As we head into 2021, we are taking a step back from the chaos of 2020 to celebrate and be grateful. What are we celebrating? A successful three years of offering Home Energy Scores to the Portland metro area. Since January 2018, the City of Portland has required a Home Energy Score for any home bought or sold. In just under three years, over 20,000 homes have been scored — that comes out to nearly 12% of the total number of free-standing single-family residential homes in the city. For our part, Healthy Habitat has provided over 3,600 Home Energy Scores, close to one-fifth of the total for Portland.
The Home Energy Score policy has provided homeowners with a clear roadmap for making energy efficiency improvements that have an impact on energy bills, while offering home buyers a clear way to compare homes based on their performance. According to a recent City of Portland survey, at least two-thirds of home buyers found the Home Energy Score useful in their decision-making process, which makes it hard to believe it took until 2018 to make this tool available! Although compliance with the new rule was low starting out, home sellers gradually caught on, aided by fines for non-compliance that went into effect in 2019. By the end of that year, 92% of program mandated homes on the market listed for sale had received a Home Energy Score. Real estate agents have also embraced the program — we have over 2,000 Realtors in our database that we work with to provide Home Energy Scores for their clients.
We at Healthy Habitat are happy to provide Home Energy Scores and Assessments to homeowners, who often go on to make improvements to their home for energy efficiency. But performing home remodels and improvements can often lead to uncovering toxic materials like lead paint and asbestos, which is why we offer testing for these substances as well. As a non-profit committed to community health, we work to eliminate these materials from the environment, not just test for them. Healthy Habitat continues to do this important work thanks to your business — so THANK YOU! We proud to be part of the energy efficiency movement that is growing here in Portland. Just recently the City of Milwaukie, Oregon has passed a similar Home Energy Score ordinance, and at least seven other cities across the state (including Hillsboro and Beaverton) are considering their own.
If your home has not yet been scored, there is still time to do it before the end of the year. Take advantage of our easy online scheduling and get your Home Energy Score Report, and start saving money on your energy bills!