We’ve seen a lot of recent studies on how energy efficient homes are worth more; but, communicating this value has been a challenge, making the market slow to respond and leaving dollars and energy efficiency opportunities on the table in our communities. (This is especially unfortunate in low-income households, since connecting homes energy efficiency can help fight poverty.) Below, Greentech Media explores options for creating a easy metric to help home buyers include the value of energy efficiency in their decision making. (For coverage on how the City of Berkeley and others are deploying the U.S. Department of Energy Home Energy Score as a metric to increase transparency and spur market transformation, click here.)
From Greentech Media:
What if it were easy for consumers to know how much energy a home uses and how much that energy costs? It could unlock a whole new market that doesn’t exist today worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
According to an Elevate Energy study, Chicago homes that disclosed energy costs sold almost one-third faster (43 vs. 63 days) and had higher deal closing rates (63 percent vs. 53 percent).
Barry Haaser and Jeremy Roberts at the Green Button Alliance noted studies in Illinois and Washington, D.C. that revealed that simply disclosing energy costs raised average sale prices by $4,000, regardless of energy use. Transparency is the likely reason for this — there is less uncertainty and friction in the transaction. Keep reading from Greentech Media.