What’s Your Energy Performance Score?

What is your energy performance score?

For new residential construction – at least in the state of Oregon – there will be another box to check off the list with respect to green construction.  “What’s your energy performance score?” is a query you may soon be hearing from prospective buyers looking to make sure that their home is as energy efficient as possible.

The energy performance score was developed by the Energy Trust of Oregon and a Portland, Oregon-based nonprofit organization, the Earth Advantage Institute.  The score is described as “like a miles-per-gallon rating,” observes the green building consultant for the nonprofit.  You can determine the estimated annual energy use, as well as the resulting carbon emissions.

The EPS for a particular building is based on a number of factors including: size, insulation levels, tightness (any air leaks), HVAC, appliances, lighting and hot water heating.  Builders will voluntarily work with Energy Trust to get the green construction accreditation of the energy performance score.  It is another way to determine the positive energy and environmental impacts, much like a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating, administered by the U.S. Green Building Council.

As noted on the Energy Trust of Oregon website:

“Energy efficiency, utility costs and environmental impact are important factors to consider when buying or building a home. The EPS now gives homebuyers a way to comparison shop between homes based on these factors. It also gives homebuyers a sense of how many energy upgrades were made to the house beyond what code requires, and how the home compares to an average home built in Oregon.”

An energy performance score is not just limited to new residential construction.  Existing homes also can have an EPS prepared prior to selling or refinancing.

Now, before you think that the whole idea of green ratings for homes is silly, and probably makes for a contrived structure, consider this video of one of the greenest homes in the world:

How green is that home for sale?

Green living looks pretty nice to me!  Now, consider the money you’ll save as well – both on an annual basis and over the life of your home ownership by investing in green construction.

Compared to LEED, knowing what’s your energy performance score will give a buyer a real understanding of how energy efficient construction methods and appliance will impact their monthly utility bills.  David Helsam, the EPS program manager at Earth Advantage Institute says:

“The same way you can use the mpg rating to compare between one auto and another, you can compare the energy efficiency of one house to another, by looking at its [EPS].  In the past, the only way to know what a home’s energy use was to look at the utility bills, but different families use energy in different ways.”

The unique computer modeling system takes into account usage differences, and generates estimates based on average behaviors (such as number of showers per week, etc).

In the future, we’ll see more use of the EPS.  The Earth Advantage Institute is lobbying real estate organizations to make the score one of the points included with a home listed through the Multiple Listing Service (MLS).  As people become more familiar with the concept, you’re bound to hear more people asking… what’s your energy performance score?