Energy committee seeks more data on renewable‑heating outcomes and pushes landlord outreach for weatherization

The council heard the Energy Committee's FY27 priorities from Ethan Goldman, who outlined three workstreams: improving uptake of the state's Weatherization Plus program through targeted landlord outreach with VGS data; proposing additional inspection data collection and analysis for homes built under South Burlington's renewable‑heating ordinance after early analysis failed to show expected gas reductions; and outreach to local businesses to promote commute alternatives in partnership with CATMA.

Goldman said initial comparisons of roughly 50 hybrid (gas‑supplement) homes built since the ordinance and 50 pre‑ordinance homes showed no clear decrease in natural‑gas usage for the hybrid group, prompting a recommendation to add standardized data gathering to the inspection process so the city can identify causes of underperformance (controls, installer settings, or system configuration). "So far, we're not seeing terribly promising results," he said. Committee members proposed working with Efficiency Vermont, VGS and builders to collect serial numbers, equipment models and commissioning records as part of site inspections.

On Weatherization Plus, the committee proposed collaborating with VGS to combine utility usage analysis with the city's property records to target outreach to rental properties and landlords, and offered committee volunteer time and potentially interns to support outreach. The committee also suggested using state networks such as the Energy Excellence Network and Efficiency Vermont's portfolio manager to encourage commercial owners to benchmark building performance.

Councilors supported the committee's effort to develop practical inspection checklists and data capture that would inform whether ordinance or implementation changes are needed.