Trigger Points To Increase Home Energy
An interesting Home Energy Saving study came out of California last month that focuses on the importance of using ordinary home-life cycle events to achieve cost-effective upgrades of existing buildings. Aptly titled: “Pulling the Trigger: Increasing Home Energy Savings”, the strategy document presents a compelling case to deploy joined-up government policies, alongside private financing innovations to enable accelerated energy-efficiency retrofit action in homes.
In short, various recommendations in categories including disclosure, incentives, enforcement and finance are made that would help homeowners ‘pull the trigger’ on energy-efficiency solutions by encouraging action at three key moments in homeownership tenure, namely:
- Time of Sale
- Time of Renovation
- Time of Energy Rate Increase
Because each of these events already requires increased monetary outlay from a homeowner or homebuyer, it should be easier to layer in an energy-efficiency component into the larger context. For example, at time of sale, the report calls for mandated energy disclosure for the seller and buyer based on a standard rating that parties agree on. A BC example would be potentially requiring an EnerGuide for Houses rating on your home as part of the sale. That way, homebuyers would have a good indication of the operational costs and opportunities for energy upgrades as part of the sale.
The study also recommends that strong workmanship standards be implemented to ensure work quality is attached to any incentives for energy upgrades. For more information, the full report can be found here.