Developing a Niche
Home Star’s two tiers raise questions, including: Are there enough certified analysts and companies to do this work? How long will the money last?
The two-tiered approach also exacerbates the differences between companies selling a “single solution” (i.e., new windows or a new HVAC system) versus those offering whole-house solutions based on testing. Consumers want to invest their money wisely, and improvements based on an audit and then tested after the work is complete make sense, Mumford says. He considers Sir Home Improvement a home performance company rather than a home improvement company. He is BPI certified, and for more than a year has had several technicians on staff who have certification.
Other home improvement company owners sense that this is where the homeowner is headed and would like to be there first. But it’s not a matter of just redesigning your website. “We’re still creating an identity,” says Chris Zorzy, president of A & A Services, in Salem, Mass.
Two years ago Zorzy’s company began to differentiate itself in its roofing work with attic ventilation, then developed expertise in air sealing and insulation. Zorzy and two foremen attended a four-day training course offered by Mass Save, an alliance of Massachusetts utilities. Now the company offers energy audits ? performed by BPI-certified technicians using infrared cameras and blower-door testing ? and weatherization services, in addition to replacement windows and insulated siding. His goal, Zorzy says, is to identify A & A Services as an “energy-focused company.” “We are developing a niche,” he says, “and that takes time.”
What It Takes
It also takes accredited personnel; professional-level testing equipment; familiarity with state, local, and utility incentives; and probably financing to cover that portion of the project that incentives do not pay for.
Zarker says that training to achieve BPI accreditation takes six days in the classroom. BPI’s 171 affiliates charge anywhere from $900 to $1,200 for a course. Certification exams are an additional $550. (See “Back to School,” on page 35.) BPI or affiliates now offer training in 20 states. “You could be up and running in 30 days,” Zarker says, “depending on your access.”
To test a house for energy efficiency, you need two essential tools: an infrared camera (minimum $4,000, up to $23,000 for a deluxe, professional camera) and a blower-door system ($3,000 to as much as $15,000 for a triple fan high-power system with automatic controls). Besides these tools, companies seriously in the home performance business are able to make customers aware of all the available incentives ? so someone in your company will need to do some research. Most home performance companies also offer some kind of financing.
All of this makes the ARRA and its tax credits seem simple by comparison, and many window replacement companies point to the stimulus funding as the saving grace of their 2009 sales revenue. Home Star is more complicated, but it also raises issues that home improvement companies are finally being forced to think about. Should window and siding companies become energy companies? Should they offer services such as air sealing and go the whole-house route? “Right now it’s a little between wait-and-see and full steam ahead,” says Joe Talmon, president of Ohio window company Larmco. “So getting a couple people certified is on my mind. But how cumbersome is this going to be? And what kind of promises do you make to the homeowner? What happens if you test out, and don’t have that outcome?”
