Center for Energy and Environment in conjunction with partner Neighborhood Energy Connection, excitedly announced the publication of a report that outlines a new approach to incorporate the value of energy-efficiency in homes at time-of-sale. The program, called “Energy Fit Homes,” will be launching in April, in conjunction with the Neighborhood Energy Connection. CEE is optimistic about its long-term potential to help transform the market for residential energy efficiency in Minnesota and will provide a third-party issued certificate for homes that reach a basic level of energy efficiency.
This certification program is designed to increase the overall efficiency of Minnesota’s existing housing stock by providing recognition and value to homeowners who conduct energy-efficient upgrades. Energy Fit Homes focuses on practical, cost-effective energy efficiency measures that allow a homeowner to recoup his investment in efficiency upgrades, even if he sells the home before seeing a complete return on investment via lower energy bills. An Energy Fit Homes certification will make the hidden value of energy efficiency conspicuous and enticing for both homeowners and home buyers, adding tangible value at the time of sale to the owner of a certified home and dramatically increasing the potential scale of the market. Energy Fit Homes is designed to offer easy, desirable achievement, attainable for virtually any homeowner — for broad adoption beyond just the environmentally motivated.
The Certification Process can be broken down into four easy steps:
- Home assessment identifies upgrades
- Homeowner completes any required upgrades
- Program administrator verifies that the work was completed
- The homeowner receives Energy Fit Homes certificate
CEE and NEC are currently piloting the program and plan to implement the Energy Fit Homes program, in April 2014. Implementation of the certificate will require the active involvement of a broad range of stakeholders working together to help achieve participation by a large segment of Minnesota homeowners. Importantly, utility programs can help provide an easy pathway and help pay for some of the cost of the Energy Fit Homes’ required upgrades. With these other pieces in place, we believe that Energy Fit Homes can play an important role in the transformation of Minnesota’s existing housing stock, saving homeowners millions of dollars and dramatically reducing energy usage throughout the state. A full report is available here.
As outlined in the report below, there is no mechanism for homeowners currently to get credit for efficiency improvements they have made to their homes at time-of-sale, and this can be a barrier to people making energy-efficiency investments in their homes. When they do sell, existing homes’ attic and wall insulation levels are not visible features of the home that are well-understood by homebuyers and incorporated into the sale value of a home. According to CEE’s Manager of Residential Programs Carl Nelson,
“By making the invisible visible, the Energy Fit Homes certificate can, over time, help to incorporate the value of energy efficiency investments into home sales, and this can help spur more investment in energy-efficiency upgrades. We are very excited that soon we will be able to offer this certificate to homeowners participating in our energy efficiency programs.”
