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Under the leadership of Governor Schwarzenegger, there has been new emphasis on residential energy efficiency in our Golden State. In fact, the California Energy Commission has developed a Home Energy Rating System (HERS) for resale homes—much like an MPG sticker on a car—that educates the homebuyer on the energy costs associated with that particular home. We spoke with Panama Bartholomy of the California Energy Commission at the recent West Coast Green Conference about new legislation that will impact the energy efficiency of existing homes in the very near future.

In today’s podcast, Panama refers to AB 758 that will “either be passed or vetoed” in the next few weeks and will, for the first time in the nation, give a regulatory agency authority over the energy efficiency of existing buildings. Well . . . it passed! The governor signed it into law on October 11th. The bill paves the way for achieving greater energy savings in the state’s existing residential and nonresidential building stock.

The state’s first energy efficiency retrofit program is the Berkeley First Program, which established a model that is about to be adopted in major municipalities and counties throughout California. The unique aspect of Berkeley First that has contributed to its success is that homeowners are able to finance energy-efficiency improvements through a tax assessment rather than personal debt.