Comments on: Taking the Pulse of the Home Energy Pro Community at RESNET 2012

By: Paul McGovern

Paul McGovern — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 19:23:00 +0000

"Unfortunately, I missed
"Unfortunately, I missed some I really would have liked to see because of other sessions I had to attend,...)

I had to miss my first RESNET conference in 6 years. The food is always excellent and plentiful, the conversations exciting & encouraging, the attendents are like-minded and inspiring, and the course offerings so varied and informative. I don't know what RESNET could do about session availablity as I too, always wish I could be at two or more sessions concurrently. Is it a question of too many similar subject offerings occuring simultaneously? or perhaps the limited number of sessions on the more popular subjects?

It would be nice if something could be done aleviate the problem ... but better that problem than an inability to find offerings of significance.

By: Javier Ruiz

Javier Ruiz — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 15:03:12 +0000

Allison, I really enjoy your
Allison, I really enjoy your blogs, and even though its been a while since I last saw you, I feel I can keep up with you and other thru here… Unfortunately, once again, I couldn’t be at RESNET.

Anyway, I wanted to put it my 2 cents on this one in particular.

Since my point of view if somewhat similiar to yours and our good friend Steve Byers.

Any industry and or business that is developed on the basis of indefinite incentives and rebates, is set for a rocky future, we see it in all industries, but if used correctly they can be used to kick start the industry, and I believe that ARRA, even though I dont fully agree with it, or how it was implemented in the long term it will remembered as either the greatest kick start for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy for the longest time, or the worst stimulus package in history, ALL will depend how companies and organization used it, if it was used as a tool to further develop or kick start your business in a sustainable way, then you will have a positive attitude, for the companies that used it as a market opportunity to make money, well tough luck... I don’t think the end result was a sustainable model. That is that...

Changing the subject to Energy Star V.3, well, where do I start. Even though I see the full benefits of the higher standards, I don't think V.3 is coming at the right time for the home building industry, some of the items that need to be verified don't have a substantial impact on energy efficiency, and assigning the role to HERS raters to move the HVAC industry towards Quality Control, well that will be the hardest battle. Yes, I know that the Checklist mirror the manufacturers specs, but nevertheless this is our hardest battle.
And most homebuilders are not set up to handle one extra piece of paper in their supervisors hand or their own hands. Anyway, I hope that raters, builders and sub-trades embrace ES V.3, but with more and more stringent energy codes, consumers becoming more aware of energy efficiency and builders wanting to add more energy upgrades that their customer can see, and can advertise, I believe that HERS ratings will the option to follow. As a personal note, if I was a Homebuilder I would probably do v.3, but just because at this point I really know the inside and outs, of the necessary upgrades. But most builders are not wanting to spend the time, that is the other biggest issue, but at the end the market (consumer and realtors) will either accept energy efficient homes with HERS Ratings or energy star homes.

We will see…

By: Glen Gallo

Glen Gallo — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 20:20:22 +0000

Thanks for the great post
Thanks for the great post Allison

I did not have the time nor resources this year to attend. RESNET always has some great sessions and the biggest problem is which one to attend.

Having just completed my training for Energy Star ver 3 I would have to agree that the bar is high. The commitment of a builder to train crews and maintain a level of excellence is the only formula for success. With these rigorous standards there will be failures. While this might on the surface seem like a hurdle at the end of the day I feel the industry can rise to the challenge. Builders want to build a good homes. The trades have good folks working and can learn new tricks.

Steve Baden personally answered my inquiry when I first considered HERS Training. This despite the fact that I was out of RESNET territory (California). He helped me along my path and pointed me in the right direction. His commitment to the industry has been a benefit to us all.

Thank you for your blog area, while I do not comment each time I read the Energy Vanguard Blog is a regular stop in my cyberspace travels. It has evolved into one of the best building science resources on the web.

Thank you for your efforts.

Glen

By: Geoff Hartman

Geoff Hartman — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 05:07:49 +0000

People who are down on ES V3,
People who are down on ES V3, and slow uptake in QA HVAC dealers should recall where ES was in 1999/2000. There were few Raters, fewer builders who were interested, and the perception that "It's too expensive" and "No one will pay the cost" was the prevailing expectation. Yet, quality and value through awareness grew. ES launched V2 with wide agreement that the industry was doomed. Not so, numbers spiked nationally. When the economy dipped (sunk?) there was wide consensus that HERS and ES was dead again. “We need inexpensive (cheap?) homes, not better quality!” But, as we know, the program boomed - Again.

In spite of ARRA funding, the level of professionalism in both seasoned and new Raters continues to impress. What other profession takes such a moral high ground, even against their own personal best interests and profits at times.

The expansion of applications in existing home markets (Home Performance, etc.) and HVAC industry support for quality installations, will only improve and expand opportunities for those capitalists in the room. Once everyone realizes that those *#%@^ HVAC checklists simply mirror the manufacturer’s required installation practices, all that noise will drop away as well.

Over 30 years ago we sat talking about how this would be a short career. After all, how hard could it be to show people how to save energy? Then we would all be unemployed in a couple years. Today, I believe the industry is barely reaching critical mass, and potential growth is wide open.

DOE’s Builder’s Challenge, and advanced (Deep) retrofit capabilities are just being explored. New technologies are bringing costs down, and opening up greater potential for real savings. How many of you have even explored opportunities in commercial buildings? Yet, I believe these will all be common offerings and accepted practice in the next 3-5 years.

The Fun has just begun!

By: Steve Byers

Steve Byers — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 01:44:22 +0000

Nice work Allison, I'll have
Nice work Allison, I'll have a similar summary post up early next week.
Allow me to address PJ. We, EnergyLogic, have been in the game and have grown and seen profit every year, ARRA be damned. We have a long haul view of the industry. I agree completely with Allison on "irrational exuberance". However, that's a small part of the story of this industry. The Green Gold Rush was underway before ARRA, got a bunch of fuel dumped on via ARRA and will, I believe return to a sustainable model, post ARRA.

Opportunity cuts both ways. I pity those that built their businesses on the presumption of endless government largess. We benefited from the work, but we did not alter out business model or assumptions on ARRA. Those who did are now paying the price. I agree with PJ about who's going to pay and Whoo-Boy is it a stiff bill. Speaking for us capitalists in the room, we were built sustainable businesses prior to ARRA and we're still here.

I don't think Allison said that the industry is based on OPM. He said that rapid growth was spurred by ARRA, a different statement. I suspect that he's here for the long haul as well. I hope so in any case.

By: PJ

PJ — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 00:25:31 +0000

Allison,

Allison,

Great post as always,

Your analysis is spot on,

The industry was “fueled largely by ARRA (the Stimulus Act)”, an un-funded burden, paid for by our children.

We now see the bloated, costly, burden of energy program funding, shifting to our neighbors, shaking down utility ratepayers so programs can re-distribute income to other ratepayers.

Do you think the Industry will ever even try to become sustainable in a non- socialist business model, or must we just accept that bureaucrats make better choices for us than we would make for ourselves? I agree, the Industry rises and falls on OPM.

Thanks,

pj