Beginning January 1, 2011, the seller of residential property is required to provide the buyer with an energy consumption evaluation form published by the Nevada Energy Commissioner. The evaluation form must be provided prior to closing. The buyer and seller may choose to waive the evaluation form requirement. The waiver form is found on the last page of the evaluation form. The form is designed to give the buyer basic information about the home, its mechanical and lighting systems, the seller’s consumption of power and gas, and any energy-efficient features in the home such as Energy Star labeled appliances. The seller must use a good faith effort to obtain “reasonably available” information to complete the form. For example, the seller must check for any visual labeling on a device to answer questions about that device. Nevada Energy and Southwest Gas have each agreed to assist a homeowner in completing the form by making the consumption and cost easily available by phone or online. Contact NV Energy in southern Nevada at (702) 402-5555, or online at NVEnergy.com; contact Southwest Gas toll free at (877) 860-6020. An energy audit/inspection is not required, although a buyer may choose to have such an audit completed by a certified inspector. This is similar to the buyer’s option to have a home inspection done on the home. Additionally, buyers should understand that many factors affect a seller’s energy consumption, including the number of persons occupying the home and the seller’s lifestyle, which may be more or less energy-conscious than the buyer’s. The adoption of this form may add value to recently constructed green homes in Las Vegas.
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