SubscribeThe outpouring of response on the recent NYT article about the Hartford family, who had tried to exchange the title to their 16 year old Lincoln Town Car for fuel oil, has brought to light one of the reasons I starting writing DSS in the first place: the intersection of public policy [...]
DemandSideSolutions
energy issues in the built environment
Tag: retrofit
Enough Pain to Spend $$ on Upgrades?
I have come around to the view that “deep energy retrofits” in the residential sector are a pipe dream, at least at any sort of scale that is significant. Why? Well, they’re expensive, and utilities just don’t hurt most homeowners enough. The “pain” of most folks monthly bills isn’t large enough for them to justify [...]
Payback Doesn’t Matter
Laura at Not-YET-Green links to the annual Remodeling survey of improvements and their paybacks (as a function of recouped value at resale). What lesson can home performance pro’s draw from this body of knowledge? I think this data strengthens the case for home performance industry to sell things other than efficiency (comfort, durability, healthier indoor [...]
The HPC Lobby Responds to the HUD PowerSaver Program
Not long after I linked to the LBL publication on the HUD PowerSaver loan program, EfficiencyFirst (EF), the home performance lobby, posted their recommended changes. If you recall, PowerSaver is part of the package of initiatives rolled out by the President’s administration with the Home Energy Score. PowerSaver is administered by HUD, and has the [...]
Doris vs. Goliath?
The Wall Street Journal recently relayed the message that green consulting is currently the hot small business sector. Shortly after Doris Ikle posted her successful business tale regarding CMC Energy Services at Home Energy Pros. She writes:
Federal and state governments are deploying billions of dollars in an unprecedented push to weatherize America’s existing [...]
Home Depot Enters the Home Performance Market
Home Depot and RESNET signed an MOU on November 18th, the relationship is described here:
Home Depot will have a national workforce to be trained and certified to be RESNET Home Energy Survey Professionals.
Home Depot will have its associated contractors to be trained and designated as RESNET EnergySmart Contactors
Home Depot will market energy assessments and upgrades [...]
Random (Useful) Links
Weather data translation.
Hourly output viewer. Very useful when viewing hourly simulation results from multiple outputs and designs.
HPXML. A potentially powerful data standard. Important to remember…
HPXML is not intended to be a complete or final representation of all Home Performance data — on the contrary, it is a small set that will be extended.
…but what data [...]
Finally, a label…er…score
The big news today is that VP Biden and Secretary Chu announced the DOE’s new program called the Home Energy Score:
This is not really news, it’s been a long time coming, but now it’s official and in the public realm. It is a big deal, however, as the VP noted during his press conference today [...]
Link Exchange
New Energy Legislative Landscape: I’ve commented before about the uncertain legislative landscape. It will likely continue for a number of years. This will put pressure on energy professionals to innovate business models that don’t rely on a carbon price. Let’s all get to work.
LEED Reporting: I want 20 years of data (and commented on data [...]
Risk Rant
I like the Remodeling blog by Ed Voytovich, he often brings some good real world rants to the internets. His latest one is about perception in the new home buying world. He closes with a valid criticism in response to the recommendations made by a local newspaper regarding the energy efficiency upgrade potential for attic [...]