Home Energy Inspection Tool

[Ben J. Gromicko]

InterNACHI has developed an online home energy calculator tool to be used by home inspectors at the point-of-sale or as a stand-alone service.

Try it out during the beta test period (no blower door, no infrared necessary)

For a full description of the Home Energy Inspection, go here.

[Bruce A. King]

Looks good but has some bugs.

With a given house score at 83, you can change the attic insulation to less R -value and the score goes up.

The energy cost displayed on the results goes up ok but the score is heading in the wrong direction.

[Bruce A. King]

Other changes needed:

It ignores whatever you put in for Seer etc and changes them back to the default during the report generation.

No choices for glass in doors such as sliding doors.

No choices for extra water heaters.

No lighting questions.

No outdoor spa questions.

Dos not ask if any energy upgrades have been done, seems to use the age of the house and assumes nothing has been done.

Attic insulation assumes fiberglass, has nonstandard thicknesses and no choices for cellulose which has different R value vs thickness ratings. ie. it does not take 15-16 inches of fiberglass insulation to get R38.

Score goes up with less attic insulation as listed in the other post.

[Robert Ernst]

Windows in doors and sliders can be entered as windows.

[Steven C. Waskewicz]

I like the output, but I was forced to take an answer for "windows on the North side"
when there were none...minor nit.

[Ben J. Gromicko]

Originally Posted by bking

Other changes needed:

It ignores whatever you put in for Seer etc and changes them back to the default during the report generation.

No choices for glass in doors such as sliding doors.

No choices for extra water heaters.

No lighting questions.

No outdoor spa questions.

Dos not ask if any energy upgrades have been done, seems to use the age of the house and assumes nothing has been done.

Attic insulation assumes fiberglass, has nonstandard thicknesses and no choices for cellulose which has different R value vs thickness ratings. ie. it does not take 15-16 inches of fiberglass insulation to get R38.

Score goes up with less attic insulation as listed in the other post.

Understood.
This energy calculator is based upon the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy.

They've limited the amount of house data to about 45 pieces of information. It includes some systems, and not others.

It's designed to be quick. And accurate enough to educate the new homeowner about saving energy.

[Brandon Clark]

That's a pretty nice final report! Is anybody offering these as an additional incentive along with their home inspections?

It really puts potential energy savings into perspective when you can see it on paper like that.

My house offers a 24% return on investment for the energy upgrades investment which appears to be about average. I bet 7/10 folks would immediately jump on a stock or other business investment offering a 24% ROI while the same 7/10 would decline going with the suggested energy upgrades. Funny how that kinda stuff works.

[Rick Senior]

You should add in LED bulbs along with CFLs as replacements for incandescent bulbs, we have been installing them as a part of an Efficiency Nova Scotia program, although still expensive people do prefer them.

Rick

[LeRoy D. Holm]

The program does not come close to getting enough data to get a accurate reading for a home, I can not use this and think I will charge some one for an audit.
Not sure what reports people usually put out but I work for a state program and they expect a lot more detail than I get from this.
http://energydistrict.org/

[Gary Farnsworth]

InterNACHI's energy audit plans are done before they are even put to use.

KCPL here in the midwest already has a plan for their customers.

http://www.kansascity.com/2011/12/23...fficiency.html

With utility companies, insulation, HVAC all coming up with their own programs, I think we are too late.

[Ben J. Gromicko]

Originally Posted by lholm

The program does not come close to getting enough data to get a accurate reading for a home, I can not use this and think I will charge some one for an audit.
Not sure what reports people usually put out but I work for a state program and they expect a lot more detail than I get from this.
http://energydistrict.org/

I just did the Home Energy Checkup https://tools.energydistrict.org/ and it's about the same.

The problem is that home buyers are not going through this process, even when it's presented at no cost to them.

The thought in the industry was that if homeowners were provided a way to make do their own audit (not blower door) for free, they would. Turns out, they don't.

Someone needs to do it for them.

Guess who?
home inspectors

[Ben J. Gromicko]

Originally Posted by bclark3

That's a pretty nice final report! Is anybody offering these as an additional incentive along with their home inspections?

It really puts potential energy savings into perspective when you can see it on paper like that.

My house offers a 24% return on investment for the energy upgrades investment which appears to be about average. I bet 7/10 folks would immediately jump on a stock or other business investment offering a 24% ROI while the same 7/10 would decline going with the suggested energy upgrades. Funny how that kinda stuff works.

We're still working on its development. The more feedback we have, the better it will perform, and the more value the homeowner will perceive.

[Ben J. Gromicko]

Originally Posted by rsenior

You should add in LED bulbs along with CFLs as replacements for incandescent bulbs, we have been installing them as a part of an Efficiency Nova Scotia program, although still expensive people do prefer them.

Rick

got it

[Ben J. Gromicko]

Originally Posted by gfarnsworth

InterNACHI's energy audit plans are done before they are even put to use.

KCPL here in the midwest already has a plan for their customers.

http://www.kansascity.com/2011/12/23...fficiency.html

With utility companies, insulation, HVAC all coming up with their own programs, I think we are too late.

Nope.

FACT: Kansas City is one of a thousands entities providing free online energy audit tools for homeowners.

Despite that fact, there's very little use in those tools, and not enough home energy upgrade work being done.

There's only one entity who can deliver a energy assessment tool to home buyers. That entity just happens to be the largest body of professional inspectors on Earth.

The timing is perfect for http://www.nachi.org/energy-inspection/.

[Ben J. Gromicko]

Originally Posted by bclark3

That's a pretty nice final report! Is anybody offering these as an additional incentive along with their home inspections?

It really puts potential energy savings into perspective when you can see it on paper like that.

My house offers a 24% return on investment for the energy upgrades investment which appears to be about average. I bet 7/10 folks would immediately jump on a stock or other business investment offering a 24% ROI while the same 7/10 would decline going with the suggested energy upgrades. Funny how that kinda stuff works.

Just spoke with an InterNACHI inspector who has sold 8 so far.
http://www.nachi.org/energy-inspection/