey, “I still hear grumbling.” Much of the concern has to do with the cost of the audits—about $300—that Doxsey says many real estate agents are paying themselves to avoid aggravating sellers, who are responsible for the audits under the law.
Not everyone is upset about the ordinance. Lindsay Yeakley, owner of green building and remodeling firm Ultraverte in Austin, thinks it’s a great idea. “It’s the dinosaur homes that are consuming a lot of energy,” she says, noting that homebuyers who know what they’re buying might be more likely to make improvements. The ordidance and an unusually hot summer have brought energy-efficiency to the front of many people’s minds. Doxsey hopes that increased awareness will make it possible for the city to pass a mandatory improvements clause when it reevaluates ECAD in two years. “I’m collecting testimonials from people who have done upgrades,” he told
EBN. “Most are saying it was really easy.”
Not surprisingly, the ordinance has created a demand for more energy auditors in Austin. Those who perform work under the ordinance must be certified through the Building Performance Institute or the Residential Energy Services Network, both national organizations. Auditors must also attend an orientation session to learn about the ECAD audits. Doxsey argues that this influx of auditors may not be all that useful. “We’re getting a lot of people who don’t have very much experience doing audits,” he said.
Mandatory energy improvements are included in the part of the ordinance that covers multifamily buildings: structures built before June 1, 1999, must receive an energy audit by June 1, 2011. If the building uses more than 150% of average energy use per square foot for similar buildings, the owners must make improvements within 18 months to bring energy use down to 110% of average.
Commercial buildings must display energy labels by June 2011 but are not yet required to achieve specific targets. According to John Sutton, a representative on the ordinance task force from the Austin chapter of the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA), the voluntary targets will be enough to improve energy performance. “We were somewhat concerned about any kind of mandatory improvements,” he said. Before the ordinance was crafted, the organization asked its members to benchmark their buildings using the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Portfolio Manager—a study that encompassed 35 million ft
2 (3.2 million m
2) of Austin’s 194 million ft
2 (18 million m
2) of commercial space. The average score of the buildings was 77, slightly above the 75 required for Energy Star certification. “This was an eye opener for our members,” said Sutton, and it helped BOMA convince the task force that mandatory measures for commercial buildings weren’t needed. He noted, however, that most of Austin’s commercial space is in small buildings owned by business owners who may not be as tuned in to energy savings as facilities managers in a larger building. “That’s going to be the real challenge, educating those owners,” he said.
– Allyson Wendt
For more information:
Austin Energy Green Building
Austin, Texas
512-482-5300
www.austinenergy.com
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