Even In Minnesota, Finding A Green Home For Sale Is Harder Than You’d Think…

One of my favorite books is Jane Smiley’s Good Faith, about Joe Stratford, a real estate agent in the 1980s boom times. While reading it, I was reminded of the vast changes since then. Unlike Joe’s era, today’s home selling and buying is largely data driven. All the backslapping he does with retail clients and prospects and later, unethical banks, now takes a back seat to internet searches backed by objective measures.

No where is real estate more data driven than in the area of measuring energy efficiency. Technology is widely available and with the right inputs, building energy use can be predicted within a few percent points based solely on its assets - even with a hundred-year-old home. Many consider an asset rating system important because it lets you compare apples to apples, whereas judging homes by utility bills can vary widely because people are very different in the amount of energy they consume.

However, just when this work is most crucial for the sake of the climate and economy, not to mention rebate programs that require modeling a home’s energy use, energy auditors are leaving the field.

One energy auditor from southern Minnesota told me he was tired of hearing the resistance from home sellers and buyers, being told to "take your suggestions and go away," or worse, and when his business dropped 80% because of the recent real estate slow down, he decided to leave the field. This is too bad. Energy auditors are the salespeople for home decarbonization programs going forward.

He was one of a handful of home energy auditors and program mangers I spoke to about the possibility of using the DOE’s Home Energy Score to evaluate an existing home for sale in St Paul. I’ve used the Home Energy Score before and find it easy to use and accurate.

There’s a few places, like Portland, Oregon, where this would have been easy. By city ordinance, a DOE Home Energy Score is required for most every home listed for sale in Portland. If a home needs improvement, basic suggestions are listed on the report as well. In Portland, it’s a seamless experience for home buyers to look up and find a green home for sale.

This brings me to the purpose of the article, which is what to do in place like St Paul where energy related information is not required as a matter of city or state policy. What is a quick and cost effective way for buyers and renters to predict the energy use of a home?

I picked a Green Home For Sale to find out!

Philipp Gross is a building engineer and owner of the Neighborhood Woodshop in St Paul. He and his wife Tymber have listed their home at 1029 Iglehart Avenue in St Paul. When I first learned they were selling, I immediately wanted to see it. I’d heard about Philipp’s work for a beautiful, net-zero home renovation in my neighborhood in St Paul.

When I arrived to tour the home, it was one of those clear Minnesota (summer) blue sky days. Philipp opened the door and the first thing I noticed was the house was cool - even though it was eighty degrees out.

He welcomed me in and quickly explained that they were not using air conditioning, just opening windows at night. He went on to describe how the house was renovated to be as energy-efficient as could be and so was able to retain the cool air that was let in at night.

I started looking around at how elegant and meticulously renovated the home is as he explained how the walls are twice as thick and insulated as typical homes; it features advanced technology like a super-efficient combi boiler and a decentralized ventilation system.

In the winter, “The air that's entering is 62 degrees no matter how cold it is outside,” he said, emphasizing the use of the home's heat recovery ventilation system (HRV)​​.

I asked about air filters for those units and he said each of the half dozen HRVs have their own filters. I thought how perfect this would be for reducing any potential smoke from wildfires that the twin cities have received in recent years.

When the listing agent, Steve Anderson from Vibe Realty, showed up, we quickly recapped the home’s energy efficient features.

Triple-Pane Windows: These replicate the 1904 originals but with superior insulation.

6” Smooth Smartside® Siding with Added Insulation: Enhances exterior appearance and thermal performance.

Energy-Efficient Combi Boiler: Efficiently provides heating and hot water.

Decentralized Energy Recovery Ventilation System: Supplies fresh air while minimizing energy loss.

Well-marketed, energy efficient homes in the Twin Cities metro do sell for a premium, between 2% to 14%, according to one study.

It’s hard to focus on the details of the Home Energy Score when the rest of the house is so beautiful. (Photo courtesy of VibeMN.com)

Philipp noted that while the price may seem above market, with all the green features, "I think the price is, if anything, too cheap. For the right person, it will really work"​​.

We Ran An Unofficial Home Energy Score

It was apparent to me that this home has features that would contribute to an over-the-top home efficiency score. After the realtor left, Philipp and I sat down to work on the inputs to enter into the demo version of DOE’s Home Energy Score modeling software.

Here are the numbers that our Home Energy Score - preview/demo - generated.

Estimated annual energy use: 90 MBtus.

Estimated annual energy cost: $953, significantly lower than comparable homes.

These numbers look great!

If you’re shopping for a green home, and facts are important, why isn’t everyone proudly displaying their Home Energy Score?

I was at the White House in 2011 when then Vice President Joe Biden introduced the Home Energy Score, calling it a miles-per-gallon rating for homes that would allow consumers to compare homes in the marketplace. Soon after, I participated in a beta test of the software. Even then, the Home Energy Score was a powerful tool for assessing and improving home energy efficiency. It has only gotten better. Yet, its adoption has been limited to a dozen cities (and the state of Washington pending). The program seems to work in places where the city or state has created an energy labeling program so everyone is on the same page and participates, especially energy auditors and assessors who are guaranteed a market for these services.

Even if a home does not receive a good score, most homeowners and especially home buyers, appreciate knowing the facts and suggestions for improvement.

Portland, OR, as mentioned, seems to be the leader nationwide. In Minnesota, Minneapolis and Bloomington MN have a home energy disclosure program but it uses a different tool, one that was specially created by a local nonprofit. Unfortunately, it will not predict actual energy use like the DOE’s Home Energy Score making it hard to compare one home to another.

There has to be a solution to this problem. Homeowners, home buyers and especially home sellers and their realtors need to know the facts.