Energy audits... The big question for our industry.

I started this thread on Feb 4th. This from WSJ yesterday talking about my own town: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704320104575015920992845334.html

Have you been a good Boulderite and changed your bulbs? Heh, have you?

Your looking at 10K + for your IR camera, training and blower door. Thats a quite a few inspections before profit kicks in.

Save your money Eric. Come springtime when the cold weather has passed and people no longer feel the cold drafts in their home, the demand for these services dwindle. You may be able to pick up a slightly used blower door and IR camera if you still feel the need to spend your hard earned money. Lots of out of work tradesmen, building contractors,etc. are getting on the bandwagon. We are still going to see record foreclosures and unemployment. If the government passes legislation and releases funds, the money will get gobbled up. Remember “Cash for Clunkers”??
FOR SALE: Minn Blower Door/Duct Blaster - Thermal Imaging, Infrared Cameras & Energy Audits - InterNACHI®️ Forum http://www.infraredtraining.com/community/boards/thread/6469/

Of course we all know you’re the man, Nick.

And folks won’t change until they feel the pain. Or somebody does it for them. Or pays them to do it (and then they’ll figure out how to get the money without actually doing what they got paid for)

The point of emphisis should be saving money, not redusing the “carbon footprint” or saving the planet. Those are false claims, in any case. CO2 is a natural and needful gas, not a pollutant.

I am concerned, though, as government gets more frustrated, it tends to get more dictatorial.

Leaving the political comments aside I agree with you that the best focus is on saving money for the client. I would add that their personal comfort is also a valid and effective sales point. (Folks don’t like to be cold as a rule)

Doing the math honestly (so far at least) I have been unable to justify the high costs for energy audits and much energy refit work without external factors. From a business point of view we have to consider whether these external forces will last long enough to make it worthwhile for every inspector to gear up to provide these services.

Without political comment I point to the “Cash for Clunkers” program. It was effective in raising car sale numbers while it was in effect. The volume dropped through the floor when it ended. Of course car dealers didn’t have to expend any money gearing up for this so for them it was probably a net good.

On the energy side the government programs (again without political comment) tend to shorter term incentives. Which could have a similar short term (cash for clunkers) effect on a business counting on the volume they induce.

So I’ll pose this question. If we have no external incentives skewing demand is it possible to offer an energy related audit/inspection service at a price that makes sense to us in our businesses and it sufficiently attractive to the consumer sell at a profitable volume?

I was not trying to make any political statements, although this is difficult because of a) the government trying to make EVERYTHING political and b) people’s perceptions.

The facts are that the whole “global warming” shtik is winding down as the research and data and reports are being checked and double checked more. So the whole “save the planet” incentive is waning, and I would posit, never really there as Nick’s WSJ article shows.

Also, when government injects “stimulus money” and offers other incentives (and not just the federal government) this tends to distort the market. People tend to do things that they would not, ordinarily, do in the free market (like buy a new car, “cash for clunkers”, change out their appliances, “cash for Kenmore” and do energy efficiency changes, “cash for caulkers”). This causes a market distortion.

I tend not to do things based upon receiving monry from the government because the government is not a normal client and because they tend to not pay on time, like the free market does.

That being said, there are more and more contractors and Architects, at least im my area, that are looking for a complete audit (with blower door, thermal camera, according to standards and quantitative testing) as part of new construction. So, there is a normal market out there for these services. Let’s just hope that the government does not distort or damage that market too much.

Hope this helps;

And you are not required to have a license to perform energy audits.

Interesting thread.

My prices start at $395 for initial test up to 1200 sq ft.

This week, a client in California who is buying up foreclosures in this area and hiring me to inspect them concluded (after we spoke) that an energy audit on each property with a written scope of work to prioritize steps to reduce energy bills will allow her to include utilities in the rent. Landlords around here get stuck paying unpaid utility bills when clients run them up and skip, anyway.

Last week, one of my inspections was for a guy who was excited about his house but learned from the realtor that the utilities were $300 per month the previous year. When I described an energy audit and its results in lowering utility bills while increasing comfort levels, he scheduled one for the day after closing.

And…as far as “stimulus money” is concerned, I believe the intent goes beyond “stimulating” the economy and is aimed more toward “stimulating” a society to find the benefits that come from paying less to their utility companies, increasing their own levels of comfort, while reducing their carbon footprint. It won’t happen in a year…maybe even this decade…but the seeds have been planted and the days of unlimited fossil fuels consumption and carbon emissions are numbered. A little over 100 years ago, the same denial that this automobile “fad” would someday replace the reliable and economical horse and carriage had to be dealt with as well.

Another inspector and I were talking on the phone the other day and discussing how much we both wish we were in our 30s instead of our 50s right now, so that we could grow along with this new phase of the inspection industry into its next generation.

The best part of this is the fact that it has nothing to do with used house salesmen…or being referred by them.

Virtually none.