In short, consumers are ready to listen to you about efficiency now.

WHAT'S INSIDE THE HOME

The program is managed locally by an Energy Star partner (typically your utility company, state agency, or a local association). The managing partner trains and qualifies contractors and ensures they deliver quality work. The partner may also offer financial assistance.

The program currently is available in the following areas and through these utilities/agencies:

CALIFORNIA: California Building Performance Contractors Association.

COLORADO: E-Star Colorado.

GEORGIA: Southface (Atlanta).

IDAHO: Idaho Energy Division.

KANSAS: Metropolitan Energy Center (Kansas City).

MASSACHUSETTS: NSTAR Electric, Massachusetts Electric, and Berkshire Gas.

MINNESOTA: Neighborhood Energy Consortium (Minneapolis/St. Paul).

MISSOURI: Missouri Botanical Garden's EarthWays Center.

NEW JERSEY: Board of Public Utilities (Atlantic City).

NEW YORK: NYSERDA.

TEXAS: Austin Energy (Austin).

WISCONSIN: Focus on Energy.

Qualified contractors in these communities are available to perform "a top-to-bottom energy inspection of your home," according to the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Energy Star. The inspection may determine causes of problems such as cold rooms, ice dams, damp basements, moisture on windows, etc., and gauge the home's energy efficiency and durability in general.

"As part of the inspection, your contractor should also make sure your gas or oil appliances are venting properly," the DOE stressed.

The contractor's recommendations may include duct-sealing, adding insulation, installing energy-efficient lighting, new HVAC equipment, and/or new windows. "The best solution for most homes often includes a combination of several improvements," DOE stated. "Your contractor may perform the work or provide a list of contractors who will."

CROSSING OVER

"I think there definitely is a lot more consumer interest, driven by increased heating and cooling costs, the weather, and ice dam issues. We were up around 20 percent over last year."

Heating work is not EnTherm's primary business, but it has grown significantly in the last year or two, he said. "We only install Energy Star-compliant equipment."

Kornbluth believes the program offers significant opportunities for primarily heating-cooling contractors. Crossover work is the norm for contractors who get with the program.

"There are also barriers to other heating contractors who get involved," Kornbluth said. "The program requires the work to be comprehensive, as in whole-house comprehensive. The contractor would have to address insulation and shell issues. This creates some problems for heating contractors, but also huge opportunities."

In the state of New York, for example, there are great consumer incentives (low-interest financing, 10-percent rebates, etc.) through programs such as those initiated by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).

"You have to propose Home Performance to every customer; the customer can turn it down, but it has to be proposed," Kornbluth explained. A contractor also does not need to have the capability to perform all of the work in-house; he can refer the consumer to another contractor, or can subcontract it; "but they need to propose it."

IT'S LIKE NATE

Kornbluth noted that "Outside of New York state, if a contractor wants to become a whole-house contractor, BPI certification may not be a necessity." However, "The best option is to get BPI certified."

"EPA right now has a large contract with BPI to expand across the country," he said. "It's sort of like NATE [North American Technician Excellence]; you don't have to be NATE certified to be a heating contractor. However, certification may have marketing value."

BPI, headquartered in Malta, N.Y., is an independent, third-party provider of building science-based certification and accreditation credentials delivered through a national network. The institute conducts ongoing quality assurance and requires continuing professional training and education in order to retain use of the BPI mark.

The organization sets the standards and administers certification of technicians and accreditation of companies. "Remodelers, inspectors, builders, insulation contractors, heating and cooling contractors, are a few of the trades that can benefit from building performance certification," the institute said.

Its certification is based on core written competency testing in building evaluation, envelope, and mechanical systems, coupled with a practical field test. "Specialized certifications can be achieved in any of these fields, as well as a comprehensive designation achieved by mastering the specialties of all these fields," the institute said.

BPI-accredited firms must have written procedures relating to quality assurance. They also must submit to a process staff jobsite evaluation.

Building performance is described as "a systematic approach to improving the indoor environment, by applying improvements to the whole house, not just individual building components. This approach incorporates comfort, health and safety, durability, and energy efficiency into a comprehensive package.

"Buildings are systems of interacting parts," BPI pointed out. "Building performance contractors use a multidisciplinary approach to evaluate each improvement to a particular system of the house for its potential to affect other systems.

"For instance, an insulation contractor may recommend ventilation improvements in conjunction with insulation to make sure the house does not become too tight" and to preserve the indoor air quality (IAQ). Similarly, a heating contractor may recommend additional insulation before installing a high-efficiency heating system to ensure comfort and savings. Both contractors will ensure the safety of all combustion appliances in the home through diagnostic testing and verification."

HVAC contractors would not have to be able to install new windows themselves to participate in the Energy Star program. They could subcontract the work out, or simply refer the homeowner to window replacement contractors. (Photo © 2002 by John Curtis; reprinted with permission from Insulate and Weatherize by Bruce Harley, published by the Taunton Press.)

DIAGNOSING THE HOME