Technical Barriers, Gaps, and Opportunities Related to Home Energy Upgrade Market Delivery

HOMEOWNER DECISION MAKING AND BEHAVIOR RELATING TO DEEP HOME RETROFITS - Results of Homeowner Interviews

“…There are many technology-oriented analyses, for example, that focus on such topics as technologies, approaches, or best practices for achieving energy savings, the energy-savings potentials associated with various measures, and/or the cost savings associated with energy conservation measures (e.g., Baechler et al 2011, Polly et al 2011, Steven Winter Associates 2010. Products of these analyses often are aimed at practitioners such as designers and builders, and sometimes toward homeowners (e.g., a series of DOE Builders Challenge Technology Information Packages-BC TIPS-for different climate zones 4 ; Baechler et al 2011, Bianchi November 2011, Liaukus 2012. A subset of these efforts emphasize energy savings in the range that would constitute "deep" retrofits and/or whole-house/systems-engineering approaches that view homes as integrated sets of systems (e.g., Amman 2006, Baechler et al 2011, Bianchi July 2011, Boudreaux et al April 2012, Boudreaux et al October 2012, Gordon et al 2012, McGeough et al 2012.…”

The Next Step Toward Widespread Residential Deep Energy Retrofits

“…Industry stakeholders recognize the following four business models (Section 2.1 through Section 2.4) as having the potential to deliver or participate in the delivery of deep retrofits (Bianchi 2011). The capabilities of practitioners in each model to assess conditions, project savings, and manage implementation are discussed here in terms of SWOT.…”

“…In the end, retrofits are often tabled because the scope of activities is unfamiliar and daunting to clients. Bianchi (2011) reports this as a nontechnical barrier and suggests creating a "hand-off" process between the pre-retrofit evaluation and the implementation phases of a deep retrofit. A team approach that creates a standard process for moving from audit into implementation could bridge this gap.…”

“…In the EnergySmart model, the HERS rater maintains a business separate from the EnergySmart contractors and answers to the homeowner, not to the contractors. Bianchi (2011) reported that stakeholders identified difficulty for homeowners in understanding building science as a nontechnical barrier to deep retrofits. Under this business model, the HERS rater acts, to some degree, as the homeowner's agent to ensure that the improvements chosen are prudent and that the job is completed according to the specifications.…”

Analysis of Illinois Home Performance with ENERGY STAR(R) Measure Packages

“…Most home performance contractors complete a limited number of retrofits each year due to either their company's small size or IHP retrofitting is supplemental to their core business. In alignment with national trends (Bianchi 2011), homeowner knowledge on the subject is low and, correspondingly, homeowner demand is limited to a handful of first adopters.…”