Colorado Green Building Post

May 28, 2010

Home Star Energy Retrofit Act of 2010 Introduced to US Senate

Filed under: New — uswx @ 5:07 pm

A revised version of the Home Star Energy Retrofit Act of 2010 (S. 3434) was introduced in the United States Senate yesterday.  Home Star, the legislative proposal designed to create a U.S. energy retrofit rebate program, recently passed through similar legislation (H.R. 5019) by the United States House of Representatives on May 6, 2010 by a vote of 26 to 161. 

 
BPI personnel certification and company accreditation credentials - along with many BPI national technical standards - are cited in the draft legislation for the Home Star Act of 2010. 
 
Co-sponsored by 16 senators, this bill is now being examined by the Administration, the Senate leadership and the Senate Finance Committee. 
 
The Home Star Energy Retrofit Act of 2010 has substantial economic, energy and environmental benefits.  It is a sustainable initiative that has gained widespread support in all states - from labor and construction groups to environmental and energy efficiency organizations.  The bill, if passed, will strengthen the American economy by providing close to $6 billion in incentive programs to American homeowners for energy efficiency home improvements.
 
Economic Advantages
  • Save U.S. consumers money on energy bills
  • Put construction workers back to work by creating ~168,000 jobs in an industry with a 25% unemployment rate
  • Provide new opportunities for certified contractors and other skilled workers
Energy and Environmental Advantages
  • Cut consumer energy use and reduce greenhouse gas emissions
  • Reduce America’s dependency on foreign oil
  • Improve America’s energy security

Home Star incentives include the Gold Star and Silver Star Rebate Programs. The Silver Star program provides incentives ranging from $50 to $1,500 for various prescriptive energy efficiency improvement measures. The Gold Star program follows a performance-based path for incentives, offering $3,000 for a 20% improvement in a home’s energy efficiency and an additional $1,000 for each additional 5% reduction, capped at $8,000 or 50% of the total retrofit cost (including the cost of audit and diagnostic procedures).
 
For a detailed, concise summary of the Home Star bill, see the United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources press release, entitled Generating Home-Grown Jobs for American Workers While Lowering Energy Costs for Cash-strapped Homeowners. 

May 27, 2010

Efficiency First Colorado Urges Action from Senators on Home Star

Filed under: New — Tags: — uswx @ 12:51 pm

From Laura Hutchings
President, Populus

Efficiency First Colorado,

Yesterday, Efficiency First National expressed their desire to have Colorado Senators Udall and Bennet co-sponsor the Home Star legislation. If you would like to voice your support for the Home Star legislation and let our Senators know how it will impact your business, please see a sample letter attached for your convenience. Efficiency First has committed to hand deliver the letters they receive in Washington. Please take a minute today to write a short letter on your company letterhead and email it to info@efficiencyfirst.org or fax to ATTN: Senate Letter at (202) 223-9516 (please cc Laura@popboulder.com so that I can track our progress in Colorado).

As a reminder, the location for tonight’s meeting is now in Boulder at Populus’ Office (1727 15th Street, Suite 200). Networking starts at 5pm, meeting starts at 6pm. Please invite any colleagues that may be interested in attending.

May 21, 2010

Boulder City Council Hears Public Reaction to SmartRegs

Filed under: Energy Policy, Weatherizing and Retrofit — Tags: , — uswx @ 1:45 pm

By P.J. Nutting , New Era News

May 20, 2010 at 2:23PM  

Boulder City Council began its first reading of the much-discussed SmartRegs proposal at their meeting on May 18th. In witness of an over-capacity meeting hall, Mayor Susan Osborne said it was, “the most important issue we’ll tackle this year, and the most complex.” Landlords and renters passionately agreed.

If you haven’t heard of SmartRegs yet, you are surely a first-time visitor to the site. New Era Colorado has been a big player in supporting SmartRegs, which would update Boulder’s housing code to set energy efficiency standards for rental units. Landlords would have to maintain their properties to similar standards held for new properties — but to a lesser degree, according to the introductory presentation given by Yael Gichon, Residential Program Strategist for the Local Environmental Division.

Currently, there are no such regulations for rental units, and New Era found on its latest bus trip that many Boulder renters were relieved to hear they were due for an energy upgrade. As a renter in Boulder, and on a personal note, I have found it was hard enough to get my landlord to bolt my toilet into the floor so it didn’t swivel like an office chair. It took them months to fix a couple of bolts; I can’t imagine how long it would take to replace my ancient, drafty windows or lay down a little weather stripping.

City council is currently chasing after their sustainability goals outlined in their 2006 Climate Action Plan. In order to catch up to international carbon standards, they are eyeing the 19,600 rental units whose energy use is unregulated. I even heard Mayor Osborne refer to “when” it passes instead of “if” during preliminary discussion.

Surprisingly, the majority of the landlords in attendance, who would face the financial burden, thought it was a great idea. Jim Hartman, who has rented properties in Boulder and Denver, kicked off the public hearing by encouraging the council to work even faster to pass the new regulations. He said he has already updated many of his properties for energy efficiency and mentioned the retroactive incentives that SmartRegs might give to those already heading in that direction. Paul Sheldon, who rents out properties in Boulder and Durango and has worked on Aspen’s city planning board, said regulation would level the playing field for landlords who had already invested the money. He said it was “unfair” that other landlords were able to rent low-efficiency units with no consequence.

“The city won’t allow a property with gushing water, why would they allow gushing energy?” added Tom Volckhausen.

But even with all the support, it was clear that many landlords were afraid the details of the regulations were ill-advised. Sheila Horton, executive director of the Boulder Area Rental Housing Association, passed out bright-colored paper so landlords could show support without applause, and throughout the night there were talking points that raised a flutter of neon paper.

The proponents of the measure wore green ‘Renters With Benefits’ shirts for visual support. New Era Colorado also gathered 504 postcards of support from members of the community. Julia Harrington, a New Era organizing intern, delivered them to city council.

One of the biggest points of agreement among landlords in support and in opposition was the basis for the energy evaluations. There are two primary choices. One choice would involve an energy auditor, who would evaluate each property with specialized equipment at the expense of the property owner, which is the current method used for newly constructed housing; it would be comprehensive and reliable, but expensive. The other choice would use a point system, assigning a checklist of energy-saving upgrades to a point scale that would add up the the unit’s total energy grade; it would save time and allow flexibility, but some argued that the one-size-fits-all approach would favor certain properties.

For instance, several property owners complained that adding wall insulation to their old, brick properties would require expensive demolition and vacating tenants. Stanley Peterson, who owns two rental properties in Boulder, detailing his worst case scenario in terms of costs, said he supports the regulation in principle but took issue with the point system. The dollar value of additions didn’t seem to line up with the points - installing solar panels would cost him $13,000, he said, but would only give him 34 of the required 100 points. “The smart meters are more efficient and cheaper,” he pointed out, “but I would need 200 of them,” he said to laughs.

Horton advocated for more time and more research. She argued that the seven properties used as case studies by the city were not nearly comprehensive enough to create a model for the whole city. She also argued there was no third party verification to the study, and that even programs intended to help landlords with the transition (such as on-the-spot energy auditors Two Techs and a Truck) were unknowledgable about small details, such as the difference between single- and multi-family properties.

“A building is only as good as the tenants,” Horton added. “There is no magic bullet for the 100 points.”

Landlords heartily agreed with this point. Why should they add a new, expensive heating system if tenants would still leave their windows open, their lights on, and their heat at full blast? Renting as a two-way street became a hearty talking point. Kathryn Schweiger pointed out that smaller details, such as which lightbulbs were used, are the tenant’s decision anyway and out of the landlord’s control.

However, Boulder resident James Darden approached the council with his latest energy bill. He said he had been charged around $1,200 dollars in the last two months: “Rent, I can afford; utilities, I cannot,” he said, stating he was powerless to hold his landlord accountable for the amount of energy his unit consumed.

Whatever solution that seemed so certain to the council at the beginning of the session seemed to disappear by 10:30 p.m., when the public hearing closed. The council voted to hold futher discussion for their next meeting on June 1, and moved on to the next item on the agenda without so much as a closing remark. There is clearly a lot to wrap one’s head around on this issue, and though it was frustrating to not receive any kind of reaction from out city’s leaders, it was also reassuring that they recognized there were many details to work out.

http://neweranews.org/blog/part-1-smartregs-gets-its-legs-takes-some-heat

May 17, 2010

US Weatherizing Awarded GEO Training Grant for Retrofit Ramp Up

Filed under: ARRA Stimulus, Weatherizing and Retrofit — uswx @ 6:55 am

US Weatherizing has been awarded an Energy Efficiency Expansion Training Grant (EEET) from the Governor’s Energy Office based on the following proposal. Trainings will be scheduled in ten sessions during June, July, August and September. Contact info@usweatherizing.com to receive registration information.

Green Job Creation with Level 1 Air Seal Technician Training
Submitted by US Weatherizing, LLC
Brian Brainerd, Principal
303-339-0878      info(at)usweatherizing.com

Abstract

Applicant proposes a full day, Level 1 training delivered to a total of 100 new residential air-sealing technicians across Colorado. This training will stimulate green jobs, drive market transformation, and improve energy efficiency in new and existing homes.  The trained air-seal technician fills a serious gap in the current energy efficiency delivery system where insulation is often installed without continuous air barrier in place. Retrofit measures that do not include air-sealing miss the lowest hanging fruit in energy conservation and CO2 reduction.

Project Narrative

Air-sealing technician is an entry-level trade with low barrier for entry and few tools required. There is currently no standard for this specific job function, so US Weatherizing has developed this technical standard based on weatherization best practices and BPI standards. This is a hands-on training to classes of 10 students. Air-sealing technician is an excellent career path into building performance contracting, including the weatherization assistance program, energy auditing, insulation contractor, deep energy retrofits and zero energy home construction. Level 1 air-sealers are also trained in Carbon Monoxide safety and CO detector installation.

A tier 1 air-seal training prepares entry level technicians to: 1) deliver prescriptive air-sealing to meet 2009 IECC air tightness standards in new construction, 2) Air-seal existing homes for energy efficiency, 3) Calculate residential ventilation requirements per ASHRAE 62.2, 4) Recognize Indoor Air Quality hazards, 5) Install Carbon Monoxide alarms, 6) Explain the benefits of air-sealing and recognize the business opportunity for Air-sealing technicians.

The current delivery mechanism for residential energy efficiency usually does not include air-sealing of the building envelope because most insulation contractors do not understand building performance issues related to air exchange, and they have not recognized the opportunity to increase sales with this value-added service in conjunction with insulation improvements. Insulation contractors have traditionally worked in a low-bid environment with poor quality control and no incentive to meet quality standards. Insulation installers are typically paid on a piece rate.

There are three strategies for delivering air-sealing for homes - 1) As a stand-alone service, 2) through an insulation contractor, or 3) in tandem with an energy audit. Of these three, coordinating air-sealing with the initial energy audit is a promising strategy to achieve market transformation in retrofit delivery. Tandem delivery of energy audit and air sealing is a core strategy behind the US Weatherizing delivery model and Boulder’s neighborhood scale retrofit program, “2 Techs & Truck.”

Coordinating the air-sealing technician with energy auditor is an exciting strategy because it delivers instant energy efficiency improvement in the neighborhood of 10% and leaves the building ready for additional efficiency measures. This eliminates the possibility that the insulation contractor will overlook the need for air-sealing, resulting in a costly missed opportunity for substantial energy conservation.

On the other hand, an air sealer directed by energy auditor with blower door and IR camera will deliver the highest standard of building tightness and indoor air quality.

Partnering the air-sealing technician with insulation contractor can be nearly as effective if the insulation contractor is committed to high performance building standards. In this instance, the air-sealer can install other prep work including vent baffles to ensure quality insulation work. This way, insulation contractors make a simple step forward into building performance contracting. Construction contractors are very slow to adopt new technology and standards, so an air-seal employee who is focused on building performance should help improve quality standards as his skills are expanded with blower door diagnostics, advanced ventilation standards and carbon monoxide safety.

Budget Narrative

The budget narrative is simply based on the number of students completing the training. Program design, presentation materials, exhibits and equipment is provided at US Weatherizing expense. Students, employers or local jobs agency will pay 50% of the $100 fee plus materials and the GEO EEET grant will provide the other 50% of the training fee per student. US Weatherizing will market the training class and co-brand all marketing materials with the appropriate GEO mark.

Project Tasks and Milestones:

  • Develop marketing plan for target constituents - June 1, 2010
  • Identify specific communities for training outside of Denver metro area - June 15, 2010
  • Finalize training program and submit to GEO for comment - June 30, 2010
  • Implement marketing plan and book classes - June 15, 2010
  • Conduct 1 class per week from late June 2010 through Sept. 30, 2010
  • Conduct exit survey of students June thru Sept., submit report October 30, 2010

 Responses to General Objectives of Grant specification III A&B

  • Proposal to aid 100 small, locally established energy efficiency businesses and non-profits with direct employee training to save costs and ramp up retrofit delivery skills.
  • This is an employee educational opportunity made at reduced costs with balance paid by trainee, business, or local partner program.
  • This proposal will directly lead to expanded business activity in energy efficient construction and retrofit
  • Job creation can be spurred with 100% free training for new hires, and apprentices to the field can train prior to marketing new skills as trained air sealer technician.
  • Five one day trainings will be offered in metro Denver and five regional trainings will be offered over a ten week period in May, June and July.
  • US Weatherizing is a sole member LLC on a mission to deliver neighborhood scale energy efficiency retrofits. Principal Brian Brainerd is a LEED accredited Building Performance Analyst and green builder committed to efficient delivery of energy efficiency
  • Priority regions across the state are served by a 50-50 split between metro Denver and regional targets, including one location in each target area B 1-4.

About Air Sealer Level 1 Protocol Training from US Weatherizing

Level 1 Air Seal Technician is an entry-level skill taught in one day. It is the first stage in professional development at three levels as described in the PATH 36 Uniform Protocol for Energy-Efficient Remodeling of Existing Housing, Published by HUD and NAHB in January 2006.

The PATH 36 Protocol is organized into three general levels of activity. Each level is more difficult than the one below it, but also provides better energy savings and other rewards. Tasks at each level will be designed to make contractors feel successful early on, so they have incentive to take the next step. As contractors master each new task and level, the information system encourages them to progress to higher-level activities.

  • Level 1 addresses simple energy-efficiency strategies aimed to improve conventional remodeling approaches.
  • Level 2 addresses more systematic home assessments and repairs than Level 1. Contractors at this level begin to diagnose home performance with tests, such as blower door tests.
  • Level 3 information is comprehensive and addresses full-scale, whole-house energy retrofit analyses, job bids, installation and quality assurance

Each level will prepare contractors for various types of certification tests. For example, completing Level 2 is roughly equivalent to passing a BPI Core level test, the introductory level of BPI testing.

Qualifications

Brian Brainerd is the sole partner of US Weatherizing, LLC, has 20 years experience in sustainable building and is a LEED Accredited Professional, Certified Building Performance Analyst, and production scale retrofit consultant currently participating in the Boulder ClimateSmart “Two Techs and a Truck” pilot project on a team with EnergyLogic.

Level 1 Air Sealer Core Competencies

Safe Work Practices

OSHA Standards

  • Ladder safety
  • Fall Protection
  • Personal Protective Equipment
  • Respiratory protection
  • Fire prevention
  • Vermiculite identification

 Carbon Monoxide Hazards

 Mold Factors

Building Science

Fundamentals of building science

Building as a system

Air, Heat and Moisture Flow

Thermal performance and Air barriers

Indoor Air Quality Principals

Installer Skills

Working knowledge

Proper materials selection based on leakage area

Bypass identification and checklist

Minimum Ventilation Rates

2009 IECC Prescriptive Air-sealing Standards

Demonstrated Ability

Use depressurization to locate leakage sites within the building

Align Thermal barrier and Air barrier

Seal attic and floor bypasses at penetrations for plumbing, electrical wiring, flue vents, ducts, dropped soffits and balloon framed walls

Seal bypasses in knee walls and finished attic spaces and basement band joists

Safely seal around chimneys and flues with sheet metal and high temp caulk

Properly select and apply caulk and spray foam insulation

Weatherstrip attic hatch, whole-house fans and attic stairs

Install CO detector

Calculate ventilation requirements and measure exhaust fan flow

Baseload Measures

Install CFL bulbs of appropriate function, intensity and color balance

Install low-flow showerheads

May 14, 2010

HUD Secretary, Gov Ritter in Greeley Today

Filed under: New — uswx @ 6:57 am

CONGRESSWOMAN BETSY MARKEY AND HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT SECRETARY SHAUN DONOVAN PRESENT:

SAVING MONEY AND INCREASING EFFICIENCY IN LOCAL COMMUNITIES

Please join Congresswoman Betsy Markey, the Honorable Shaun Donovan, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Governor Ritter, and Mayor Tom Norton for a panel discussion on reducing energy and water consumption in local community housing, planning, and development.

What: Panel Discussion with Congresswoman Betsy Markey, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, Governor Ritter, and Mayor Norton

When: Friday, May 14th, 12: 45 pm to 1:45 pm

Where: Fox Run, Accessible Space, Inc, 1300 60th Avenue, Greeley, CO

Please RSVP by this Thursday, May 13th to Lori Ozzello at Lori.ozzello@mail.house.gov.

–

Dan Sapienza | Legislative Assistant

Office of Congresswoman Betsy Markey | 4th District of Colorado

1229 Longworth HOB | Washington, DC 20515

202.225.4676 | dan.sapienza@mail.house.gov

May 12, 2010

GEO Recovery Act Grants Announced

Filed under: ARRA Stimulus — uswx @ 12:00 pm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, May 12

CONTACTS
Todd Hartman, 303-866-2262, todd.hartman@state.co.us
Brittany Purdum, 303-866-2418, brittany.purdum@state.co.us
GEO awards $800K in Recovery-Act funded New Energy grants

Latest round of grant awards will aid small business, school districts, others
in a wide variety of energy efficiency and clean energy projects
The Governor’s Energy Office (GEO) today announced the award of a variety of New Energy grants to recipients across Colorado for energy efficiency and renewable energy. These grants, funded with American Recovery and Reinvestment Act dollars, will help create and retain jobs, strengthen local economies, increase energy independence, and save money and energy.

The grants, which total about $800,000, were awarded by the GEO in six categories and will go to 18 awardees, including small businesses, school districts, utilities, universities, non-profits and local governments.

Projects include development of ground-source heat pump projects on the Western Slope, funding for training to several businesses and non-profits that provide residential energy efficiency services, funding for energy managers to help school districts reduce energy bills and grants to retrofit historic buildings with energy efficiency measures.

“These grants are serving to expand the ecosystem of our New Energy Economy,” said GEO director Tom Plant. “They are strengthening Colorado’s energy marketplace with a diversity of projects that create jobs, increase our energy security, diversify our energy supplies and solidify our place as a national leader in building a clean energy future.”

The GEO will be awarding additional Recovery Act-funded grants as well as continuing to offer multiple grant opportunities throughout the summer. A list of the grant category and awardees for this latest round follows:

· Innovation Funding for Energy Efficiency: Grants for local businesses to assist with the costs in bringing new residential energy efficiency products or services to market: $60,984.
o Awarded: SpiroFlo Technologies, $13,300; Symbiotic Engineering, $13,275; Real Time Marketing-Trilogy Technologies, $15,050; All American Energy, $19,359.

· Energy Efficiency and Expansion in Training: Grants for local businesses and non-profits that provide residential energy efficiency services to aid in business expansion and new employee training: $90,568.
o Awarded: Chinook Energy, $13,000; Colorado Housing, $28,950; Energy Delivery Services, $24,000; GB3 Energy Solutions, $19,618; US Weatherizing, $5,000.

· LEED for Existing Buildings Certification Program: Matching grants for public universities and campuses to pursue LEED certification: $78,630.
o Awarded: University of Northern Colorado, $31,105; Colorado State University, $47,525.

· Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings: Matching grants for energy efficiency retrofits or renewable energy installations on historic properties in Colorado. Grants will demonstrate such applications are practical on historic properties: $146,626.
o Awarded: Como Eating House, LLC, $81,500; Town of Crested Butte, $31,130; SLATERPAULL Architects, Engine House #5, $10,000; John W. Rawlings Heritage Center, $23,996.

· Energy Managers for Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES): Grants to provide energy managers to school districts through the BOCES model: $245,760
o Awarded: Mountain BOCES, $141,385; San Luis Valley BOCES, $104,375.

· Ground Source Heat Pump Pilot Program: Grant to partner with the GEO in offering a grant program for residential ground source heat pump projects: $197,500.
o Awarded: Delta-Montrose Electric Association, $197,500.

# # #

May 6, 2010

Home Star Milestone: House Passes H.R. 5019

Filed under: Weatherizing and Retrofit — uswx @ 3:51 pm

By Patrick Roche
The National SAVE Energy Coalition

This afternoon, the House passed the Home Star Energy Retrofit Act of 2010 (H.R. 5019) with a vote of 246 to 161!  We are pleased to report that the bill passed with bi-partisan support - 12 Republicans voted in favor. Find out how your Representative voted and see the full record here. This is a major milestone for Home Star, but work still remains. First, the Senate must follow up and pass their version of the Home Star bill. Additionally, today’s vote was an authorization, so it must be matched with an appropriation bill. An appropriation bill will actually allocate the $6 billion dollars to the program. Thank you to the thousands of people that have taken time to make contact with elected officials over the past few months. We’ll need your help again in the Senate, so please be ready. We’ll be in touch with more information soon.

Patrick.Roche@csgrp.com

May 5, 2010

Building Performance Institute Urges Home Star Support

Filed under: Climate Change, Weatherizing and Retrofit — uswx @ 1:11 pm

Malta, NY, May 5, 2010 - BPI urges you to contact your congressman today to support the Home Star Bill, also known as “Cash for Caulkers,” which would bring $6 billion to the energy efficiency and residential contracting industries.

Home Star legislation is scheduled for a vote on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives this Thursday, May 6th. If passed, this would bring $6 billion to the residential contracting and home performance industries, thousands of jobs, and set the residential retrofit market on the right course for decades to come.

What You Can Do
The House will vote on their Home Star bill (H.R. 5019) this Thursday, May 6, and we need your help to ensure its passage. Significant bi-partisan support for Home Star in the House is crucial to prove to the Senate that there is massive support behind Home Star and that they must move quickly to pass it. We need you to call your Representatives today (Democrat and Republican) - urge them to vote for the Home Star bill H.R. 5019! Thanks to all who’ve made a call and sent email messages before.

This is a crucial vote by the House for our industry, possibly our only chance before the full House, so we encourage you to take action once more.
Find Your Representative: Go to www.house.gov. Enter your zip code in the “Find Your Representative” search form at the upper left corner of the page, and click “Go.”
Talking Points: First introduce yourself and your business, and ask to speak with the person that advises the Rep. on energy policy. Once connected, reintroduce yourself and deliver the message:
The House will vote on the Home Star bill, H.R. 5019, Thursday May 6, and I ask for Rep. ______’s support
Home Star is a bi-partisan jobs bill and will creates thousands of good-paying jobs to help put American contractors back to work retrofitting homes
Home Star will help lower household energy costs for millions of Americans through lower cost access to energy saving retrofits
Like Rep. _________, I am concerned how we pay for Home Star; however, the vote on Thursday does not fund the program. Rather, it authorizes its existence and representatives will be able determine if and how it will be paid for later
We cannot delay passage of this crucial bill. Home Star means jobs for my business, family, and community!
Learn more about Home Star at Efficiency First.

About the Building Performance Institute
The Building Performance Institute, Inc., (BPI) is the nation’s premier building performance credentialing, quality assurance, and national standards setting organization. BPI supports the development of a highly professional building performance industry through individual and organizational credentialing and a rigorous quality assurance program.BPI offers the following:

certification of individuals in building analyst, heating, AC/heat pump, shell/envelope, and multi-family designations
accreditation of contractors committed to delivering quality, home performance improvements
quality assurance to verify conformance with BPI Standards and provide feedback for continuing improvement
affiliation of training organizations that deliver BPI services in their market
open, transparent, consensus developed national technical standards based on sound building science
BPI, in cooperation with the building performance industry stakeholders, establishes a professional performance bar at a level appropriate to ensuring the consistent delivery of exceptional building performance services for those entrusting the BPI brand.

For more information about BPI, visit: www.bpi.org.

Building Performance Institute, Inc.
107 Hermes Road, Suite 110
Malta, NY 12020
Phone: (877) 274-1274
Fax: (866) 777-1274
info@bpi.org
www.bpi.org

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