Just 6 weeks into the City of Portland Home Energy Score program, almost 1,000 homes have been scored! One trend that’s emerged already is that Portland homes have some great opportunities to affordably improve energy efficiency.
The back side of the Home Energy Report provides recommendations for energy efficiency upgrades which will pay for themselves in energy savings in ten years or less. We’ve seen that it’s possible to improve a Home Energy Score by about three points, just by following these recommendations. That means a home that has a four or five can get to a seven or eight by installing insulation throughout the house and sealing air and duct leaks.
And keep in mind, there are other actions that can be taken in a home to improve efficiency and comfort but may take longer to payback, like windows and solar. These will rarely show up on the Home Energy Report but they could add value to your home and be beneficial in the long term.