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Under Pressure
Industry News
Calendar

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Video: What is Home Performance?

"Green Button" Project is a Breath of Fresh Air

Opportunities for Energy Innovators

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EPS
Energy Performance Score example.

In the world of home performance, we definitely like numbers. We also seem to like models that result in numerical scores, such as HERS, green point certification, and the like. The various home-rating systems have their strengths and, more often, their weaknesses, says Steve Mann in this month's article "Energy Performance Score." A major weakness is that if you reduce everything to a number, how do you explain that number to a homeowner? 

 

Enter the Energy Performance Score (EPS), designed to easily communicate the energy efficiency of new and existing homes to the general public. Described as a miles-per-gallon rating for homes, EPS uses normalized assumptions for occupancy and behavior, which are applied to all houses to guarantee consistency.

Read more about the EPS audit process and the program's future.

LONG LINE

Under Pressure by Brett Dillon

CartoonWhy are energy raters and auditors not more curious about what causes the pressure test results they see? "Frankly, I find it very discouraging," says Brett Dillon, managing director of IBS Advisors, LLC and chair of the RESNET Technical Committee. "If [energy raters and auditors] understood the principles behind these tests, they could accurately assess the problem and come up with proper solutions."

Instead, we find ourselves working backward from a test result to a hypothesis. Why are we trained this way? Our industry is under pressure to improve the skills and knowledge of our workforce.

Read on to see how we can improve.

Energy Conservatory

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Industry News 

  • David Bradley, executive director of the National Community Action Foundation explains Weatherization Allocation and the FY2013 Budget proposal. Read more here
  • The Hartford's, an elderly couple in Maine, can't afford to pay for the oil needed to heat their (rather leaky) home. Our industry reaches out in support.  
  • ACI's 1,000 Home Challenge has a goal of reducing energy use by 70-90% in a thousand homes in North America. Participate and gain more information at one of their webinars here.    

LONG LINE

Spotlights From Our Calendar 

February 27 - 29 

RESNET Building Performance Conference
Austin, TX 
 

The RESNET Building Performance Conference is the premier national forum on home energy ratings, commercial building energy modeling, and improving the energy efficiency of existing homes. Register here.  

 

February 29 - March 2 

Building America Residential Energy Efficiency Stakeholder Meeting  

Austin, TX 

This year's meeting, hosted by DOE's Building America program, will provide an opportunity for researchers and industry stakeholders to showcase and discuss the latest in cutting-edge, energy-efficient residential building technologies and practices. Register for the free meeting here.  

 

March 6 - 8

BuildingEnergy 

Boston, MA

Organized by the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association, this conference and trade show brings together architects, engineers, builders, policymakers, developers, and building managers for three days of networking and educational sessions. Register here. 

 

March 26 - 30

ACI National Home Performance Conference  

Baltimore, MD

This annual event includes 150+ sessions focused on energy efficiency and weatherization strategies; a trade show; in-depth workshops; networking receptions; and the ACI Home Energy Leadership Summit. Register here. Home Energy E-Newsletter subscribers can receive extended Early Bird pricing by using Registration Code: axebb9.

    

View a full calendar of industry events at homeenergy.org.  

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