By Eliza Ridgeway

Los Altos Hills is one step closer to implementing new energy conservation standards.

The city council Oct. 20 directed the staff to draft a revised energy-efficiency ordinance that would address two-thirds of the environmental initiatives committee’s recent proposal.

The ordinance will include efficiency standards for new homes and incentives to install photovoltaic (solar) cells. It does not address standards for private pools, an issue that will return to the council for further discussion.

The council is expediting the ordinance because energy efficiency benefits homeowners with lowered utility bills and is environmentally sound.

The ordinance would require all new homes to be Energystar certified or achieve 15 percent better efficiency than required by California’s Title 24 standards, the efficiency standards in the state’s code of regulations.

Energystar is a government-backed program that certifies homes and businesses that use conservation techniques and efficient appliances to exceed Title 24.

Councilmembers speculated that Los Altos Hills would become the first California city to implement Energystar standards.

Some counties do have local efficiency standards, and companies such as Pardee Homes are constructing housing developments with Energystar certification.

Peter Evans, committee chairman, projected that new homes could achieve 25 percent efficiency beyond Title 24 standards for an additional cost of $1.25 per square foot. That cost could be offset by savings on utility bills, he said.

As an alternative to the measures required by Energystar, residents could offset their energy use by installing photovoltaic cells.

Cells that exceeded the minimum energy requirements of the new ordinance would be “credited” toward an increased maximum development area allowance.

“This was something we felt the town could offer that in some instances might be very valuable for a property developer,” Evans said.

The revised proposal includes lower standards than those first proposed by the committee - 15 percent efficiency rather than 25 percent. Proposed revisions could go into effect as soon as this month.