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Building PerformanceHow We Got Here

•1977-1980 Partners with 6 other people in UFFI foam retrofit insulation contracting business in Syracuse, NY

•1980 Started EnTherm Inc as cellulose residential retrofit insulationcontractor

•1982 Diversified into replacement windows & doors

•1982 Went to energy efficient building conference sponsored by NESEA at Mt Snow, Vermont, and saw first blower door

•1986 Added radon mitigation to services

•1988 First blower door-guided air sealing contract – sub-contract to Synertech Systems – 2 apartment complexes in Syracuse, NY- Bought our first blower door

•1990 Affordable Comfort conference in Philadelphia- Introduced to John Tooley and MAD-AIR – duct leakage – House as System

• 1992 Niagara Mohawk Power Corp – Power Partnership low income weatherization program- pilot project-Performance-based project

• 1992-1996 Syresco – Niagara Mohawk DSM project – electrically heated multi-family attic air sealing and insulation

•• 1993-1995 Participant in Niagara Mohawk Power Partnership

program

• 1996 Power Partnership and DSM programs end

• 1996 Niagara Mohawk promotes building performance contracting through private contractors

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• 2001 Rollout of NYSERDA Home Performance with Energy Star Program

The Home Performance With Energy Star Program

• Consumer Incentives– Low interest unsecured loan – currently 5.99%– 10% incentive for cash customers– 50% subsidy up to $5000 for income qualified customers

• Can be combined with low interest loan for certain credit qualified customers

• Contractor Incentives– Whole house audit incentive – currently 5% of first $10,000 in

sales– General contractor incentive -2% of total contract price– 0% interest lease for purchase of equipment with forgiveness of

half of lease payments – Co-op advertising program – 25% of advertising costs up to

$10,000

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Program StructureThe Contractor View

• Contractor Participation Requirements• Building Performance Institute (BPI) certification

– Contracting company must be certified– At least one Building Analyst-I certified technician and one Shell

Specialist II-certified technician• All work done to BPI standards• Pre- and post- testing required on all jobs

– Combustion health and safety tests– Blower door tests when more than 15% of shell is insulated

• Records must be kept of all test results• NYSERDA and BPI does QA/QC yearly

Lead Sources2003

Total $3,421,264 100%Telemarketing $651,648 19.0%Referral $545,392 15.9%Yellow Pages $473,513 13.8%Prev Customer $385,952 11.3%Home Show $270,847 7.9%Prev Customer Referral $237,218 6.9%Radio $174,566 5.1%Real Estate Referral $141,171 4.1%Job Site $101,817 3.0%Salesman Self-Generating $90,501 2.6%NYSERDA $75,476 2.2%Community Development $49,058 1.4%Direct Mail $48,663 1.4%TV $38,869 1.1%Showroom $36,270 1.1%Other $31,105 0.9%Employee Referral $30,983 0.9%Internet $30,915 0.9%Newspaper $7,300 0.2%

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Gwen Davis Project

Gwen Davis ProjectDrainage Solution

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Gwen Davis ProjectCrawlspace Insulation

Gwen Davis ProjectFurnace Replacement

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George Panuthos Project

George Panuthos ProjectPet Door

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George Panuthos ProjectSump Pump

George Panuthos ProjectCAZ Zone

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George Panuthos ProjectCrawlspace

George Panuthos ProjectAttic

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George Panuthos ProjectBathroom Vents

George Panuthos ProjectAttic Hatch

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The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

• The Good• We are doing the right thing – treating the whole house• Opportunity to upsell the job – increased revenues• Customers are more satisfied – increased referral business• Program consumer incentives• Program contractor incentives

• The Bad• Increased overhead associated with BPI certification and Home

Performance with Energy Star Program– Reporting and record-keeping requirements– Cost of pre- and post-testing– Cost of BPI certification

• Coordinating multi-phase jobs requires more management• Higher percentage of financed work puts strain on cash flow

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• The Ugly• We’ve had to walk away from jobs due to BPI standards• Contracted work has created building tightness issues that have

required additional charges- not all anticipated