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Minneapolis City Council Approves “Home Energy Score" for Real Estate Transactions
Posted on: 01/26/2020
Home energy data collection is now a part of required Truth in Sale of Housing (TISH) evaluations in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The data is used to generate an Energy Disclosure report to be used in the City’s TISH report, which must be available to the public and displayed at all open houses. All 1-2 unit properties, townhomes, and first-time condo conversations must collect this data, unless an energy audit has been conducted within the past 5 years.
The Energy Disclosure Report provides a score that rates a home on a scale of 0 to 100, with 100 being the most efficient and resilient to weather extremes. A comparison is often made to knowing the miles per gallon of a vehicle. According to Kim Harvey of the Minneapolis Division of Sustainability, "This will help you understand whether your home is expensive to heat, or not. It gives an estimate of your yearly bill savings.” According to Healey, a goal is to help consumers be able to reduce their energy bills on average by 30%, to lower their carbon emissions, save money, increase their comfort in response to wide temperature variances.
Home energy data collection is now a part of required Truth in Sale of Housing (TISH) evaluations in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The data is used to generate an Energy Disclosure report to be used in the City’s TISH report, which must be available to the public and displayed at all open houses. All 1-2 unit properties, townhomes, and first-time condo conversations must collect this data, unless an energy audit has been conducted within the past 5 years.
The Energy Disclosure Report provides a score that rates a home on a scale of 0 to 100, with 100 being the most efficient and resilient to weather extremes. A comparison is often made to knowing the miles per gallon of a vehicle. According to Kim Harvey of the Minneapolis Division of Sustainability, "This will help you understand whether your home is expensive to heat, or not. It gives an estimate of your yearly bill savings.” According to Healey, a goal is to help consumers be able to reduce their energy bills on average by 30%, to lower their carbon emissions, save money, increase their comfort in response to wide temperature variances.
Additional cities with Home Energy Score or similar requirements include Portland, Oregon, Austin, Texas, and Berkeley, California. Massachusetts was the first US state to consider a mandatory statewide home energy score in 2018 as a part of an omnibus energy bill, but the measure was not included in the final bill. Home energy ratings appeared in the EU more than ten years ago, and every home in Germany, Denmark and Britain is required to have an efficiency label.
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