Washington State

In May, 2009, Washington Governor Chris Gregoire signed into law SB5854, also known as the Efficiency First bill. SB 5854 focuses on energy efficiency in the built environment and requires commercial building energy rating and disclosure, major improvements to the state energy code and energy performance standards and retrofits (if necessary) for public buildings.

Disclosure Required When:

  • Sales contract is presented for the entire building to a prospective lessee
  • Owner presents a lease for the entire building to a prospective lessee
  • Owner presents a loan application to finance entire building to a prospective lender.

Timeline of Annual energy benchmarking with ENERGY STAR

January 1, 2011 (start) – Non-residential buildings 50,000 SF or greater

January 1, 2012 – Non-residential buildings that range from10,000-50,000 SF

Sixteen months from start – Non-residential buildings that measure 1,000- 10,000 SF

The Efficiency First Bill also requires the state to recommend a methodology to rate the energy performance of homes.

*Information provided courtesy of www.IMT.org