The 2009 NEEP report, Valuing Building Energy Efficiency through Disclosure and Upgrade Policies: A Roadmap for the Northeast U.S., has been cited in a variety of articles:
- Wegowise: "Building Metrics: The Commercial Building's Equivalent to the MPG," June 2011
- Carolyn Sarno (NEEP): "The Value of Full Disclosure" in Consulting Specifying Engineer Magazine, August 2010
- MA Department of Energy Resources: "An MPG Rating for Commercial Buildings: Establishing a Building Energy Asset Labeling Program in Massachusetts" white paper
- ME Public Utilities Commission: "Building Energy Efficiency and Carbon Performance Ratings" report
- Philippe Dunsky and Jeff Lindberg (Dunsky Energy Consulting), Ed Schmidt (NEEP), Richard Faesy (VEIC): "Transforming Markets with Mandatory Building Energy Labeling" paper
Legislative News
Several states are actively considering adoption policies to promote building energy ratings/energy disclosure in the commercial and residential sector:
- Connecticut - House Bill 6544: An Act Concerning Energy Efficiency
- Maryland - Senate Bill 261: Energy Disclosure for Commercial Buildings
- Massachusetts - Senate Bill 1698: Home Energy Consumption Evaluation Program
- Vermont - House Bill 57: Energy Performance Disclosure for Commercial and Residential Building
Building Energy Rating Programs
Multiple cities have enacted pilot programs that utilize energy rating/disclosure aspects:
- Burlington, VT - Residential Rental Housing Time of Sale Energy Efficiency Ordinance
- New York, NY - Building Energy Benchmarking Law
- Washington, D.C. - Public and Private Building Energy Benchmarking Program
- Austin, TX - Energy Conservation and Disclosure (ECAD) Ordinance
- San Francisco, CA - The Existing Commercial Building Energy Performance Ordinance
- Seattle, WA - Commercial and Multifamily Building Energy Rating and Benchmarking Ordinance
Building Energy Rating
As Northeast states and municipalities work to strengthen their economies, create jobs, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and achieve greater energy efficiency and independence, mandatory disclosure and upgrade policies offer an exciting new opportunity to transform markets to value and secure significant energy savings.A new report commissioned by NEEP, says that Northeast states could greatly increase the energy efficiency of homes and buildings through a public policy requiring the rating and disclosure of a building's energy performance.
Key Concepts
Valuing Building Energy Efficiency through Disclosure and Upgrade Policies: A Roadmap for the Northeast U.S., lays out a guide for implementing two key tools as part of a building energy rating system:
• MANDATORY BUILDING ENERGY DISCLOSURE POLICIES which seek to better inform the housing market by requiring information about building energy performance be disclosed to potential buyers, renters and the public; and
• MANDATORY UPGRADE POLICIES which would require adoption of certain cost-effective energy efficiency measures in relation to that disclosure.
Building energy rating disclosure policies can be effective in getting markets to value energy efficiency, and act as a powerful complement to more conventional incentive programs.
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| NEEP's BER Report featured in Buildings Magazine | |
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| Buildings Magazine - May 2010 | |
Valuing Building Energy Efficiency Through Disclosure and Upgrade Policies: A Roadmap for the Northeast.(PDF 3MB)
Building Energy Rating One Page Fact Sheet
Read the Press Release
More Information
For more information about NEEP's Building Energy Rating Project, contact Carolyn Sarno Senior Program Manager for High Performance Buildings at csarno@neep.org or at 781-860-9177.