Last month, the Eugene City Council took an important step toward reducing citywide carbon emissions from residential buildings and improving energy affordability in Eugene by adopting a policy requiring that a Home Energy Score be posted when a home is listed for sale. Home Energy Scores rate the efficiency of homes and identify what upgrades, small or large, would most improve a home’s energy efficiency. This program benefits both buyers and sellers, has the potential to support new job growth in our area and provides the information needed to improve energy efficiency in homes, reducing energy costs and usage, according to research conducted by city staff and shared with councilors.  

Home Energy Scores provide transparency to buyers, giving them a stronger sense of what their energy costs might be and helping to avoid surprising bills after moving in. Scores also provide information about which upgrades will have the greatest impact, at a time when renovations may be already taking place, and identify relevant rebate and incentive programs sellers or buyers may be able to take advantage of.

Such programs can be underutilized because they may be complicated or not widely known about, despite the benefits they provide. Sellers may use the information from their score to make improvements prior to selling their house, new buyers may use the information to make changes prior to or after moving in, or neither — there is no requirement to take action.

In an increasingly complicated energy landscape, the information from the Home Energy Score, tailored to each specific house, is what we need to make decisions and prioritize projects that save money and reduce wasted energy — wasted energy that contributes to homes and buildings accounting for approximately 32% of Eugene’s greenhouse gas emissions, according to city data.

By moving forward with this program, Eugene joins other cities in taking common-sense action that addresses the intersecting crises of affordability and climate change, a first step that can be built on to expand this program to ensure renters receive the same benefits. When it comes to the climate crisis, each step we take matters.

Meredith Tufts
Eugene