A blog about the Business of Energy

In keeping with a theme… We were inspired to add a regional perspective to the Pretty Good House idea, written up in the Green Building Advisor by Michael Maines and continued by  Allison Bailes at Energy Vanguard, here is Part 2 of his effort.   I asked our exceptional staff of HERS Raters and Auditors for their thoughts.  Here is Steve Eagleburger with  his thoughts.  Steve is also a PHIUS+ person and quite passionate about PassiveHaus among other things.

(Steve Byers)

So what does that mean? Is current code pretty good? Is Energy Star version 3 pretty good? I would say yes they are. When you compare houses built to code today to houses built say, 20 years ago there have been major improvements. The codification of air barriers is one example. The introduction of house tightness and energy modeling is another. Energy Star version 3 is bringing in thermal bridging issues, duct leakage, quality installation and HVAC system commissioning, all of which leads to a better performing house. So where to go from there? Semantics are everything when selling a product or an idea, so I would say rather than shooting for “pretty good” let’s go for “a little bit better”. How can we get there without major cost and retraining of trades?

First thing to do in our high desert/plains climate is let the Sun in! We have an abundance of free solar energy and it’s a simple proposition to face a house within 15 degrees of South. It may take some educating of developers and planners to swing new suburbs towards the sun but it can be done. We must also control summer sun with overhangs and minimize west facing windows. Here comes the cost issue- builders must start using low u-value/high solar heat gain coefficient windows on the south side. This cost could be recouped by installing fewer windows on the north and west side.

Now that we’ve pointed our house in the right direction we need to insulate and air seal properly. Energy Star and the IECC are heading in the right direction but there are too many loopholes. Houses need to be wrapped head to toe with at least R-5 of rigid foam above grade. Period. Advanced framing does little to reduce energy use. Foundations should be R-20, R-10 under slab, 2×6 R-23(+5) walls and R-60 in the attic. Mechanical rooms need to be treated as exterior spaces and sealed tightly or all appliances need to be sealed combustion. Houses we test are already coming in at around 2 ACH50 or better, so let’s get them down to 1 ACH50.

We can build this way without major retraining or cost adjustments but will the homeowners understand how the home operates? It’s been said that there are no zero energy homes, just zero energy homeowners. As an energy auditor I’ve been in homes built 50 years ago and no one has ever been in the attic. Countless times I’ve seen window shades drawn on a bright winter day. We all know we’re supposed to change the oil in our cars on a regular basis so why shouldn’t we understand that putting a bag over the combustion air inlet to stop that cold air from coming in the basement is dangerous, or that when the Sun shines in it warms up the house, or that 2” of ratty old fiberglass in the attic just isn’t acceptable. So let’s spend some time and resources educating homeowners.

-Steve Eagleburger

There is some confusion in our world about what it means to be “ANSI”.  RESNET is now an ANSI SDO, that is, an ANSI Standards Development Organization.  This is a really good development for us, but the reasons aren’t that obvious.  Here are some of the top reasons why ANSI recognition is good for you and RESNET.

• Path toward recognition in the IECC – as an ANSI standard, it will be easier for the actual RESNET standards that are ANSI Standards (more on that below) to be adopted into code.  Instead of “Performance Path”, we could end up with a direct reference to the Standard.  This helps with code official recognition as well of course.
• Easier recognition in legislation – the credibility that comes with being an ANSI standard makes it easier to be directly cited in legislation.
• Easier to be adopted in financial instruments like EEM’s and whatever will come in the future.
• Credibility with stakeholders – RESNET has a large and increasing number of stakeholders.  ANSI accreditation provides those stakeholders with an increased level  of security and confidence in trusting our work on their behalf.
• Transparency – ANSI accreditation mandates a particular set of procedures and methods.  Conforming to these protocols for ANSI standards makes our process inherently more transparent and predictable.

One very important point is that not all of the RESNET Standard will become ANSI standards.  The first ANSI Standard will be the new Chapter 8 from the RESNET standard.  I heard a lot of concern at the RESNET conference over this issue.  I feel this is the best of both worlds.  RESNET will continue to develop new and relevant standards.  As they mature and when it’s appropriate, they can be submitted into ANSI.  We maintain responsiveness and resilience while still reaping the benefits listed above.

There were a variety of sessions at RESNET that were worth attending, but the Builder’s Challenge v2 session was among the most interesting.  Sam Rashkin (formerly Mr. ENERGY STAR) was the presenter and he has served the Builder’s Challenge Program well.  One of the first things he did when he made the transition into the Builder’s Challenge program was taking the wealth of resources collected in years of research in through Building America and condensing it into a user friendly Resource Tool that is scheduled to roll out November of this year.

The Resource Tool will include a “Mobile Field Kit” that will act like a shopping cart (without the cost) for raters and builders to build a kit with guides and technical resources specfic to any number of variations in home design.  The goal is that the rater, builder, and/or designer could build a custom kit with illustrated guides and resources on best practices for building the various components within that house.  The convenience of it all is that the rater or builder will be able pull up these illustrated guides on the internet mobile device of their choice (iPad, field computer, etc.) for use in on site training.

EnergyLogic has always felt that HERS Rater’s are in the business of sharing information and I’m excited about the potential that the Builder’s Challenge Resource Tool and Mobile Field Kit could provide in the ease of sharing information on site.

Stay tuned for the Tool Kits, but if you have some spare time check out their current resources:

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/challenge/technical_resources.html

Glenn Pease

Energy Professional Services

Technical Lead

We’re back from RESNET and we had heck of a good time along with being very productive.  I’ll be writing a RESNET 2012 Roundup soon, however we can let you know about who won things at the show.

• iPad2 Drawing – Craig Craft from TRAA won, enjoy some Angry Birds!
• Mentoring, Coaching, Energy Rater Therapy – two winners
  • Kim Stein – In the Now… For the Future
  • Eric Powell  – Cornerstone Energy Conservation Services

I look forward to working with each of them on their respective businesses.

-Steve

First – Get yourself some new windows.  This will save you about 50% on your energy bills.

Okay!  50% to go right!  (nudge, nudge, wink, wink – don’t get all “mathy” on me for those of you who are thinking “but, but, you can only save a percentage of what’s left, not the remainder!” – tell it to the marketing department)

Second – Get yourself one of those Amish space heaters.  Good for another 50%!  Sweet!  Technically we’re done.  But let’s go ahead and be sure we’re all the way there.

Third – Paint your house up with some of that fancy NASA ceramic paint.  Now these boys have toned down their claims so we can feel real good about getting another 20% of our energy saved.  Whoo Hoo!  Dang, we might be turnin’ the meter backwards!

Cue – Cold Shower, Slap the Face, Ridiculously Loud Alarm Clock.There is a Sucker Born Every Minute.  PT Barnum didn’t actually say that, but oh my is it true.  Or, in the words of Dean Vernon Wormer, “Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son.”
It’s really time for folks to wake up about the simple math; whether it be deficit spending, basic understanding of energy or too good to be true scams.  Stay tuned for some simple back of the napkin ways to show homeowners why the items above are too good to be true.  Can we coin a new acronym for this?  We have TBTF for behemoth Wall St. banks, how about TGTBT for energy scams!

In getting this tongue-in-cheek exercise together I found this site http://www.nlcpr.com/index.php  referenced above as well.   Nice work!

EnergyLogic is very pleased to announce the availability of BPI Building Analyst Hybrid training.

Combining the very best of eLearning, see our last blog post, and the best of hands-on field training; prepare yourself for success in the residential energy industry.  EnergyLogic is an industry leader in training and innovative delivery of services across the nation.  We are committed to helping you get started on the right foot.

Our eLearning environment covers the bases of learning types and stays fresh and relevant throughout.  When combined with our guaranteed small class size field training, it doesn’t get any better.

When we set out on the adventure of building the EnergyLogic Academy, little did we know what we were getting into!  The objective was to create “online” (a reviled adjective in our office for what we’re doing) pathways for all of our classroom trainings.  This eLearning effort in combination with our existing field and live trainings comprise the EnergyLogic Academy.

We had several objectives for this initiative.  The first was to improve the quality of our product.  The team was optimistic about the prospects for addressing a number of challenges that face trainers in our industry (and other industries).  There is a ton of literature and debate on learning styles and teaching methods to address different learners.  Regardless of the debate, we knew intuitively that not everyone learns best the same way.  We also know that the Bataan Death March of PowerPoint presentations are a poor delivery method no matter how enthused the presenter or students.

eLearning encompasses the breadth of techniques and includes the spoken word, visual delivery, continuous feedback and social interaction as key components.  The amount of time and effort that it takes to craft thoughtful, complete trainings on this type of platform is truly daunting.  We’re really glad we stuck it out, but whew!  The initial results have been better than even the most optimistic of us had hoped for.  For example, this comment is from Brenda Hungerford, a student who had taken HERS Rater training in the past and needed a refresher:

The process right now is to have students who’ve completed the eLearning portion, go ahead and sit for the national test.  This means they’ve never been to the field.  Staggeringly, we now have a 100% pass rate on the test (full disclosure, this is a small sample thus far)!  This was not necessarily our objective, let me explain why.

Our Prime Objective is to produce graduates who can succeed in the industry.  Whether on their own or as a staff member in an organization; their overall competence is the measure of our success.  Over the past several years, we had reduced the amount of material that we delivered in class in order to align it more closely with the test.  This grated on us as we considered the material important to the overall knowledge base for a competent HERS rater or BPI Building Analyst, but we felt compelled to do so as we had to get our students over the hurdle of the test before they could move on.  The amount of time we had in class was limited.  Something had to give.   We’ve now been able to add that material and even more back in.  It’s not there to pass the test, but it’s important. What we used to deliver in 20 hours now takes students 40-60 hours to complete.  Provided this platform students dig deeper and become more engrossed in their learning experience.

Perhaps the most gratifying thing to see has been the student response to this new approach to our training.  We’re seeing a level of sharing that exceeds what happens in “live” training.  The sharing is actually at a higher technical level and has the added benefit of creating a durable, “living” foundation for our students to build on as they go forward in their careers.  I couldn’t be prouder of the work that my staff has done on this.  It’s reflected in the pride I have in the experience that our students are having as they move forward with us in this industry.

And we are far from done. We are committed to continued improvement. We are very proud of where we are and incredibly confident about the path we are headed down.

-The EnergyLogic Energy Professional Services Team

In the category of nepotistic promotion….

If you have a teenager (or really, if you just like to read) and would like to visit a really well-written, thoughtful literature (teenager focused) blog site, please visit

LittleReadWritingHood

My awesome daughter has embarked on a project to read 500 books before graduating from Berthoud High School and write a review and summary of each one.  She’s a ridiculously prolific reader and writer and I’m very proud of the work she’s doing.  When she was little we used to tease her that there really aren’t jobs for professional “Readers”.  Might’ve spoke too soon…

Thanks in advance to all who do visit.  We appreciate it!