Energy Conservation Audit and Disclosure (ECAD) Ordinance for Owners of Commercial Buildings

The Energy Conservation Audit and Disclosure (ECAD) ordinance requires Austin commercial buildings that receive electricity from Austin Energy to have an energy rating by June 1, 2011.

Exemptions
The building does not need an energy rating if it meets one of the following conditions. It is:

• Less than 10 years old as of June 1, 2009
• An industrial building

Definition of a Commercial Building
The ECAD ordinance defines a commercial building as a non-residential, civic or commercial building that is not an industrial building.

Commercial Building Energy Rating Systems
If the building is not exempt, it will need an energy rating according to an Austin Energy-approved energy rating system.

Approved rating systems include:

• Portfolio Manager from EPA ENERGY STAR®, for buildings 5,000 square feet or more
• Austin Energy Free Online Commercial/Business Energy Analysis tool, for buildings less than 5,000 square feet

Portfolio Manager might not be able to rate some specialized facilities. In such cases, Portfolio Manager returns a reason for incompletion. Building owners should email that reason to Austin Energy.

Variances
A commercial building may qualify for a variance if it is a data center or other high energy use facility that cannot be adequately evaluated with Portfolio Manager or the Austin Energy online tool. View the Variance Application for a Data Center or Other High Energy Use Facility.

Voluntary Goals
The City Council has set the following voluntary goals to encourage commercial properties to improve their energy-efficiency rating:

Energy-Efficiency Improvements
The ECAD ordinance seeks to improve Austin’s energy efficiency. Although commercial building owners need only report the building’s energy use rating, improving energy efficiency can benefit the bottom line by lowering monthly energy bills. Austin Energy provides rebates and excellent commercial energy-efficiency offerings to help building owners make energy-efficiency improvements.

Enforcement and Penalties
Non-compliance with the ECAD ordinance is a Class C misdemeanor. Reported violations will be forwarded to the City of Austin Legal Department for review and action.