Bruce, You’re correct. I personally don’t.
However, InterNACHI’s IT Department does. They collect feedback from inspectors during this beta test period, and will make all necessary corrections.
The DOE believes this is a tool to educate homeowners - http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/homeenergyscore/homeowners.html
So, i modelled my own home (which is 100 years old) and it rated 96/100! I understand the data is for the USA, however every single recommendation the report suggested has already been done to my home. I think this is a good starting program, but lacks an enormous amount of information. If i had paid for the report, i would not be happy as it is completely useless to me in making upgrades and improving the efficiency of my home. My home in the Natural Resource Canada program, Hot 2000 (which is used internationally to model home energy performance) is rated a 71/100. The biggest change i see that needs to be made to the NACHI program is the report. It is my experience that the report has to be somewhat personal and tailored to the specific home. Adding/removing sections, and detailed airsealing locations for example make the homeowner feel that the report is about their home, not just a generic form report. Even if the report is complete bull$%it, making personal comments about the specific home makes the homeowner feel they have gotten something substantial. Just my 2 cents…
Good comments, Rodney. Enjoyed the comparison with Canada’s Hot2000, a leader in the world.
Quite a difference in evaluations! You cannot train energy evaluators in a few days classroom time and you cannot do an energy evaluation in a few minutes. This could become mis-spent government money.
After many year the government is finally coming to the conclusion that you can’t get consumers to pay quadruple for accuracy. There simply is little consumer demand for the service at that price point. A full-blown energy audit is kind of like paying extra to measure your waistline in thousandth’s of an inch. It’s not necessary and it appears that everyone has figured that out.
No, someone has figured out how to get the government to open the purse with grandiose promises!
Perhaps, but they can’t fool all of the people all of the time. Apparently the public knows when the cost of a particular inspection (in this case, a full-blown energy audit) will likely exceed the value of the information derived from the audit. No worry… InterNACHI to the rescue.
I guess we are comparing apples to oranges (USA to Canada). Energy evaluations in Canada have been in high demand (with a few ups and downs between programs) and have been like that for the last 3 years. The current program ends March 31st, 2012 and we as energy evaluators are unsure as to what the next step for the federal gov’t will be. The last time the program was cancelled there was so much uproar Canada wide that they brought it back. I’m not sure what the price point is on the Nachi energy audit, but Canadians have no problems paying $150 - $300 per audit, and that has been proven many many times, with bookings months ahead. As noted in my previous post, i think the Nachi tool is a good starting point ( this would probably never be acceptable in Canada), but thats it. I honestly feel i could educate the homeowner more in a 10 minute conversation than the Nachi program has in its entire report. Don’t get me wrong, i’m not knocking the concept, i just feel why convey innacurate and sometimes wrong info to a homeowner when the opportunity is there to do it correctly? If the issue is that they don’t want to pay the $$ for a proper energy audit, then morally i move on, or figure out another way to approach the situation. We have the knowledge, the ability, and the know how together…why not make it right the first time?
This is pretty accurate in my opinion. 99% of home owners already know of something they could immediately do to help conserve energy within their homes yet don’t ever do it. If they already know of basic upgrades that can be accomplished than what good is a 10x’s more accurate punch list when nothing is getting done?
I can understand the usefulness of a much more advanced and accurate upgrade list but that’s not the purpose of this basic list.
Rodney,
1 - That’s excellent feeback. And we agree with you. That’s why this is in beta mode - we’re looking for feedback to improve, and we shall improve.
Version 3 coming in January.
2 - And this home energy calculator provides score on comparable houses. That may explain why your home, which has a ton of upgrades, scored very high (compared to other homes of the same age, size, etc. without those same upgrades).
3 - The House Energy Score reflects the home’s condition as an asset—that is, the calculation method holds a number of variables constant. For example, it assumes that the home is used by two adults and one child, and that the thermostat is set at specific levels at various points of the year. By holding these other variables constant, the Home Energy Score allows consumers to compare homes on an equal basis, putting aside homeowner behavior.
4 - Just like an home inspection report, the report alone means nothing. It takes a home inspector to help the homeowner to understand. The report is a tool to start that conversation.
For the first time ever,
a home inspector can offer a non-diagnostic home energy inspection & report with a click of a button (and remember… it’s not a comprehensive blower-door audit).
lol, you guys crack me up. There is always a reason why someone else is selling something you are not. It must be a “lay down sale” in their area.
I have trained sales reps for over 20 years now and the weak ones always have the mentality that there is some magical reason why the others sell more than them. Meanwhile the only secret is, they just work harder and limit their head trips to…none.
As far as the energy auditing industry. You want to make money with your blower door and duct tester in 2012? Move to Georgia or Texas and get ready for the onslaught. We have already been getting the calls since the end of November. Can anyone say IECC 2009…with IECC 2012 behind it? Contractors are always behind with regards to meeting updated code deadlines. As these states adopt IECC XXXX in to their building codes you will see nothing but backed up contractors looking for someone to come do it.
John M, surprised you haven’t started up a total duct leakage / duct leakage to the outdoors training camp.
JJ
So what’s your opinion of this new energy tool JJ??
hehe, to be honest Linus, I didn’t even look at it. I was too busy getting on my soap box.
Will check it out.
JJ
I only asked for proof to this claim.
and
And did not receive any.
By the way I have no interest in offering energy audits at this time. I’m busy enough.
Me?
What claim?
What is the question?
Man, I wish people would keep things to themselves and not let the cat out of the bag…
It will happen (Contractor and IECC) elsewhere as well… not too concerned about the INACHI Home Energy Report… Once explained, the serious energy client will laugh at it whereas the price-shopping energy client will mis-understand it (INACHI Home Energy Report) and sue the poor HI who produced it no matter the contract signed…
How the does the NACHI energy calculator compare to the Home Energy Saver ? I just ran a *quick *and *detailed *input on Home Energy Saver. The quick resembles the NACHI calculator, they are almost identical. The detailed is a bit more in depth from asking about the shape and size of the home, ceiling height, exterior shading, etc… What I’ve noticed is that they are both calculators are from the Lawrence Berkeley Lab, would it be possible to use this calculator for the energy inspection, or have NACHI come up with a more detailed version?
The InterN Home Energy Inspection runs on the energy calculator developed by DOE and Lawrence Berkeley Lab.
Same calculator.
The upcoming DOE Home Energy Score also runs on the same engine as InterNACHI’s Home Energy Inspection.
InterN Home Energy Inspection tool is not in competition with home performance contractors or energy auditors. It’s a lead generation for them.
Studies have shown that new homeowners don’t want to be overwhelmed with a number of metrics telling them how good or bad their home is regarding its energy efficiency. They need to be provided with a simple report and a single home-energy label in a context they can understand and assign some actionable value to. That’s the lead.
You are definitely correct. At least in Missouri and Kansas, and likely in other states as well, the home owner who participates in energy efficiency upgrades will expect to be entitled to their share of the hundreds of millions of dollars in state and federal rebates and tax incentives (as well as those offered by utility service providers and various manufacturers). When they discover that they have forfeited their rights to these entitlement by purchasing their upgrades in response to this report (as opposed to the prescribed requirements for a more legitimate energy audit) they will be unhappy and quick to publicly cry “rip off”.
My advice to anyone wishing to add this to their offerings is to carefully check the laws in their state, properly inform their clients of the limitations and nature of their service, and to provide it as a free “FYI” courtesy service to enhance your inspection report. Particulary, advise them to contract a complete diagnostic home performance evaluation by a state certified energy professional prior to spending money on major upgrades in writing and have them initial it.
This can be a decent marketing tool to help sell home inspections if you would like to add an eleventh system (“energy efficieny”) to your SOP and set yourself apart from inspectors who do not. Just be careful as to what type of expectations your client draws from this.
Ah, yes. Once again… The cry of the typical energy auditor - being - that home inspectors doing energy inspections are ripping people off.
How silly.
In general, new homeowners do not hire auditors; they hire home inspectors. However, InterNACHI’s Home Energy Inspection Tool in the hands of home inspectors will make energy auditors’ phones ‘ring off the hook.’
**Get this, and you’ll get it all: **
The first step to every energy audit is a visual inspection. Home inspectors do visual inspections every day - about 10,000 every day. InterNACHI’s tool effectively links those visual inspections to full assessments resulting in energy-saving action.
The only action taken by a new homeowner, based upon the Home Energy Inspection Report, should be to contact a home energy professional to take the next step. There’s essentially no other reason to offer the service.
The goal of InterNACHI’s Home Energy Inspection Tool is to pass the the baton (the educated/motivated homeowner) to a qualified home energy professional.