New Rater Business Opportunities
A key service that RESNET provides to its rater members is to provide
new business development opportunities. Currently the primary source of
economic demand for rating services is verification of homes for the
Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ENERGY STAR Homes Program. It is
not healthy for any industry to be dependent upon a single federally
sponsored program or a single facet of the housing market.
In the process of developing the RESNET strategic planning framework,
RESNET convened the Building Performance Planning Focus Group composed
of recognized leaders in the industry. The members were:
- Mike Baker, TXU Electric Delivery
- Steve Cowell, Conservation Services Group
- Megan Edmunds, E-Star Colorado
- Philip Fairey, Florida Solar Energy Center
- David Goldstein, Natural Resources Defense Council
- Thomas Hamilton, CHEERS
- Stephanie Harmon, Progress and Associates
- Michael Holtz, Architectural Energy Corporation
- David Lee, Environmental Protection Agency
- Joseph Lstiburek, Building Science Corporation
- Kelly Parker, Guaranteed Watt Savers
- Edward Pollock, U.S. Department of Energy
- Bill Prindle, American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy
This group identified the need to develop new services for home
energy raters outside of ENERGY STAR and the traditional home energy
ratings. In 2006 the tasks submitted by the RESNET staff to the Board of
Directors included developing a prioritized list of potential new
services for home energy raters. The following is prioritized list of
potential new services that was adopted by the RESNET Board:
- Tapping the Existing Homes Market
Traditionally energy ratings of existing homes were focused on
documentation for energy efficient mortgages. Clearly there is a far
greater market potential than this niche. These new opportunities
are defined in the new RESNET framework for energy audits for
existing homes. An example of this potential is in the state of
California where regulations require duct testing by a certified
rater at the time of an air conditioner change out. Another example
is the European Union’s Energy Performance in Buildings directive
that requires rating of buildings at time of sale or change of
occupancy. Already legislation has been introduced in New Jersey to
have such a requirement in the state. In addition, raters will need
access to financing to offer clients to make the recommended
improvements.
- Environmental and Energy Efficiency Certificate Trading
Today, credits for environmental emission reduction and energy
efficiency are being traded as a commodity in various environmental
and utility markets. Through the introduction of environmental cap
and trade systems, energy efficiency certificates, and utility
capacity trading, credit for energy efficiency is being monetized
into a tradable commodity. As programs such as cap and trade and
energy efficiency certificates expand from state and regional
programs into national and international programs, the demand for
raters to measure and certify compliance to the emission or
efficiency targets will dramatically increase.
- Energy Code Compliance
The U.S. Department of Energy has recently predicted the emergence
of performance based code compliance. An example of this potential
opportunity is the state of California. The California building code
requires builders to have their homes performance tested for air
tightness and duct leakage by a certified home energy rater. A new
business service for builders would be to provide code compliance
documentation.
- Builder Warranty Mitigation Service
The home building industry is facing an increasing rate of
litigation from disgruntled home buyers. A new potential service is
for senior raters to undertake a diagnosis of a home during
litigation and provide a mitigation strategy to a builder.
- House Doctor
More and more home owner are experiencing indoor air, health and
structural problems created by building science failures. A
profitable venture for senior raters could be to pinpoint the cause
of housing failures and propose specific actions to remedy the
problem. The senior rater could then provide a referral to a
qualified contractor to carry out the required treatment. The senior
rater then could verify that the contractor provided the treatment
as prescribed.
- Assisting Builders in Working with Designers to
Incorporate Building Performance in Homes Design
Raters enter the picture of the home building process after the
architectural design has been set. As builders strive for higher
performing buildings a new opportunity arises to assist the builder
by working with the designer to incorporate high performance in the
home’s design.
RESNET has adopted action plans for each of the initiatives and an
education plan to inform RESNET raters of these opportunities and how to
tap them. To view the plan click on RESNET
Action Plan for New Rater Business Opportunities.
|
