2009 Go Green Virginia Regional Forum, Roanoke
Round Table 5: Energy Audits
Presenter: Annette Osso, LEED AP, President, VSBN
P.O. Box 6539
Arlington, VA 22206
www.vsbn.org 703-486-2966
1. Residential Energy Audit
· First step in a home energy retrofit process.
· Energy audits alone save zero energy and reduce zero carbon emissions.
· Promoting energy audit activity can help retain or create jobs, however, marketing and quality assurance are important elements to consider.
2. Types of Energy Audits
· Walk through audit
· Comprehensive audit
· Audit with additional services, including house tightening, servicing furnace or heat pump, water/mold remediation.
3. Accelerating audit/retrofit activity in Virginia
Latent demand has built up in the state. Audit companies with trained or untrained personnel are springing up with no requirements for licensing, training or certification of workers. Local and state governments have no clearcut way of measuring reduction of energy use and carbon emissions without a coherent program that includes training, certification, oversight, and post-retrofit reporting of energy savings.
Potential local government role in supporting increased energy reduction and job creation in the residential sector could include:
· Creation of localized “home performance” type program with training and certification of auditors and contractors, oversight of work, metrics and recordkeeping, marketing, and consumer incentives.
· Possible vehicle for these activities – Home Performance with ENERGY STAR Program.
Potential state government role in supporting increased energy reduction and job creation in residential sector could include:
· State level support for a consistent training and certification program of auditors and contractors.
· State level oversight or quality assurance to help ensure that verifiable audits and retrofit work is being carried out in order to protect consumers and obtain accurate metrics.
· State level marketing of the value of energy audits and home retrofits and the promotion of certified auditors.
· State level creation of financial incentives for home audit and retrofits to save energy, reduce carbon, create jobs, and help meet the state Energy Plan goals.
· Possible vehicle for these activities – Home Performance with ENERGY STAR Program.
4. American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009
(Please reference the information in the 2rw Consultants, Inc. document)
5. Resources
www.eere.energy.gov/buildings and www.energystar.gov
www.recovery.gov
www.stimulus.virginia.gov
EPA’s Rapid Deployment Energy Efficiency Program Planning Guide
(www.epa.gov/cleanrgy/energy-resources/ee_toolkit.html)
Home Performance with ENERGY STAR Information
(www.energystar.gov – look at the Home Performance section)
Maryland Energy Administration’s Home Performance with ENERGY STAR
Website (www.mdhomeperformance.org)
Virginia Energy Division of the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy (www.dmme.virginia.gov) – Al Christopher, Director, Energy Division