portlandhomeenergyaudit

PORTLAND HOME ENERGY AUDIT INFORMATION

Starting January 1st, 2018 all homeowners in the city of Portland, Oregon where the city also is within Multnomah County (not the portion of the City of Portland that is in Washington County) will be required to have a home energy audit performed upon listing your house for sale.  

This law is punishable by fines for not having the report done, and applies to all single family detached homes, attached homes and also condominiums as long as they are not stacked condos.

You will be required to hire an licenced and approved home energy assessor to perform the test (estimated cost $250-$350 per home) before it goes on the market for sale.  The two page report is designed to allow consumers to compare the estimated annual energy costs of your home with similar homes in your area, and also show the estimated savings by improving certain items such as insulation in the attic, walls and floor, or adding high efficiency furnace, hot water heater or central air conditioning.

You can get more information here at the City of Portland Planning and Sustainablility Department page which also has lists of approved home energy assessors as well as other important information you should know about this test.

We at the Rob Levy team as one of Portland's top selling Realtor teams since the mid 1980's welcome any attempt at making homes more efficient but we have concerns how buyers will be able to compare houses and their values.  Clearly an older, larger home will have a lower score, and we feel it might be similar to buying a car where the sticker says you should get 42mpg but in the real world you only get 35mpg.   By the same token it appears if you have a household of six people and an at home parent you would use (and lose) more energy than the same home with a one person household who travels for work.

2018 will be an interesting year as these get rolled out, email us with your thoughts on this new home energy audit program.