MRIS Joins Home Energy Information Accelerator and Commits to Expand Energy Efficiency in the Mid-Atlantic Region

May 28, 2015 -- Today the Energy Department announced two new Better Buildings Accelerators, which will convene leaders to focus on key solutions to expanding energy efficiency in the residential sector. Partners will focus on expanding awareness of homes' energy efficiency and streamlining the processes used to help consumers improve the efficiency of their homes. MRIS has joined the Home Energy Information Accelerator and is committed to reflecting the most accurate energy efficient attributes of residential properties in the Mid-Atlantic region.

The Better Buildings Home Energy Information Accelerator supports the President's Climate Action Plan with a goal to accelerate investment in home energy efficiency improvement projects across the country. Today, 32 partners were welcomed by the Energy Department for their commitments to advance home energy efficiency across the country.

The Home Energy Information Accelerator brings together leaders in real estate and energy efficiency to expand the availability and use of reliable home energy information at relevant points in residential real estate transactions. Accelerator partners will develop and demonstrate replicable, sustainable approaches that make energy-related information—such as a home's efficiency certification or its estimated energy usage – easily available through multiple listing services and other reports.

"Mid-Atlantic residents are environmentally conscious and want their homes to reflect this," said Jonathan Hill, Vice President of Marketing and Communications at MRIS. "We want to make it easier for real estate professionals to help sellers promote the green features in their listings and to help buyers identify these homes which are more energy efficient and eco-friendly."

To better inform consumers regarding a property's energy efficiency, MRIS, the industry-leading Mid-Atlantic Multiple Listing Service (MLS) that facilitates nearly $125 million a day in real estate transactions, is adding 14 new MLS high performance home (HPH) fields including ENERGY STAR Cooling and Heating Systems, LEED for Homes certification, and HERS index scores (Home Energy Rating System). This will allow real estate professionals to better identify HPH features and certifications so that potential buyers can make more informed purchasing decisions.

"By improving the efficiency of buildings across the country, Better Buildings partners are saving money by saving energy, creating more sustainable communities, and helping to protect future generations from the impacts of climate change," said Under Secretary for Science and Energy Franklin Orr. "Expanding the program to include water savings and the residential sector means that American families can be a part of this successful partnership that cuts costs and pollution."

Better Buildings Accelerators convene leaders across sectors and building types to address persistent barriers that stand in the way of greater energy efficiency. As Better Buildings Home Energy Information Accelerator partners share their successes with the market, resources will be posted in the Better Buildings Residential Program Solution Center. The Solution Center is an online tool designed to help organizations explore the solutions tested and proven by partners.

As a cornerstone of the President's Climate Action Plan, Better Buildings aims to make commercial, public, industrial, and residential buildings 20% more energy efficient over the next decade. This means saving hundreds of billions of dollars on energy bills, reducing GHG emissions, and creating thousands of jobs. Through Better Buildings, public and private sector organizations across the country are working together to share and replicate positive gains in energy efficiency.

For a detailed progress report on the Better Buildings Initiative, and for more information on how to join these partners and advance your own energy efficiency work, visit: http://betterbuildingssolutioncenter.energy.gov.

ABOUT MRIS

MRIS is a leading provider of real estate information technology and one of the nation's leading multiple listing services (MLS), facilitating over $45 billion in system wide sales in 2014. The company supports over 45,000 real estate professionals in the Mid-Atlantic region, including Maryland, Northern Virginia, Washington, D.C. and parts of Pennsylvania, Delaware and West Virginia. MRIS provides its customers with a portfolio of best-in-class desktop, mobile and cloud-based technologies to improve the real estate transaction process for both real estate professionals and homebuyers and sellers. For more information, please visit MRIS.com or MRIShomes.com to search for thousands of available homes in the Mid-Atlantic region.