[MassHistPres] Stretch Energy Code

[Dennis De Witt]

A very enthusiastic green group is pushing for Brookline to adopt the Stretch Energy Code.  It is brand new.  We are told that Newton and Cambridge adopted it at the end of 2009.  It’s said to be "somewhat similar to an Energy Star rating for houses, with third-party testing so that residents are sure to get the energy efficiency they’re promised when they insulate, improve heating systems, or make other improvements." [windows?] It’s also said to be "an important step toward the town’s qualifying for new funding that is coming available under the Green Communities Act" -- whatever that might be.

The obvious concern is windows.  Most of our green folks seem to understand that window replacements do not make sense economically -- but sometimes that understanding seems a bit fuzzy.  And they allowed two replacement window vendors -- one with vinyl windows! --  into a recent "green fair" in the H.S. 

Is anyone else facing this?  

What can Cambridge and Newton tell us about it?

One person told me that the accompanying rules were not yet in place so that it could be something of a pig in  a poke.  I don't know if that's true or not.

Dennis De Witt