Zero to 130: Where Are You in 2030?

Thomas Hartman, NE Sun Spring, 2009

Zero to 130: Where are you in 2030?


By Tom Hartman

In the past year I've become interested
in an energy bill that failed to
pass the Massachusetts State Legislature.
The bill was put forward
by the Massachusetts Senate and almost
became the first requirement by a state
to have home sellers provide prospective
buyers with an audit that shows the full
energy costs of a home. Several NESEA
members serve with me on the Executive
Committee of the Western Massachusetts
American Institute of Architects
(WMAIA). We are gathering support
for a renewed proposal of a mandatory
energy rating of homes at the time of
sale. The purpose of this article is to
build a coalition between WMAIA and
NESEA membership toward that end.

Here's the original language of the
bill that failed:

SECTION 4. Chapter 13 of the General
Laws is hereby amended by adding the
following section:

Section 97A. (a) The board of registration
of home inspectors, in consultation
with the state board of building regulations
and standards, the division of energy resources
and the energy efficiency advisory
council, shall develop requirements and
promulgate regulations establishing a home
energy scoring program to require the scoring
by licensed personnel at the time of sale
of single-family residential dwellings and
multiple-family residential dwellings with
less than 5 dwelling units. The board of
registration of home inspectors shall consider
other state home scoring programs and any
relevant federal programs when developing
requirements and promulgating regulations.

(b) The board may include in its regulations
any provisions requiring sellers of
such dwellings to provide potential buyers
with copies of utility and, if applicable, oil
heating bills for the dwelling for charges
incurred during the prior calendar year;
The author's electric panel:
Ready for a sticker!
and, if the seller has not retained such bills,
provisions requiring utilities and heating
oil distributors to provide potential sellers
billing information for the dwelling for
charges incurred during the prior calendar
year.

(c) The regulations shall include provisions
for training and licensure; standards
of professional and ethical conduct for home
energy scoring personnel; and the establishment
of reasonable fees for the services of
such personnel, to be paid by the sellers or
purchasers of dwellings.
(d) Before implementation of any regulations
established under this section, the
board of registration of home inspectors
shall report to the senate and house committees
on ways and means and the joint
committees on consumer protection and
professional licensure and telecommunications,
utilities and energy on the anticipated
added costs, if any, to sellers or purchasers
of dwellings relating to the implementation
of this section. The report shall include any
recommendations deemed appropriate by
the board, including, but not limited to,
any added costs being absorbed by any existing
energy efficiency program funding
sources or mechanisms.
I've been told that it was defeated due
primarily to opposition by the realtors
association. The North Central Massachusetts
Association of Realtors' (MAR)
website appears to confirm this.

Mandatory Home Energy Score
& Audit: S. 2468 S. 4 OPPOSE

The Senate version of the Comprehensive
Energy legislation, S.2468, contains
proposed language in Section 4 that seeks
to effectively mandate home sellers to
perform a home energy audit at the time
of sale and to provide results to potential
buyers. MAR staunchly opposes this idea
because a homebuyer who wishes to perform
an energy audit is already free to
do so. Their position is that homeowners
should not be required to perform this
expensive test that has no data to prove
it results in an increase in energy
conservation.

Several NESEA members serve on
the Governor's Zero Energy Task Force,
and although I have as of this date not
read the recommendations being made
to Governor Patrick, I understand that
a similar proposal may be included to
what I offer below. With NESEA's membership
squarely in the construction industry,
inclusive of design professionals,
contractors, vendors, and even a few
realtors, I would like to call upon you to
offer your opinion on what I am proposing
below. WMAIA will be gathering
support from various other membership
organizations within the state in the
coming months.

Given that the purchase of a home
is typically the single largest investment
of a family, the lack of information that
one is provided at the time of sale regarding
the operating costs and energy performance
is amazing. When I purchased
my house, the realtor's sheet on oil and
electricity consumption stated "n/a". So,
I can obtain more information on the
energy use of a dishwasher than I can

Spring 2009 lNortheast Sun l13


on my house? We've all seen the labels on
the Energy Star appliances; this is what
we need for houses. It's that simple. The
label should be located on the electrical
panel and be either a badge of honor or a
reason to improve the building before it
goes to market.

A precedent for this type of requirement
is Title 5 for septic systems. The
primary difference, however, is that the
Energy Score is simply information and
the bill that was defeated did not require
that any modifications or energy upgrades
be made to bring the house into a compliance
standard. Title 5, on the other
hand, requires the work be performed
before a transaction can occur. We've
come to accept this as a necessary hurdle
to ensure that under-performing septic
sys-tems are fixed. In due time, perhaps
our fossil fuel and energy consumption
will also meet this lowest standard of
performance and obligation.

I'd like to propose that the HERS
rating be the simple standard that is used,
the cost of which needs consideration.
Let's say it costs $1,000 to perform the
rating. Half of this cost could be paid for
by the utilities demand-side management
programs and the other half could be
paid directly by the seller with that portion
being applied directly to a state
tax credit.

What is a HERS® Index, or Home
Energy Rating Score? From the website
www.natresnet.org:

A home energy rating involves an analysis
of a home's construction plans and onsite
inspections. Based on the home's plans, the
Home Energy Rater uses an energy efficiency
software package to perform an energy
analysis of the home's design. The rater then
conducts onsite inspections, typically including
a blower door test (to test the leakiness
of the house) and a duct test (to test the
leakiness of the ducts). Results of these tests,
along with inputs derived from the plan
review, are used to generate the HERS
Index score for the home.

The HERS Index is a scoring system
established by the Residential Energy
Services Network (RESNET®) in which
a home built to the specifications of the
HERS Reference Home (based on the 2006
International Energy Conservation Code)
scores a HERS Index of 100, while a net
zero energy home scores a HERS Index
of 0. The lower a home's HERS Index, the
more energy efficient it is in comparison
to the HERS Reference Home.

Each 1-point decrease in the HERS
Index corresponds to a 1% reduction in
energy consumption compared to the HERS
Reference Home. Thus a home with a
HERS Index of 85 is 15% more energy
efficient than the HERS Reference Home
and a home with a HERS Index of 80 is
20% more energy efficient. The last two
homes tested from Prefrerred Building
Systems were rated at 51 and 45 making
them 49% more efficient and 55% more
efficient than the HERS Reference Home.


An Energy Star compliant home scores
an 85. My house, built in 1913 with
upgraded insulation in the attic and basement
walls, still having the original windows,
needing more wall insulation, and
with a 2.2 kilowatt pv system, probably

scores slightly above 100. A really old
home with no improvements at all may
be 130 or more.

So what does this mean for architects?
Why would the realtors oppose this measure?
What do home builders and renovation
contractors think about this? For
architects and contractors, I think it can
translate directly into new business opportunities.
For someone who has an old
leaky inefficient house, they certainly
know that it uses a lot of energy when
they pay the bills each month. Simply
having to perform the audit may cause
them to actually do the improvements
before the audit is performed. There
will need to be construction professionals
who know how to do the work, as well as
many new raters. This translates directly
into new jobs. Buyers may simply use the
HERS score as a negotiating strategy in
the purchase of a house, and then plan to
improve the situation after they become
the new owners. Eventually the rating
will become a factor in the appraisal
methodology.

Looking forward, I see tremendous
opportunity to remedy our existing built
environment. We know that our existing
housing stock needs to be improved,
we know mostly how to do it, we understand
that the cost of energy will go up,
so what's the problem? Is a label on the
electrical panel part of the solution?
What do you think?

Thomas RC Hartman, AIA is a partner
at Coldham & Hartman Architects in
Amherst, MA. He served on the Board
of Directors of the Northeast Sustainable
Energy Association for two terms and as
Treasurer. Additionally for NESEA, he has
been Chair, Co-Chair, and organized and
presented at numerous Building Energy
Conferences. He is currently the President-
Elect of the Western MA Chapter of the American
Institute of Architects. He can be reached
at Tom@ColdhamAndHartman.com.

14 lNortheast Sun lSpring 2009