Information Technology

I use an iPad everyday as part of the TVA testing program I have been working on since March, approaching 100 homes. I collect data as required by the installed program, minimum 3 usually 4 sometimes 6 hours each site. Blower Door testing, Ducts 3 ways and REMRate driven site info.The data is supposed to be uploaded everyday to a secure server in Nashville where it is downloaded and analyzed by TVA engineers. Since spring the system has collapsed on itself for various reasons, some iPad related some from software upgrades and often failures at the server and the software they use to facilitate the data transfers. Everyone I deal with at DNV GL (through whom I subcontract with TVA) is extremely nice and seemingly competent as accountants, IT, IS, Engineers etc. Some of them are in San Diego, some in Nashville one in N. Carolina some in Holland, and some in Connecticut. They are currently in arrears with me for 6 weeks of invoices and I have not been able to connect to the triple protected server in Nashville since last Monday. What amazes me is that when I get to actually talk with them, (not texting or e-mailing) they seem chagrined and apologetic but not at all surprised by these results. I believe this is what is called “The new normal.” And this is why GM has a decade of bad, sometime deadly, ignition switches and Tanaka has supplied millions of equally deadly air bags for our cars.

Change, Change, Change!

          If you extract a lump of fossil fuel from the earth and assign to it 100 units of potential energy, run it through a typical utility, make steam, generate electricity, and run it out the grid to the meter on your home there are only 3-5 units of power left! Production waste, generation losses, switching, line loss and transformers eat up the energy. Now look at our 200,000,000 + existing home inventory and add the typical energy wasted from duct loss, infiltration and old HVAC systems (often more than 25 - 40%) and the waste factor is disgusting.
            The change we have to embrace is efficient conservation and distributed renewable energy. Homes that achieve net zero energy use and create their own juice remove the distribution losses for residential homes and negate the need for more huge, wasteful centralized utilities. DOE considers residential energy use unsustainable and climbing. We have no energy policy and the 2012 IECC Code is being slammed as unfeasible economically! Where is the common sense in all of this? Our grid is failing, we have working knowledge and experience worldwide for distributed renewable energy and yet we submit to the status quo.
            We have the tools, technology and workforce to retrofit all of our existing home to near-net zero energy use. This idea is not new, nor is it particularly controversial unless you are in senior management at a utility. There have been several home energy retrofit programs floated though congress over the last decade and they all disappear into congressional fog-land. TIME TO ACT!
             Most of our alternative energy leaders are in agreement that this is crunch time, our opportunity to get it right. If we could turn the key on net zero residential home energy use today the inertia of climate change will last 20 years. This is the time to get our act together. 2050 is my target for net zero residential energy consumption, I'll be breathing my last breaths by then and I would like to enjoy them.......

Insulation

Local USGBC meeting in East TN we were happy to listen to Jeff Christian speak on the insulation WARS. Basically we learned that thermal shorts created by studs are the biggest criminals in energy loss, metal is the worst! The solution is a continuous exterior insulation, best is foam board. Insulation should be continuous and contiguous.

Heat Pumps

              For the past few weeks I have been testing homes that are recent participants in TVA's Heat Pump Program. About half of the buildings have been double wide manufactured homes, usually around 2000 square feet with a 2 ton package unit. Installers generally removed the old furnace, disconnected any radiant, pulled the ancient (some were 20 years old!) A/C and stuck in a 15+ SEER Heat Pump. Without exception the duct systems are off the chart leakers, most of it LTO since the systems are primarily panned floor joists. Despite this, homeowners are claiming they are saving money on their utility bills and are comfortable compared to the previous set up. Imagine the savings if the duct systems were sealed up at the same time! In terms of ROI, I cannot fathom how a $6-8000 HVAC mechanical replacement cannot be improved by an additional $5-600 worth of duct sealing. These trailers are reasonably tight with so-so insulation, duct leakage should be up there on the priority list, but they don't address it at all? For several years I have been testing new homes built for the City of Knoxville by various groups that are HUD funded and require Energy Star certificates. These homes' ducts routinely test less than 30 CFM @ 25 Pa. I am seeing 250-300 CFM in these TVA Heat Pump homes. I think it is criminal to let all that potential performance go to waste. Homeowners are reluctant to do retrofits and usually don't until something breaks. If we could improve the retrofit model to include Weatherization, Duct Sealing and Insulation as well as the new Mechanicals the benefit would be double the savings we currently see. Most utility retrofit programs incentivize a more thorough approach. TVA has their Energy Right in Home Evaluation program but they make you wait a year between that and a Heat Pump, either or, but not both at once. From the "Whole House" perspective this doesn't allow for the home to get properly sealed and insulated before the HVAC is installed, the correct order of business. Why can't TVA get this together?

       One of my favorite projects is the New Norris House, a creation of the UT School of Architecture. A small, very tight home that achieved LEED Platinum. They have been playing with the passive ability by periodically turning off the HVAC and monitoring the interior tempurature fluctuations and plotting that against ambient. There is nothing technically unusual about this home, good building science with off the shell components. Interior tempuratures in moderate ambient conditions remain within a tolerable range. Imagine an '06 home without HVAC for three days! This structure was assembled by Clayton Homes and finished by UT students for the most part.
        The point is - this ain't rocket science. The question is - why are we not doing this with all of our homes?
http://www.thenewnorrishouse.com/

              There has been a discussion amongst RESNET members on Linkedin about a falsified rating. The home in question scored HERS 55 and has since been reviewed finding several components less than advertised. Should we be surprised?

Long time no write?

              I have been remiss in my attention to this post. There is much water over the dam since I last found the inspiration to address our business and the market for energy auditors. I still maintain there is a market for Independent Energy Raters, that the big boys don't have all the marbles. Between LEED for Homes and V3.0 Energy Star, I have spent a lot of time and energy staying current with the trade. I confess that, at 65, I have been challenged to keep up on occasion, gaining some solace that I am not alone in my travails. Suffice to say that the V3.0 homes I have shepherded through the process are good products and meet a high standard of quality, efficiency and durability.
              This brings me to an area that is perhaps too philosophical for the techno-rater world but I am concerned about some interpretations of the goals behind the home energy rating business model. While the standards are both challenging and worthwhile, I find that there is a tendency in the rater community to be more punitive than necessary when performing inspections. My view is that a developer/builder and their subcontractors are my partners in the endeavor as opposed to my delinquent students. If this process is to be successful everyone in the game has to be successful. When I worked as a Naval Architect in the 70's for a large production yacht manufacturer the design and engineering department had 13 boats before we relinquished control of the line to production. We expect a home builder to attain V3.0 status on their first try. (Not everyone had the chance to build during the 2.5 transition.) So, if I am to bring along a builder who wants the rating for their product I expect mistakes. My job is to be there for them to GUIDE them through the process with minimum delay and hiccups. I hear some raters are less than collaborative in this regard which I find unnecessarily demeaning. We, as trained and experienced raters should include in our service the time to inform and stay engaged with the builders as they learn the nuances and minutia of our services and products. In short be a Coach not a Cop! Remember if the builders are not making money, if the subs are not successful, neither are we................