To achieve more energy-efficient homes and businesses, the city hopes to expand upon a successful energy benchmarking program that has been implemented for large commercial and multifamily residential buildings across the City. The city’s energy benchmarking program helps large building owners and managers in Philadelphia better understand their energy and water use—because what gets measured gets managed. According to the report, over 2,800 buildings in 2017 reported their energy and water use to the city. These large buildings represented more than 30 percent of the total citywide square footage.
This benchmarking program allows buildings to discover their total energy usage and find ways to improve those buildings' energy efficiency and performance. The result has been that the median Energy Star score for these buildings was 63, or 13 points above the national average.
Also, the City is currently involved in modernizing residential building codes to include both new home construction and major renovations of existing row homes. This updated building code requires all new construction and renovations to meet the IRC (International Residential Code), significantly increasing the baseline level of energy increasing for residential homes. As it stands, the City believes that the implementation and enforcement of updated Residential Energy Codes can add up to an estimated 103,290 metric ton equivalents (MtCO2) in carbon savings while also saving homeowners (and the City) an annual cost savings of over 27 million dollars.
The City has also created several rebates and incentives for homeowners and large building owners across the city. High-performing buildings and homes will benefit from streamlined permitting, expanded density bonus incentives, and property tax incentives for buildings that go above and beyond the new building code for energy efficiency standards.
Home Remodelers to Get Started
Homeowners wanting to invest in low carbon retrofits to improve the thermal performance and energy efficiency of their homes would do well to search for the top home remodelers in Philadelphia who have experience in sustainability—which can mean a variety of things, including being well-versed in healthy home products, energy efficiency, solar, green roofs, having on staff LEED accredited professionals, etc. Below, we list and briefly review three of what we think are the more sustainable home remodelers in Philly. While we do not endorse these companies, these are the folks we would call first.
- Orange Energy Solutions: Orange Energy Solutions focuses its remodeling on offering cost-effective ways to protect your home from expected rising energy costs while also improving the comfort and livability of the home. They take a holistic approach to the term “sustainability,” looking at the health and safety of the house, durability, and energy efficiency to reduce their clients’ carbon footprint and monthly energy bills. They typically work on projects that improve insulation, HVAC systems, windows, and doors—anywhere that could help tighten up the house's envelope. They also offer home performance assessments and energy audits.
- Buckminster Green: This design/build company specializes in fine renovations of several types of homes across Philadelphia. Their team of architects, remodelers, and builders has a strong portfolio of deep energy retrofits. They work with clients individually to determine the most important goals for the renovation, including aesthetics, energy use goals, health concerns, and others.
- Lord Contractors: Lord Contractors is one of the only architectural and construction companies in the Philadelphia area, a Passive House Institute US (PHIUS) Certified Builder, and has experience in Net Zero construction, sustainable building practices, and energy-efficient modular construction. While they specialize in new custom home construction, they also do extensive consulting and work on historic renovations across the state of Pennsylvania.
So if you live in Philadelphia and have been thinking about renovating your home, now is a great time to start. If you can add value to your home and decrease your operating costs, why wait?
