What is Energy eCompliance?
Energy eCompliance is a tool within connectMLS (the Midwest real estate multiple listing service) that lets real estate agents automatically populate utility costs into a home’s listing. This allows homebuyers to easily understand the true cost of homeownership before purchasing a home! While some listing services encourage energy transparency, Energy eCompliance is the only tool in the country that enables energy utilities use and cost data directly into listings.
Are you looking for someone to talk to your real estate office about Energy eCompliance? Contact Pamela Brookstein at pamela.brookstein@ElevateNP.org to learn more about this opportunity.
Energy eCompliance is a tool available to Chicagoland’s MLS, connectMLS, which lets real estate agents automatically populate utility costs into a Chicago home’s listing. connectMLS is the only MLS in the country that has this tool. Elevate Energy provides Energy eCompliance through its MyHomeEQ web application. MyHomeEQ allows connectMLS to retrieve a summary of a homeowner’s electricity and natural gas usage from the utilities when the data is requested by a real estate agent.
- It’s a quick, easy way to comply with the City of Chicago’s Energy Cost Disclosure Ordinance
- It allows owners of energy efficient homes to highlight the monetary benefits of the energy efficient upgrades they made
- It gives potential buyers immediate access to an integral piece of information regarding the total cost of home ownership early on in the buying process
When creating a listing for a home in Chicago, the agent enters the homeowner’s utility account numbers into the tool. Once submitted, the estimated energy costs for the year are automatically entered into data fields shown in the listing. Watch this video to learn more.
Upon user request, connectMLS submits the account numbers and property address to MyHomeEQ via an API (Application Programming Interface). MyHomeEQ retrieves the usage for those accounts, confirms the account address when available, and returns the yearly and monthly average energy costs for those accounts. A second request is later made from connectMLS to create the downloadable PDF for disclosure of energy costs to the buyer.
In 1987, the City of Chicago passed an ordinance that required the disclosure of gas bills when residential properties were sold or leased. In the beginning, the process to track this information down was time-consuming and could be frustrating. In July 2013, Chicagoland’s MLS provider Midwest Real Estate Data, LLC (MRED), the City of Chicago, and Elevate Energy worked together to automate the process, making it possible for agents to get both gas and electricity cost data with just a few clicks.
Elevate Energy has been a valuable partner because they understand the needs of the real estate community. They excel at communicating these needs to the energy efficiency community so that both groups can work together most effectively. Thank you Elevate Energy!