Colorado Green Building Post

November 30, 2009

Inaugural Ecobuild America Conference Dec. 7-10

Filed under: Building Technology, Events — Tags: , — uswx @ 5:00 am

The inaugural National High Performance Building Conference Dec. 7th through Dec. 10th at the Washington, DC Convention Center. Ecobuild America, sponsored by the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS), educates design and construction professionals on how to improve our built environment. This unique conference and exhibit, not only introduces new strategies and materials to create high performance, sustainable structures, but also the technology to do it faster and more profitably.
 
Attendees include the entire project team from architects and owners, to facility managers, specifiers who want to learn to better design, specify, and manage their projects to be Sustainable and Smart. Targeted training is available for commercial, industrial, government and residential AEC (architecture, engineering, and construction) professionals as well as educators.
 
The 3 day conference divided into 5 tracks, gives attendees fresh ideas and expert insight covering the entire spectrum including:
 · BIM & Information Technology
· Building Performance & Energy Efficiency
· Green Building, LEED & Sustainable Design
· Practice & Business Management
· Sustainable Sites & Infrastructure

 15% conference discount or FREE exhibit & keynote admission (new registrations only). Simply register online and enter promotion code ASEF9EKC during checkout at www.aecEcobuild.com

November 27, 2009

Production Scale Retrofits of Existing Residential Homes

Filed under: Weatherizing and Retrofit — Tags: — uswx @ 8:30 am

By Brian Brainerd

Retrofitting existing homes is widely recognized as the most cost effective way to manage energy use in the built environment. To date, relatively few homes have received either basic or deep energy efficiency upgrades despite numerous programs from utilities, local, state and federal governments. To make a difference in energy consumption, the economy and carbon reduction, retrofit work must reach hundreds of thousands of homes. An Energy Efficiency Community Block Grant program titled Retrofit Ramp-Up will fund programs that can deliver neighborhood scale retrofits. This outline summarizes a proposed strategy and efficient delivery mechanism capable of market transformation to achieve the key goals of energy conservation, sustainable job creation and climate action.

Finance

Colorado HB 1350 enabled a Property Assessed Clean Energy finance mechanism, already adopted by Boulder, Pitkin, Eagle and Gunnison Counties. Local implementation of this tool energizes the community and sets the stage for large-scale retrofit activity.

Community Initiative

Neighborhood scale retrofits can achieve wider acceptance through grass-roots community initiative.  By engaging a significant number of homeowners committed to a common goal, more homeowners will accept the inconvenience of home improvement and accept the required financial commitment. A neighborhood based approach to educating homeowners about the benefits of energy efficiency and renewable energy nurtures community values for sustainable climate action. A model for this approach in the renewable energy market is One Block Off the Grid and, for energy efficiency, there are a number Neighborhood Challenges and Carbon Footprint calculators, where community members, inspired by the cause, take the lead by educating neighbors and leading the community to action.

Efficient Retrofit Delivery and Green Jobs Creation - the game changing strategy

An energy audit without efficiency upgrades is a missed opportunity for efficiency upgrades. The key strategy to efficient retrofit delivery is an energy audit and critical efficiency upgrades in one visit. Typically, the upgrades have been CFLs and homeowner education. Our revised approach teams an energy auditor and air-sealing technician to deliver significant measurable energy improvements in one visit. A complete scope of work document for additional retrofit work by accredited contractors for HVAC, insulation, windows, solar, is a bid document with quality standards instead of the traditional audit report. This energy auditor and air-sealing technician is a new business model that offers a unique small business opportunity for experienced building performance professionals. US Weatherizing has a complete small business program ready for implementation as part of a retrofit ramp-up project.

Project Management

Neighborhood scale retrofits benefit from production homebuilding methodology to maximize efficiency. A project manager and appropriate number superintendents can manage project delivery based on the scope of work document produced in the initial retrofit team. The project management team handles retrofit delivery — bidding, scheduling crews, monitors quality assurance and customer satisfaction.

Measurement and Verification

Third party verification by a certified energy rater is conducted after work is complete. Homeowners are encouraged to release energy use data for ongoing verification of aggregated neighborhood energy consumption. A home energy dashboard, like Google PowerMeter, gives instant feedback so consumers can set energy goals and achieve higher levels of energy efficiency. A smart meter or other device enabled for PowerMeter should be installed as part of the retrofit.

November 25, 2009

Senate Climate Change Legislation Update

Filed under: Climate Change, Energy Policy, Events — Tags: , , , — uswx @ 9:51 am

Update from the SAVE Energy Coalition:

1.      Resist Push for Energy-Only Bill in Senate
2.      Lobby Day to Refocus Senate on Climate and Clean Energy in New Year
3.      American Businesses for Clean Energy: Open for Members
4.      Letter to Kerry, Graham, and Lieberman Still Open: We’ve Reached 250!

1.      Resist Push for Energy-Only Bill in Senate - Senator Bingaman, chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and some other Senators are considering proposing an energy-only bill. While details are lacking, this would essentially remove the climate piece - the cap-and-trade program - from the bill. As highlighted in our last webinar, the cap-and-trade program is essential to generating the investment needed to truly spur job growth in the energy efficiency and renewable energy sectors. The program’s emissions allowances have monetary value and much of that value will be allocated to efficiency and renewable energy programs (see the webinar/slides here). While an energy-only bill may include a Renewable Energy Standard, the investments generated by the cap-and-trade program ensure cost containment for consumers and lower electricity prices - that amounts to faster spread of renewable energy. In the end, without a cap-and-trade program both efficiency and renewable energy will realize significantly lower growth than is possible. Please tell your Senators that you want to keep clean energy and climate legislation together in one bill! Senators’ contact info here.

 2.      Lobby Day to Refocus Senate on Climate and Clean Energy - As you know, we have built up incredible momentum in favor of climate and clean energy legislation. In a few weeks the Senate will break for the holidays, and when they reconvene in mid-January we want to show them that business support for this legislation is a strong as ever. Therefore, a number of groups are working to plan a lobby day in D.C. that will bring business leaders from around the country to visit with their Senators’ offices and refocus them on climate and clean energy. We expect to have funding to pay for visits by 10 businesses from around 20 key states. If your business would be interested in this opportunity, email Patrick.Roche@csgrp.com. As soon as a date and agenda are finalized, we will notify you.

 3.      Launch of American Businesses for Clean Energy (ABCE) - Finally there exits a single place to demonstrate ALL business support for federal climate and clean energy legislation! ABCE invites any and all companies that support “congressional enactment of climate and clean energy legislation” to join. In too many groups already? Don’t fret, because ABCE will never ask you to do anything. No dues, no meetings, no further obligations other than listing your companies name as a supporter. ABCE will not lobby either or advocate for specific policy points. The value is that our movement will now have one place to showcase the massive, diverse, and growing business support for action on climate and clean energy legislation. Businesses as varied as Borrego Solar Systems, The GAP, and Alliance Automotive have joined. Check it out and join today! http://www.americanbusinessesforcleanenergy.org/

 4.      Sign-On Letter Extended - We’ve Reached 250! - The SAVE Coalition has been instrumental in gathering business signatures for the attached letter to Senators Kerry, Graham, and Lieberman. It asks that their legislation require that 1/3 of the revenue from emissions allowances given to electric utilities be invested in energy efficiency for their customers. We’ve reached 250 signatures, and we hope to raise it to a full 300. Please review the attached letter, and if you’d like to sign-on just email Patrick.Roche@csgrp.com to say that you’d like to sign-on your company. Deadline is Dec. 4. All signatories will be listed at the bottom of the letter.

 Take Action! - Help us get to 60 votes! Please contact your Senator to let them know that you support climate and clean energy legislation. Resources and contact information available on the Take Action page at http://www.nationalsaveenergycoalition.org/action.html

 Become a SAVE Coalition Member! - There is no cost. Just email Patrick.Roche@csgrp.com your organization name, whether the organization should be listed as national or local/regional, website, and your contact information (name, title, phone number, and e-mail address). We’ll put your company name a link to your website on our ‘Members’ page.

 Patrick Roche
The National SAVE Energy Coalition
www.nationalsaveenergycoalition.org
Patrick.Roche@csgrp.com
508-836-9500 x13061

November 24, 2009

Home Weatherizing with Steven Chu, Secretary of Energy

Filed under: ARRA Stimulus, Case Studies, Weatherizing and Retrofit — Tags: , , , — uswx @ 5:00 am

The guest blogger today is the Nobel prize-winning Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, by way of HuffPost [1].

I’ve always been a bit of an energy efficiency nut.

I’ve made it my mission to cut the utility bills at every home we’ve owned. Long before I learned about the risks of climate change, I was fanatical about energy efficiency because I’m cheap.

Whenever my wife and I move into a new home, I check the attic for adequate insulation. I look for leaks around doors and windows and install a programmable thermostat if needed. In our latest home, I’ve also insulated our water pipes with inexpensive foam from our local hardware store and painted mastic sealant on the seams of the air ducts. When our hot water heater needed replacement, we installed a tank-less water heater which decreased our summer-time gas use by 50%. In the summer, we found that setting the thermostat at 77 - 78 degrees and a gentle breeze from a fan was all that is required to be comfortable.

So far, we are on track to cut our utility bills by about half compared to the previous owner, but we are doing more. Our home has two large skylights that funnel too much heat out in the winter and let too much heat in the summer. We intend to replace these older windows with modern widows with five times the efficiency.

Taking these steps is called “weatherization.” I would rather call it “saving money by saving energy.” Over the next several years, we want to help millions of American families seize the same opportunity to cut their utility bills by making their homes and appliances more energy efficient while increasing comfort.

We are making a major down payment on this effort through the President’s economic recovery plan.

First, the Recovery Act expanded tax credits for energy efficiency upgrades to your home. If you purchase and install certain energy-efficient windows, insulation, doors, roofs, or heating and cooling equipment, you can receive a tax credit for 30% of the cost, up to $1,500. For example, if insulating your attic costs around $1,600, you’ll receive a $480 tax credit, and you could save up to $200 on your utility bill each year.

Second, we are launching an innovative new effort called “Retrofit Ramp Up” that will simplify and reduce the cost of home retrofits by funding pioneering programs that reach whole neighborhoods and towns. If we can energy audit and retrofit a reasonable fraction of the homes in any given residential block, the cost will be greatly reduced. Programs such as these will decrease barriers to saving money: inconvenience, inertia, and inadequate information. We want to make home energy efficiency upgrades irresistible and a social norm for homeowners.

This effort could offer homeowners innovative ways to finance the upfront investments they can’t afford on their own. For example, homeowners might receive a loan for an energy improvement and pay back the principal and interest over time via an assessment on their property tax bill. The homeowners might pay an extra $400 per year on their property tax bill but save $500 a year on their utility bill. Since the financing would be attached to the property tax bill, both the savings and the loan payments stay with the house if the owners decide to sell.

Finally, for low-income families who are hit hardest by high utility bills, the Recovery Act provides $5 billion for home weatherization. This is the largest single investment in home energy efficiency in U.S history. This program is creating jobs now, putting money back in the pockets of hardworking Americans, reducing our environmental footprint, and making these homes more livable. However, some people - including me - have been frustrated that the program started off more slowly than we’d hoped.

It took a few months for states to develop their plans and for the Energy Department to ensure those plans met the highest standards of accountability. We also used this time to work with the Labor Department to establish standards that guarantee these jobs pay a fair wage. States and their local weatherization agencies also began training this new workforce and buying millions of dollars in necessary equipment and materials, like caulk guns, insulation blowers, and service vehicles. We are taking the care and time necessary to make sure these taxpayer dollars are well spent.

Those purchases are creating jobs. A good example is an insulation machine manufacturer called Krendl in Delphos, Ohio. Because of Recovery Act-driven purchases, Krendl has expanded its workforce by 30 percent, and one of Krendl’s distributors, Applied Energy Products, Inc., increased its staff by almost 60 percent.

Here’s more good news:

All 50 states have received 100% of their Recovery Act weatherization funding and have begun to double and triple their home energy efficiency efforts. Workers are being hired, homes are being improved, and families are being helped.

In September, we estimate we weatherized 15,000 - 20,000 homes - the fastest pace in the 30 year history of the Weatherization Assistance Program. We expect to be weatherizing 20,000 to 30,000 homes per month soon.

This effort has already created or saved thousands of jobs, and the pace of hiring is accelerating. The Department of Energy and our partners have an aggressive training and technical assistance program to continue to invest in green workforce development.

We’re training a workforce and building a home energy efficiency industry that will be a crucial part of America’s new, clean energy economy. As states, utilities and private companies increasingly pursue home energy efficiency - in part because of the innovative incentive programs I described earlier - we will have the capacity to help millions of Americans lower their utility bills.

Energy efficiency is simply good economics. It will save you money. It will create jobs. It is a way for you to personally decrease your carbon emissions and help save our planet.

Related Posts:

Energy efficiency is THE core climate solution, Part 1: The biggest low-carbon resource by far [4]

Rebuilding America: A Policy Framework for Investment in Energy Efficiency Retrofits [5]

GOP leader Scrooge Boehner disses weatherizing low-income homes and cutting the deficit [6]

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ steven-chu/ weatherization-saving-mon_b_339935.html [1]

November 23, 2009

Charlotte’s Neighborhood Challenge

Filed under: Climate Change, Events — Tags: , , — uswx @ 10:33 am

By Jim Morrill, The Charlotte Observer

Nov. 23, 2009 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) — Want to share an electric mower with your neighbor? Plant more shade trees? Install a drinking fountain or bench at the corner bus stop to make public transit a little more appealing?

Those are some of the ideas that city officials say could come out of a Neighborhood Energy Challenge designed to save energy and reduce the city’s carbon footprint.

The program is one piece of a $6.5 million conservation plan that the Charlotte City Council is expected to vote on tonight. If passed, it would go to the U.S. Department of Energy for approval. The money would come from federal stimulus funds.

The plan, developed after two public hearings, is made up of 18 separate proposals. Some would allow improvements in energy efficiency to homes and other buildings or install energy-efficient lighting in public parking areas. One would put 15 recycling containers on uptown streets. Another would pay for up to 10 charging stations around town for electric vehicles.

City officials estimate that the plan could save $2.5 million a year while creating up to 147 jobs.

“For the most part it’s something that’s very meritorious, primarily because it’s looking for ways we can save money,” said Republican council member Edwin Peacock, who chairs the council’s Environment Committee.

One proposal that got a lot of interest at the public hearings was the Neighborhood Energy Challenge.

If the overall plan is approved by council and federal officials, the city would split $650,000 among five neighborhoods. Tom Warshauer, the city staffer who would oversee the program, said details have to be worked out but that neighborhoods would compete to come up with plans that would save energy at the neighborhood level while rippling down to individuals.

“When people sort of know what their neighborhoods are doing it’s a really positive motivator for them to change their own energy consumption patterns,” he said.

Warshauer said the city would encourage neighborhoods to come up with a variety of strategies, whether in recycling, neighborhood lighting or by encouraging people to use more energy-saving technologies at home.

“The more multifaceted the strategy probably the better,” Warshauer said. “What you’re really trying to do through this is help more neighborhoods help more people develop strategies to reduce their carbon footprint and reduce energy.”

Outgoing Mayor Pat McCrory said he supports the conservation plan, even if it does have a lot of moving parts.

“When you ask for feedback and get feedback from everyone — it’s kind of the way the stimulus package is going — it’s a lot of little things,” he said. “The main thing I’m looking for is sustainability. Long-term value not short-term fixes.”

Jim Morrill: 704-358-5059

Newstex ID: KRTB-0038-39935516

November 20, 2009

Building Codes Online Networking Resource

Filed under: Energy Codes — Tags: , — uswx @ 5:00 am

Building Codes Assistant Project (BCAP), an advocate for improved building codes has just launched a new online resource called OCEAN, the Online Code Environment and Advocacy Network, is designed to facilitate sharing of experiences, best practices, educational resources and key facts relating to building energy code adoption, implementation, compliance and enforcement. OCEAN also allows stakeholders to discuss and learn about code issues; connect to trainers and educators; and find model policies and existing programs that can serve as models.

“With today’s pressing need for the economic and environmental benefits of energy efficiency, we believe the debut of OCEAN is not only timely but right on target,” said BCAP Executive Director Aleisha Khan. “OCEAN is intended to be the ‘go-to’ site for learning about the latest code issues, strategies and activities; and we believe it will meet the widespread need for accurate and useful information, resources and networking on energy codes. By expanding awareness and collaboration, OCEAN will help our nation realize the full energy and cost savings achievable through strong building energy codes.”

As a social networking tool, OCEAN allows its users to connect at the push of a button, thereby creating a virtual community. Over time, OCEAN will increasingly become a product of its users as it provides information based on real experiences, acts as the point of reference on current happenings in the energy code arena and informs and educates users on timely issues and critical needs.

For example, OCEAN’s “Discussions” feature - conversations about recent code topics and events - allow users not only to respond to the ongoing discussion but also to start their own discussion threads.

OCEAN also has organized a database of existing code resources into an online library covering all facets of energy codes: technical documents, best practices, studies, reports, and much more.

And while BCAP frequently uploads its own work to the site, OCEAN members, too, are encouraged to share resources for the benefit of the entire codes community. Becoming a member involves simply registering with OCEAN and indicating one’s areas of expertise and needs, which allows OCEAN to be optimized for each member’s use.

While members will have access to the entire website, each one’s customized homepage will direct the member to the latest and most pertinent news, events, user groups and resources. Members can even post messages on discussion boards to find elusive information and to access the members directory to find experts in various fields.

The Building Codes Assistance Project (BCAP) is a project of the Alliance to Save Energy, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. BCAP promotes the adoption, implementation, and utilization of energy-efficient building codes and standards in the United States.

November 19, 2009

Senate Climate Bill Update from SAVE Energy Coalition

Filed under: Climate Change, Energy Policy, New — Tags: , , — uswx @ 5:00 am

There are now two parallel climate processes running in the Senate: (1) Kerry-Boxer Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act passed by EPW Committee last week, and (2) new Kerry, Graham, and Lieberman framework. Without significant changes, the Kerry-Boxer bill is not likely to pass. Therefore, Senator Kerry is working with Sen. Graham (R-SC) and Lieberman (I-CT) to craft a climate and energy bill that can pass the Senate - that is one that can garner support of at least 60 Senators. Calling it a “climate framework,” they will draw heavily from the Kerry-Boxer bill, but will need to include new provisions to gain the support of other Senators (most likely more support for nuclear and offshore drilling). This dual approach is fully supported by Senate Majority Leader Reid. Before the end of the year, Kerry, Graham, and Lieberman are expected to provide Reid with an outline or draft of their bill. Sen. Reid will likely fuse their bill (mostly a climate bill) with the Bingaman bill (clean energy bill).

The organization held a webinar Monday, now available online at the left side of the homepage at www.nationalsaveenergycoalition.org where you will find a link to both the entire webinar recording and the individual slides.

November 18, 2009

Cash for Caulkers Details from the New York Times

Filed under: ARRA Stimulus, Weatherizing and Retrofit — Tags: , , , — uswx @ 5:00 am

By DAVID LEONHARDT, The New York Times

At a meeting of President Obama’s board of outside economic advisers two weeks ago, the venture capitalist John Doerr said the following:

In the very near term, the way we can generate the most jobs, we believe, is through home retrofits…. The way I like to put it is, Cash for Clunkers mobilized all of America’s car dealerships and caused change very rapidly. Well, the equivalent of that for home retrofits would be “Cash for Caulkers,” and what we would do is engage private enterprise, the likes of a Lowe’s or a Home Depot, these organizations that have tens of millions of people a week coming into their storefronts, and use that private capital to incentivize consumers to then work with our out-of-work trades - remodelers, production builders - to do this kind of work.

I wrote about “cash for caulkers” in my column this week - including some of my reservations about it. But it clearly has a lot of potential, and I didn’t have room to get into all of the details of Mr. Doerr’s proposal (which, he emphasizes, is the product of work by a lot of people - including Steve Cowell and Matt Golden). Here are the basics:

The official name of the program would be Homestar, playing off the name Energy Star, a government program that promotes energy-efficient appliances.

It would cost $23 billion over two years. Of that, $6 billion would go to incentives to people who did at least two significant weatherization projects - such as air sealing, insulation, new light bulbs and new appliances. Homestar would have a list of 10 such projects. Households that did at least two would be eligible for up to $2,000. Households that did four would be eligible for up to $3,500. The government money could not pay for more than half of any project.

Another $12 billion would be set aside for households that undertook a weatherization project that reduced energy consumption by at least 20 percent. A 20 percent reduction would bring a $4,000 subsidy. Each additional 5 percent reduction would bring another $1,500. Again, government money could not pay for more than half of any project.

Some portion of weatherization projects would be audited to ensure they had done what they were supposed to. These audits would be paid for with $2 billion for program administration.

The remaining $3 billion for the program would pay for incentives to retailers, like Home Depot and Lowe’s, and contractors. “What you want to be able to do,” Mr. Doerr said, “is walk into Sears or Home Depot and see a great big Homestar logo and a Homestar sales representative.”

November 17, 2009

Performance Contractor’s Thoughts on Xcel HPwES Program

Filed under: Case Studies, Opinion, Weatherizing and Retrofit — Tags: , , , , — uswx @ 5:00 am

Steven Phoenix of Melton Construction in Boulder offered some thoughts from the retrofit contractor’s perspective after Xcel Energy added potential penalties for re-work in the Home Performance with Energy Star progam.

  1. Contractors as well as clients should be fully aware of the performance requirements for HPwES improvements, and whether or not that program fits their particular budget for the project.
  2. The approved scope of work should specify the infiltration and insulation ‘targets’ and the value of the project should be commensurate with realistically reaching those goals.
  3. Air sealing targets are the most difficult to remediate - it seems to me that a contractor performing this work should be able to set up depressurization on the final scheduled day of installation and spot-tune the project.
  4. If a client opts to choose a HPwES program, the installers might have quoted a ‘basic’ improvements package, and may need to re-bid the job to reach those targets.
  5. Installers shouldn’t be responsible to meet targets established AFTER the installation has been completed based on a clients’ desire to apply for a program with higher rebates.
  6. There is an education component, and people that want to participate in the program should be asked to understand the program requirements and basic cost outlay prior to applying for the funds.
  7. Contractors that cannot demonstrate success should not be involved in the program.
  8. Our typical approach is to give the client a good/better/best set of options for insulation and air sealing. Obviously, air sealing is something you could spend a few hours on or a whole week, depending on your objectives.
  9. It seems that there is a wide array of thermal improvement recommendations - I often disagree with the best cost-benefit approach for my clients. As our industry grows, it is important to refine our professional advisement to reflect a homogenous, effective and tested set of recommendations. For example, enclosing the crawl space is a common boiler-plate solution in the XCEL audits, but this is a much more complex solution in many homes where (soil level/sub-soil) water/moisture issues are present, or when combustion appliances there.
  10. There should be more industry interface when XCEL refines its rebate program for 2010. As an example, offering a rebate of any value for a 57% DWH replacement seems counter-intuitive to stimulating a robust high-efficiency upgrade; appliances in general are a pretty expensive for of energy improvement, and our cost-benefit analysis demonstrates that in the long run, getting the demand-load of a structure reduced to its lowest levels first is ALWAYS the best ROI, in the long and short run.

Dan DePontbriand, owner of Castle Rock’s Mountain Air:

While I agree with some of Stevens points and disagree with others, the overriding factor is that the HPwES program was meant to be implemented with contractors doing there own testing, and fixing the problems they find. We can argue the point of what measures provide the best cost return ratio, but that is not the problem here. The problem is doing work based on tests and diagnosis by others, without the contractor having seen what happened during testing. Than, after performing work blindly, who is responsible for the results?

As an example, if they tighten the house with air sealing, who is responsible for the new dynamic that is being caused in the combustion zone, and if the homeowner hasn’t been informed about the possibility of adding make-up air, which if air sealing is done properly, is a common need.

As one of the original 3 HPwES contractors in Colorado, we were surprised to find a program that is allowing for work to completed by contractors not necessarily trained in all aspects of building science.

It is very important to remember, that in the end, someone is responsible, good or bad, for the changes made in the home based on these audits. The audits being completed are a good starting point for the contractors, but each contractor should be doing there own testing out to verify results.

If someone air seals a house to .25 NACH, and no test out is done, and no accounting is made for ventilation air, who is responsible when the house develops problems that are a result?

I think it is imperative that contractors in the HPwES program are trained and certified in HPwES, with all the associated tools and certifications. (Blower doors, combustion analyzers, manometers, infrared cameras, flow hoods, etc.)

One other example; We performed an audit in Evergreen about 2 years ago, where the NACH was .6. After sealing the 5 gas log fireplaces with an air barrier, the NACH dropped down to .41. This would qualify for the .15 drop in the Excel program. In this instance, the homeowner decided he didn’t want to spend the money for inserts. What happens when a customer in this situation is brought into the program. You can seal for the next month, but if you don’t address the fireplaces, you are not going to get the NACH down.

If the expectation on the contractor is a .15 drop, how will he ever meet that? And when the test out fails, why is it the fault of the contractor that the homeowner wasn’t told before joining the program that he may have to spend an extra $15-25 thousand dollars to get the required improvement.

Setting expectations beforehand, and contractor self testing, is the best way to ensure the programs success.

November 16, 2009

Oh Fer Geez: Minnesota has Spendy Retrofit Rebates

Filed under: ARRA Stimulus, Climate Change, Weatherizing and Retrofit — Tags: , , , — uswx @ 5:00 am

Check out Minnesota’s effort in Stimulus funded energy efficiency program. Folks might be temped to move up north just for these Stimulus funded retrofit rebates:

Replacement Energy Star window without attic air sealing $250 per window
Replacement Energy Star window with attic air sealing $300 per window
Advanced air sealing of attic $800
Attic insulation $800
Exterior wall insulation $800
Replacing orphaned atmospherically vented water heater $750
This program has no limitations on other incentives that property owners may receive including the $1,500 federal tax credit; utility rebates; and other incentives.

Also, as of November 2009, more than 24,000 Minnesota households are taking the Minnesota Energy Challenge, a carbon reduction contest between teams organized by city, neighbhorhood, schools, government agencies, CERTS, clubs and businesses.

The Minnesota Energy Challenge is a website-based program run by local nonprofit Center for Energy and Environment.  Using the website, Minnesota households can  ask the experts their energy questions and pledge to save energy and money in their homes.  Communities also use the Minnesota Energy Challenge team system to educate and motivate around energy efficiency and conservation.

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