Energy efficiency scores

An Earth Advantage- Energy Star-certified home.

Education is power. That's what two Oregon nonprofits are teaming up to prove. 

Portland-based Earth Advantage, a green building advisory and certification group, together with The Energy Trust of Oregon, a Portland-based organization promoting energy efficiency, in July 2008 launched a scoring system intended to give Oregon homeowners, builders, real estate agents and mortgage lenders a way to gauge a home’s energy use and emissions. 

Known as an Energy Performance Score (EPS), the rating system would distill the many variables of a home’s energy consumption and carbon output into a numerical rating. The goal: Promote energy efficiency in existing buildings by educating consumers by giving them a "miles-per-gallon measure,"  says Sean Penrith, executive director of Earth Advantage.

Programs already exist for assessing a home’s emissions and energy efficiency; EPS creators aim to translate such information into an easy-to-understand comparable score.

New homes earn two numerical scores: an energy rating and a carbon emissions score. After assessment by a trained contractor, existing buildings would receive an additional number indicating potential emissions and energy use levels if suggested energy-saving measures are implemented.

Its creators say they hope EPS will push homeowners and builders to improve energy performance. Scores are presented on a scale for comparison against benchmarks such as typical older houses, built-to-code homes and Oregon high-performance homes. Home and building owners could be eligible for incentives for investing in energy conservation measures.

The challenge of creating the EPS is maintaining consistency, Penrith says. He adds that he hopes to eventually see a nationwide scoring system, whereby a lender or homebuyer could easily compare a home in Oregon to one in Ohio.

A standardized rating system would also make it easier for lenders to offer preferential mortgages for energy efficient homes, he says.

“The idea behind EPS is transforming housing,” Penrith says. “We want to have consumers clamoring for a green home.”

New Energy Star or Earth Advantage certified homes will receive an EPS score starting this year. For existing homes, the scoring program is expected to roll out by mid-2009.