Check if you need a Home Energy Score
Step 1: Schedule a Home Energy Assessment
Contact an authorized Home Energy Assessor to get a Home Energy Score and Report before listing or otherwise announcing that your home is for sale.
Home Energy Assessors are independent service providers. There are many options and we recommend calling more than one to find cost and scheduling options that meet your needs.
Step 2: Prepare for the Home Energy Assessment
The Home Energy Assessment is a streamlined and simple process. The Home Energy Assessor will need to access your home for about 45 minutes to an hour, including attic and crawl spaces. Clear any items blocking access to these areas in advance. It can also be helpful to provide your Assessor with any documentation of insulation or professional air sealing work done on your home. You do not need to be present for the Assessment.
During the assessment
More than 70 pieces of home information are collected during an energy assessment. Information about a home’s envelope (foundation, insulation, walls, windows) and its heating, cooling and hot water systems will be entered into the modeling software.
The Assessor does not collect information about non-permanent house features like lighting, home electronics and appliances or how residents operate the home. The scoring methodology instead use assumptions about standard operating conditions for these features to allow easy comparison between homes. For more information on what to expect during an assessment, check out the video below:
After the assessment
Once the on-site assessment is complete, the Home Energy Assessor will need a little bit of additional time to enter the data points into a computer model to generate the Report. You can ask your Assessor about their estimated turnaround time when you schedule your appointment. If you are working with a real estate professional, make sure they also receive a link to the Report to help you include it in any advertisements for the home.
Step 3: Receive the Home Energy Score and Report
Once the assessor has finalized the the Home Energy Score and Report, they will email it to you and it will also be available immediately on the Green Building Registry by searching for your home’s address.
How to look up your score and read the report
Step 4: Display the Home Energy Score
Include the Home Energy Score and Report in any listing or public advertisements for the home as well as on-site during showings and open houses.
Your Home Energy Score and Report must be publicly disclosed in advertisements, whether you are working with with a real estate professional or selling a home yourself.
Working with a real estate professional
Working with a listing agent can be helpful in completing the Home Energy Score process. However, the home seller is ultimately responsible for compliance with the ordinance. We recommend that you personally confirm that the steps below have been completed.
Advertisements
Include the Home Energy Score and the online link to the Home Energy Report in any advertising for the home, whether advertising online, in a publication or on a sign posted at the house. For listing agents, there is an automated process which makes it easy to add the Score and Report to the RMLS listing for your home.
Reports in the home
You will need to place printed copies of your Report in the home where prospective buyers will see it. Confirm that your real estate representative will do this for you as part of coordinating home showings and open houses. Place them in an accessible and central location such as on the kitchen counter or dining room table.
For Sale by Owner
Advertisements
Include the Score and the online link to the Report in any advertising for the home, whether online, in a publication or on a sign posted at the house, Your Assessor will provide you with an online link to your Report. If you need to locate your Score and Report, you can also find it online by searching for the home’s address in the Green Building Registry. Copy the numerical Score and the online link provided for the Report and insert it into this statement:
[Home Energy Score = {your score}. HES Report at {your Report web link}]