Southface Journal Summber 2004

Home Performance Contracting: the newest wave of ENERGY STAR

by Kristina Weyer, Southface Program Manager

While many people are familiar with Energy Star appliances, it may be news that Energy Star has guidelines for building components and houses, too. Now Energy Star is expanding further into improvements for existing homes with a program called Home Performance with Energy Star. This program trains residential contractors in the whole-house, integrated approach for diagnosing a home’s problems.

Southface is one of several providers nationwide to implement Home Performance with Energy Star, and the first in the Southeast. Southface started the program in late spring 2003, and since then eight Southeastern contractors have completed training, with six pilot projects already underway.

Home Performance with Energy Star is an exciting business opportunity for contactors and subcontractors who work with existing homes. Prime candidates for the program are insulation and air sealing companies, heating and air (HVAC) contractors, handyman operations and home renovation firms.

Home Performance with ENERGY STAR begins with a qualified contractor providing a comprehensive evaluation of your home’s energy efficiency to determine which improvements will give you the most benefit for your dollar. This contractor will examine your whole house—from the outer walls and ceiling, to the heating and cooling systems, and even the lighting. After helping you choose which combination of improvements makes the most sense for your home and your budget, the home performance contractor then makes sure the work is done correctly.

Successful home performance contractors in other parts of the country have expanded their businesses to be able to work on all aspects of a home’s performance. A contractor who understands how the house works as a system can diagnose the problems of the whole house and give the homeowner recommendations accordingly. Thus, what begins as a call from a customer wanting a new furnace may become a job that includes an air sealing package, some additional insulation and sealing the ductwork as well. The business benefits to the contractor are apparent. The homeowner benefits with a house that is more energy efficient and comfortable than it would have been if just the initial improvement had been made. Often, improved indoor air quality also results. Homeowners sometimes realize the air sealing and insulation options are cost-effective and may alleviate the need for new equipment.

One of the program’s first contractors, Mark Faircloth of Climatrol HVAC, began thinking about the house–as-a-system approach when the work he was doing on heating and cooling systems did not resolve a customer’s comfort complaints. Faircloth started out just doing equipment replacement and duct sealing for his customers. He found that, even though his systems were passing air flow tests, half of the time the customer’s comfort problems remained. “That’s when we started thinking about the building shell (air sealing and insulation), which was affecting the comfort of the home. No matter how good your air flow is, if the house is leaking and there’s no insulation, that house is just not going to be comfortable to live in.”

Contractors who are not ready to expand their businesses beyond their current scope of work can still get involved by learning how to perform whole-house assessments. Training and mentoring from Southface prepares contractors for understanding the parts of the house that they have not dealt with before. Their recommendations to the homeowner can address all parts of the house, even though some aspects may involve work the contractor does not usually address. The contractors can choose to subcontract that work or provide a referral to another contractor in the program. A strong referral network of Home Performance with Energy Star contractors has already developed. The quality of all work is verified by Southface inspectors on behalf of Home Performance with Energy Star.

The initial appointment with a homeowner is a home assessment to survey insulation levels, potential moisture problems and equipment efficiencies. The contractor also uses diagnostic equipment–the blower door and duct blaster–to assess the home’s energy use and flaws and make recommendations for improvement. The blower door tests help determine infiltration (how leaky the house is), and the duct blaster test determines duct leakage. In regards to indoor air quality, the contractor also tests for carbon monoxide and pressure imbalances in the house to determine the potential for harmful gases being drawn into the living space.

Home Performance with Energy Star provides benefits to homeowners, and contractors alike, desiring tangible high-performance aspects to remodeling efforts. Contractors have increased visibility with the Energy Star branding and have “extra tools” in their kit that help them assess homeowners needs from a whole house systems approach. (click to enlarge poster)

By the completion of the initial appointment, which can take several hours depending on the complexity of the house, the contractor will have gathered enough information to provide a set of recommendations to the homeowner. Southface acts both as a resource for contractors and oversees projects, ensuring that contractors are assessing houses accurately and that their recommendations to homeowners are unbiased. The use of diagnostic equipment is extremely useful, not only for deciding what needs to be fixed in a house, but also for demonstrating to homeowners what is truly needed to make the home more comfortable, healthier and more energy efficient. Contractors realize increased sales for their services because the homeowners can see for themselves—qualitatively via the tests—where the house needs improvement. An additional bonus is that contractors can offer reduced interest rate financing to help homeowners fund the improvement work.

Southface is recruiting contractors who already appreciate or want to learn more about the house-as-a-system approach to home performance. Contact Howard Katzman 404-872-3549 ext. 103 (howard@southface.org), or Kristina Weyer, ext 123. (kristina@southface.org), if you are interested in learning more.