Energy Audits Vex Austin’s Home Sellers

Wall Street Journal
June 8, 2009
Summary of story on Page A-3, “Energy Audits Vex Austin’s Home Sellers."

The city of Austin, Texas, has begun requiring homeowners to conduct energy efficiency audits before they can sell their house, a move it says provides a model for cities and states seeking ways to push energy conservation.

Austin has joined San Francisco and Berkeley, Calif. that require the audits, which can include a review of a home’s air-conditioning and heating systems, insulation and air-tightness, and generally cost owners from $200 to $300.

Municipalities across the country are forging policies to encourage more energy-efficient building, particularly in construction. Voluntary energy audits are increasing, too, often as part of government-subsidized “green” renovation programs that are expected to grab a chunk of a $3.2 billion federal stimulus grant devoted to energy conservation.

The Austin ordinance requires residents selling single-family home more than 10 years old to obtain an audit and provide the information to potential buyers. While San Francisco and Berkeley, where audits became mandatory n the 1980s, require owners to make recommended upgrades, Austin doesn’t.

Austin Energy, the city-owned utility, offers rebates and low-interest loans to homeowners who make energy-efficient upgrades.

City leaders say the required audits would help keep Austin from having to build a 700-megawatt power plant by 2020 by alerting residents to energy- and money-saving options.

In more than 300 audits already completed, Austin Energy found that, on average, homes had duct systems that leaked more than double what was recommended and attic insulation that was six inches thinner than ideal.