Tuesday’s Midwest Energy Policy Series hosted speakers from across the state in Columbia exploring how realtors are promoting energy efficient homes and appraisers are putting a value to energy efficiency.
Brandon Renaud is the residential energy services supervisor at Columbia Water & Light. He says it’s better to keep energy local.
“As Columbia continue to grow, there’s additional cost for distribution, for the grid, and for the capacity. As we invest in energy efficiency, we find that it’s cheaper in the long run to invest in the homes that are here than it is to build a new power plant or buy energy off of the grid. So we keep the money local, we invest in the local community rather than investing in an outside power plant.”
Columbia Water & Light offers a guide called the efficiency score, which tests the value of a home’s energy efficiency. Renaud recommends to home owners to do research on energy efficiency and an energy audit before purchasing.