Earth Advantage supplies EPS to Seattle

An Earth Advantage home energy score and carbon report.

Earth Advantage Institute, a nonprofit green building resource and think tank in early October announced it won a contract to supply Seattle with home energy performance rating software for 5,000 city homes. The goal is to convince homeowners to make improvements and for the utility to understand which are the most valuable improvements to make.

“The key test and metric is to create an energy labeling system that motivates the homeowner to make improvements and save energy,” says David Heslam, program manager for Earth Advantage Institute. “The metric for success is the conversion rate of homes scored to actual improvements made.”

This rollout is the latest in a string of efforts aimed at getting homeowners to act on the advice and data gathered by home energy auditors. Energy Trust of Oregon reported just a 30 percent conversion rate when it offered free home energy audits. Financing issues and a lack of familiarity with energy efficiency improvements are also being examined in Seattle and elsewhere.

Homeowners who join the program through Seattle City Light would get a “miles-per-gallon style" scorecard including an energy efficiency rating and carbon emissions score of a home, along with recommended improvements. Auditors in the city are expected to receive training on the Earth Advantage Institute’s software, and the city plans to record results for each home and be able to measure energy savings created by improvements. The homes’ scores would also be shared with the Northwest Multiple Listing Service, allowing realtors to reference them on listings.

The contract’s value was not disclosed. Portland-based Earth Advantage Institute is the developer and certifier of the Earth Advantage standards for homes. It has certified more than 11,000 homes and recently announced the first community being built to meet the new Earth Advantage Community standard.