City of Austin Required ECAD

The ECAD ordinance requires that before the sale of a single family property, homeowners must disclose a home energy audit to their potential buyer if all three of the conditions below apply:

• The home is within the Austin Energy service area
• The property lies within the Austin city limits
• The home is 10 years old or older

Once you schedule your audit by phone or email, we will email you a confirmation of your audit time and date.

At the scheduled time and date, our auditor will arrive at your home and conduct the assessment. This usually takes around an hour for a 2000 sq ft home with one A/C unit. Our auditor will inspect and assess the following:

• Any existing window shading and solar screening
• Air infiltration near plumbing areas, exterior door weather stripping, and attic access
• Attic insulation levels
• Efficiency of the heating and cooling systems in your home
• Determine duct leakage levels

Before our auditor comes by, you can take a few steps to ensure that they will be able to conduct the assessment properly and completely.

• Make sure our auditor has access to the property. We can access by realtor lock box or schedule a time to meet you there.
• Ensure that attic entries and utility closets are free from blockages.
• Make sure the power is on in order for our technician to be able to run the full range of testing (if the home does not have power, we can still conduct the audit, but the duct leakage test will not be completed).

Click here to see if your home could be exempt from the ordinance.

Click here to view information on variances.

We value our ongoing relationships with real estate agents and brokers. As a token of appreciation, we offer special discounts for those Agents and their clients. Contact us regarding our special discounts for Agents who continually use or refer us.

For more information about our pricing or to schedule, please email us or give us a call at 512-879-3567.

If your property meets all three of the requirements below, then it is subject to the ECAD Ordinance.

• The property has turned 10 years old
• The property gets its energy from Austin Energy
• The property is within the Austin city limits

At Austin Auditors we understand the delicate balance between owners, managers, and their tenants. We work closely with management to ensure that the interests of tenants and owners are carefully considered in providing the best service. With quick and dedicated service while testing your property, we can get in, get out, and have your testing results back to you in short order.

We can also work with owners to provide win-win solutions on extensive rebates for improving their properties.

Austin Energy offers very substantial and beneficial rebates for owners of multifamily properties based on the results of the ECAD audit.

Click here for more information on Austin Energy rebates for multifamily properties.

For minimal costs, or in many cases, no costs, the following benefits are created:

• Owners Improve Their Building & Asset Value
• Reduce Operating Costs (in Common Areas)
• Competitive Advantages
• Improved Marketing & Leasing to Tenants
• Tenants get improved comfort air quality & lower bills (thus reducing manager complaints)

Our certified auditors visit your property and conduct an assessment of the following areas:

• A duct pressure test to measure leakage levels
• Attic insulation levels
• Solar shading inspection

The ordinance applies to commercial buildings 10,000 sq ft or larger. Commercial buildings are ones used for civic, commercial, or industrial purposes other than manufacturing.

You must report your rating to the City annually by June 1, with start dates as follows and on an annual basis thereafter:

• 2012: Buildings: 75,000 sq ft or larger
• 2013: Buildings: 30,000 sq ft or larger
• 2014: Buildings: 10,000 sq ft or larger

Austin Auditors can perform this non-intrusive report without having to enter any buildings and simply run a professional benchmarking analysis on behalf of the owners. If you wish to avoid the training required in becoming a portfolio manager and maintaining and submitting the accurate records annually, please get in touch with us.

We can tell you whether your commercial building needs a rating, when we can finish it for you, and how we will maintain your records to submit annually into the future. For more information email us or give us a call at 512-879-3567.