What Happened in New Orleans?

Home Performance with Energy Star is booming. The fourth quarter of 2014 closed with almost 28,000 jobs nationally, which is a 20  percent increase over the same period in 2013. The Energy Star brand remains the top-ranked consumer emblem in the country and the U.S. Department Of Energy (DOE) continues to introduce new tools for contractors to motivate customers to invest in energy efficiency. Many programs around the country are now linking Home Performance with Energy Star (HPwES) to the new Home Energy Score tool, which is a no-cost, easy way to offer homeowners a "miles per gallon" number that documents their investment and drives more comprehensive projects.  

Programs like KHP are learning to serve contractors in new ways. Contractors are making best use of their particular strengths in building relationships with larger entities and dedicated marketing efforts toward raising awareness of the brand and the value of the home performance approach to homeowners. KHP's upcoming partnership with LGE/KU will list KHP contractors as the go-to resource for energy audit customers (over 800 per year), which is a recent example of a contractor-focused service from the program.

The Future of Home Performance is Smart, Connected, and Healthy. While it's anyone's guess who among the long list of silicon valley upstarts and established industry giants will come to dominate the connected home of the near future, there's no denying that the Nest Thermostat has made the largest initial splash. Nests around the Country have been logging HP-relevant data on hundreds of thousands of homes in the last couple years alone, and ACI marked the first time this info was made public through Michael Blasnik, Senior Building Scientist for Nest. Allison Bailes offers the best overview of Blasnik's presentation in a recent blog entry.

The confluence of energy improvements and healthy homes continued to grow, as was evidenced in New Orleans. Building Performance Institute (BPI) is now developing an Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) specific certification, indicating their confidence that trends in the health care industry and new research into diseases like asthma will lead to a strong shift toward home-performance-level home improvement practices as a vital tool in improving public health levels, especially among children.

Let the Best HP Contractor Win! Contractors like those enrolled in KHP are by definition leading-edge performers in industries like HVAC and insulation, but it's difficult to prove that to homeowners unfamiliar with the whole-home approach. Several initiatives around the country are rewarding contractors and homeowners with observed energy savings rather than projected savings, along with a system to rank contractors based on delivered results. Top-performing KHP contractors are recognized for their superior service, allowing homeowners to receive optimal incentives. Pilot projects of this type are underway right now, and the industry will be paying close attention to the results.

Financing matters. The most successful home improvement contractors emphasized offering easy and attractive financing to every customer is key to their success. Modern, high-efficiency HVAC systems cost much less to operate, and insulation/air seal packages can significantly reduce monthly expenses, but the up-front investment is often higher than a homeowner expects. Fortunately, financing options have improved. When deployed skillfully, they result in higher-ticket, more comprehensive projects, and much happier customers.