Home Energy Score Program Brings Home Another Win for Portland

The U.S. Department of Energy recently acknowledged the City of Portland’s Bureau of Planning and Sustainability for its efforts in promoting energy efficiency through Home Energy Score programs. This is the second year in a row that the city has earned recognition for its HES work – this year’s award packs even more of a punch given the constraints of the ongoing pandemic. Partners like Earth Advantage and state certified assessors were key in helping the city become the top dog once again – coordinating with assessors and customers to complete a large number of virtual assessments.

Home Energy Score programs help homeowners and homebuyers better understand a home's energy use, and identify improvements that can be made to increase energy efficiency. To produce a HES, a certified assessor evaluates a home's performance and issues a score, similar to the bright yellow Energy Guide label found on home appliances. The evaluation process includes considering things like air leaks, insulation levels, windows and doors, heating and cooling systems, lighting, and more.

The Oregon Department of Energy developed a statewide standard HES system to measure a home's energy efficiency and energy use, which earned a 2019 award from the USDOE. The statewide HES system is voluntary, but ODOE designed the framework so Oregon cities or counties could easily adopt the framework for local mandatory HES programs. With guidance from ODOE, the City of Portland was the first to adopt a mandatory energy score program, which earned them the 2020 award from the USDOE for facilitating the highest number of Home Energy Scores.

In 2019, ODOE announced a partnership with Earth Advantage to expand and help manage Oregon’s voluntary statewide HES program. Earth Advantage’s efforts to make it easier for states and local governments to develop and implement HES programs by sharing best practices earned them the 2020 Innovation award from the USDOE.

The work these organization are doing empowers homeowners to make smart energy choices through HES, which benefits all Oregonians. ODOE is proud to support their efforts.

Learn more about HES programs including resources for communities, assessors, and homeowners on our website.