High efficiency overhaul;
An in-depth look at the whole-home approach

BY KARA RODGERS

When it comes to providing customers with more comfortable homes and lower energy costs, a number of contractors are turning to the whole-home or whole-house approach. This comprehensive method of energy retrofitting examines how improvements throughout the home can work together to provide the best results in comfort and energy efficiency.

Whole-home overview

The whole-home approach looks at a home as a whole, rather than at individual components such as heating, air conditioning or plumbing. With this approach, technicians interview the homeowner to understand home performance needs. They then inspect the physical structure of the home from comfort, energy and thermal moisture performance perspectives, run diagnostic tests to gauge the consumption of electricity and gas and generally examine the entire envelope.

“After any safety issues have been identified and addressed, the next step is to look at the envelope of the home,” said Angela Hines, vice president of Rubino Service Company, which employs the whole-home approach. “We use a blower door to see what kind of leakage the home has. We also measure out the home and assess the whole property from insulation, air conditioning and heating units to water heaters and duct work. With all this information, we are able to gather a true picture of the home and provide recommendations for energy improvements.”

The Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program, an initiative that provides contractors with the tools to create effective whole-home programs, claims homeowners can save 20 percent or more on utility bills through whole-home improvements.

“Using this method, we can go into customers’ homes, find a way to reduce energy consumption and make a house healthier and more comfortable. Taking the whole-home approach results in a higher level of savings for the homeowner,” said Fred Hutchinson, CEO of Hutchinson Plumbing Heating Cooling, which uses the Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program to assess customers’ homes.

Water heating and the whole-home approach

Water heating is the second largest energy use in homes, accounting for 17 percent of residential energy consumption1. Water heater assessment and replacement consequently takes a prominent role in the whole-home approach. Because this method tightens a home’s entire envelope, ENERGY STAR water heaters have the potential for even greater efficiency in a home that has had a whole-home energy retrofit.

Hutchinson Plumbing Heating Cooling includes the potential savings associated with greater efficiency as a part of its whole-home audit, showing customers the projected savings for each recommended renovation. They can offer customers a seven percent savings if they upgrade to an ENERGY STAR model.

“In order to show energy savings for the home, an upgraded water heater must be proposed,” said Hines. “Proposing a like-for-like standard water heater will not show any energy savings, so we always propose higher efficiency models.”

A number of homes also have orphaned water heaters. These units are vented through a chimney that was originally intended to be used by both a water heater and a furnace. But, in the case of an orphaned water heater, the furnace has been replaced with a direct vent unit, leaving the water heater as the only appliance venting into the chimney. This has the potential to cause drafts and discomfort in the home.
According to Mike Rogers, senior vice president of GreenHomes America, a U.S. home performance contracting provider, the best option is to replace these orphaned water heaters with higher efficiency units. Doing so can reduce the potential for venting issues, help eliminate the drafts and increase energy savings. As with any installation, it is important to follow all manufacturer instructions and local and federal codes (for example, the National Fuel Gas Code NFPA #54).

“With the whole-home approach, a contractor may recommend multiple solutions for energy improvements to the home,” said Dave Ahlberg, a product manager in the energy efficiency department at MidAmerican Energy Company. “If the recommendation is to replace a furnace or air conditioner, and if the homeowner also has a water heater that is more than 10 years old, all three can be replaced at the same time. If a single contractor is able to do the work, a homeowner may be able to schedule all installations at once. That’s an added convenience for both the homeowner and contractor.”

Adopting a whole-home approach

The whole-home approach benefits homeowners, as it provides a higher level of comfort and savings, but it is also beneficial to the businesses that adopt it. “We are growing in all of our locations, while most of the businesses in residential contracting in the last two years are struggling to stay alive,” Rogers said. “We’ve seen a lot less velocity in the home buying business. People are staying put. They want to be comfortable and make their houses healthier, while saving money at the same time. This has enabled our business to grow.”

According to Rogers, going whole-home is invaluable. “It’s absolutely worth embracing with both arms,” Rogers said. “But you have to commit to it. Unless you’re willing to transform your business, the whole home approach isn’t going to work for you.”

“At first we struggled with bringing our technicians on board,” Hutchinson said. “It took a while to get everyone to understand that the science behind home performance matters. Once we moved to the approach, a lot of mechanics for other companies weren’t as busy as ours; ours were making more money.”

Hutchinson Plumbing Heating Cooling, Rubino Service Company and GreenHomes America have sought and achieved certification from the Building Performance Institute (BPI), a national standards development and credential organization for residential energy efficiency retrofit work. BPI has developed additional certifications and resources to increase the scope of services and to educate customers about the multiple benefits of comprehensive retrofits.

“Educating the homeowner and showing them how their house works gives them the confidence they need to move forward with recommended improvements,” according to Rogers.

“You have to explain the benefits in monthly savings,” Hutchinson said. “When we first started with this approach, about 20 percent of our customers were choosing the ENERGY STAR whole-home approach. At the end of last year, 72 percent of them were choosing ENERGY STAR. It’s all about education.” l
1.ENERGY STAR Water Heater Market Profile, September 2010

Kara Rodgers is Natural Gas senior program manager for CEE and directs a three-person natural gas team responsible for guiding and growing CEE’s initiatives focused on natural gas savings.
For more information on ENERGY STAR, visit www.energystar.gov or call 1-888-STAR-YES.