Austin City Council Approves Changes To ECAD Ordinance

On Thursday, April 21, 2011 Austin City Council approved changes to the ECAD (Energy Conservation Audit & Disclosure (ECAD) ordinance. These changes clarify some points in the ordinance that were previously unclear. In brief here are the changes/amendments to the ordinance as they pertain to single family homes:

1. When buyers should receive audit: Sellers are now required to give buyers the energy audit three days before their option period expires. Sellers can no longer expect to provide the audit to buyers before title is recorded after closing.

2. Condos must be audited: Condos are no longer exempt from the ordinance and are now required to be audited and fully comply with the ECAD ordinance. Owners of four or fewer condominiums must meet the requirements for single-family homes and those owning five or more units at one location must meet the requirement for multifamily properties.

Austin Energy announced to auditors that these changes were to go into effect Monday, May 2, 2011. However there is some confusion right now as to the effective date of these changes.

It should be noted that there are other changes to the ordinance that will effect multi-family properties, such as apartment complexes, which are not covered here. For more information about these changes contact Austin Energy or click here: ECAD Changes Effective May 2, 2011.

New Data on the Audit Ordinance

According to some sources, so far Austin Energy has processed about 310 ECAD energy audits. The results of these audits are astounding. Simply put, most houses over 10 years old are wasting hundreds of thousands of killowatt-hours of electricity, largely due to under insulated attics and extremely leaky ducting. The average amount of insulation in older homes is coming in at about 6 inches, or R-19 (best is R-38), and the average percent of leakage for ducting is coming in at 22% (best is below 10%). Some houses are at 50% leakage.

Added together, the 310 houses are wasting approximately 807,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity annually from the air ducts alone, or the equivalent of the electricity used in 67 Austin homes in a year, according Austin Energy.

ECAD Audits are Happening

Austin Energy has officially rolled out the ECAD audit and our auditors are starting to perform the audits. We are receiving a flurry of calls daily about the ordinance. Some brokers and agents who are in the closing process the question is: does my client (home seller) need to disclose an energy audit evern though we are in contract? The official response from ABOR is the following:

Any properties that close and fund prior to June 1, 2009 will be exempt from the City of Austin Energy Audit. If your closing date is scheduled for th last week of may, ABOR strongly recommends having the audit performed.

For more information feel free to call us at 512-828-1980.

The ECAD Audit Form is Here

We have received updated information from Austin Energy regarding the implementation of the Energy Conservation Audit and Disclosure (ECAD) ordinance.

Here are the main points:

• The audit form is now available and its scope is much more comprehensive than previously thought. It covers windows, solar screens, appliances, heating and cooling systems, water consumption, duct leakage, attic insulation etc. - to view a copy of the Austin Energy audit form see: http://energyaction.com/selling-your-home and click on the ECAD Audit Form link.
  
• Auditors will be able to supply the report to the seller directly once the audit is complete instead of the Seller having to obtain a copy from Austin Energy
• The auditor will be making improvement recommendations. Having an objective auditor, like Energy Action auditors, will help avoid conflicts of interest that may arise by using a vendor-auditor who wishes to sell HVAC systems, windows, solar screens, attic insulation, duct sealing etc.

Stay tuned for more updates.

Duct Blaster Demo for Realtors

In the first week of May Energy Action will be giving Austin area Realtors an exclusive demonstration of Duct Blasting, which is a component of the new ECAD (Energy Conservation Audit and Disclosure) ordinance. This FREE demonstration will include Ordinance Q & A, information on improving home energy efficiency and the opportunity to chat with our auditors.

The open house will be a catered event with demonstrations held every two hours. The schedule, along with the location of the home, will be announced at the end of April. If you want to drop in and get a firsthand peak at the ordinance please RSVP by email on our Contact page and we will keep you posted.