Pittsburgh to Participate in Home Energy Score Pilot

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During this morning’s commute I learned via DUQ 90.5FM that Pittsburgh homes will be part of a pilot program conducted by The Department of Energy to test new technology to rate homes’ energy efficiency – while lowering the amount of time it takes to assess each home from four hours to one hour.  Pittsburgh’s Allegheny County is but one of 10 communities selected for the first phase of the program.

DUQ 90.5FM reported: 

Homes will be given an “energy score” between one and ten, with ten being the most efficient. John Horchner, Program Officer with Efficiency PA says he expects many homes in the Pittsburgh area to score somewhere in middle because of the age of the structures. Horchner also says it’s possible that an energy score could play into real estate transactions in the future as buyers search for houses that will keep their energy bills lower.

The DOE explains it chose communities representing varied climates, most U.S. regions and include both urban and rural communities.

The other selected communities are:

  • Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard, MA
  • Chicago area, IL
  • Greater Charlottesville area, VA
  • Indiana
  • Minnesota
  • Omaha and Lincoln, NE
  • Portland area, OR
  • South Carolina
  • Texas

For Allegheny County residents looking to register their home for the Home Energy Score, more information can be found at effciencyPA.com.  The deadline for registering homes for a chance to participate in the pilot is May 25.

If your community has not made the list but you are interested in the program the DOE encourages you to “contact us”  if your region would like to participate in the future.

The DOE reports that based on findings from the pilots, DOE will refine the program and launch the Home Energy Score nationally in late 2011.

Image Credit:  Image available via US Department of Energy public domain website.

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