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Alliance Associate Austin Energy is taking the lead in a program run by the city of Austin, Texas, that mandates energy reporting for local residential and commercial buildings.
Austin' s property owners will be required to determine just how efficient their home or building really is - or isn't. The new Energy Conservation Audit and Disclosure (ECAD) Ordinance requires single-family residential homeowners to complete an energy audit prior to selling their home. Multi-family residential and commercial building owners are being required to complete an energy audit or rating, respectively, by June 1, 2011, and at least once every 10 years thereafter.
The ordinance also mandates that the audit results and energy ratings are filed with Austin Energy and made available to prospective purchasers and current and prospective tenants. The ordinance carries a fine of up to $2,000 for non-compliance.
Though the majority or property owners are not required to make efficiency improvements in response to the audit or rating, some owners of multi-family properties will be. For those whose average per-square-foot energy usage exceeds the average for multi-family facilities in the Austin Energy service area by at least 50%, an efficiency program will be required. The goal is to reduce that number to no more than 10% above the average within 18 months of receiving the audit's results.
Audits are to be conducted by a certified Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET) rater or Building Performance Institute (BPI) building analyst professional who has attended an Austin Energy orientation and registered with the company. Austin Energy estimates that a typical single-family residential audit will cost between $200 and $300, and the results are valid for ten years.
In residential buildings, the auditor must:
- Examine a building’s attic insulation and estimate R-value;
- Test duct air leakage with duct blower equipment;
- Report on the number and size of windows receiving direct sunlight for more than an hour daily;
- Estimate air conditioning Seasonal Air Conditioning Ratio (SEER) value and general condition of the building’s mechanical system (single-family homes only);
- Estimate air leakage through the building envelope (single-family homes only); and
- Make recommendations for improving the building’s energy efficiency (single-family homes only).
For commercial building of 5,000 square feet or greater, energy ratings must be calculated using the Environmental Protection Agency's Portfolio Manager software; structures under 5,000 square feet can use Austin Energy’s building analysis tool.
Exemptions and variances will exempt certain buildings, including:
- Buildings that have undergone qualified energy-efficiency improvements within the previous ten years;
- Buildings that have received free weatherization assistance from Austin Energy; or
- Buildings that have participated in Austin Energy’s Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program, and either performed at least three recommended measures or received at least $500 in rebates from Austin Energy within the previous ten years.
If eligible, single-family home-buyers can agree to participate in an Austin Energy weatherization program within six months of the sale in lieu of requiring an audit from the seller. Condominiums and manufactured homes, and buildings less than ten years old are also exempt, as are industrial structures and certain facilities with high and complex energy usage, such as data centers.
For more information on Austin’s ECAD program, see Austin Energy’s website at http://www.austinenergy.com/About%20Us/Environmental%20Initiatives/ordinance/index.htm.
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