Building a highly efficient custom home from the ground up is much different than upgrading an existing home to the same level.
When Dan Hovis, founder and president of Hovis Custom Builders and vice chair of NEFBA’s E-Council, met Curt Kinder, an electrical engineer, they discovered a common interest – finding a way to bring the energy-efficiency benefits of new construction standards to owners of older homes.
They formed a new company, GreenerSolutions Air Conditioning, a company focused on deep energy retrofits of existing homes.
The company’s focus is based on the home performance contractor business model, a model new to Northeast Florida but one that blends building science, energy auditing, contracting and commissioning into one company.
An energy-auditing trained contractor conducts a comprehensive assessment to identify opportunities to improve the energy efficiency and comfort of the home. After completing the home assessment, the contractor discusses the results with the homeowner and provides a scope of work detailing recommended cost-effective improvements.
If the homeowner agrees to the scope of work, the contractor works alone or with other subcontractors, to complete the specified home improvements. After the work is completed, the contractor conducts a second assessment to ensure that the improvements were installed according to best practice standards and the home’s performance has actually been improved.
Hovis was one of the first builders in the area to become an Energy Star Partner builder, a BuildSmart partner with Florida Power & Light, and a Green Build partner with JEA and NEFBA.
“For new construction, we have the advantage of building energy efficiency into the home during the planning stage,” Hovis said. “With older homes, any number of things may need to be addressed, and only a deep audit including blower door tests and load calculations can give specific information that leads to real savings.”
Hovis recommends a deep audit to save energy and reduce electric bills any time, but especially before making major system purchases or remodeling.
“A major problem in older homes is air infiltration,” Hovis said. “It is absolutely necessary to seal the home’s envelope to see the maximum benefit of many other improvements. Sealing the attic and the vents is in itself expensive, but when properly sealed, you may be able to reduce the size of the air-conditioner by 30 to 40 percent. And, that’s good to know before you replace your air-conditioner.”
Kinder said Greener Solutions looks at the home as a system with energy centers.
“A customer looks at the utility bill and usually has no idea what elements in the home contribute to the bill,” Kinder said. “By looking at the energy centers and analyzing them separately, we can prepare a report that lists the work to be done and prioritizes the work by amount of energy saved. We gather as much information as we can before we visit the home. We generate a report that can be 12 to 18 pages long. Then it’s up to the homeowner to evaluate the impact.”
Hovis said one customer was happy when his electric bill dropped from $800 a month to $350 after investing $25,000 in retrofits, but the monthly savings on the bill was not the only benefit. The customer reported being even happier about how much more comfortable the home was after the retrofits.
An in-depth energy audit is not free, and pricing typically starts at $200. For homeowners interested in deep benefits, however, it’s a necessary part of the process. And, any audit is only as good as the implementation of the recommendations and the follow up after implementation.
Visit NEFBA’s E-Council Web site for more information about the business of energy and water efficiency-www.ecounciljax.org/.