ENERGY STAR Version 3 white paper

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Permalink Reply by Stan Kuhn on December 4, 2010 at 8:40pm

I'm feeling like builders aren't going to want to deal with the extra work and cost, and will get out, since the code house will be like today's E.S. house.

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Permalink Reply by Allison A. Bailes III on December 5, 2010 at 5:58am

Well, you know what they say, Stan - There are two kinds of people: those who divide everyone into two groups and those who don't. So, there are two kinds of builders: those who build great houses and have no problem passing ENERGY STAR and those who don't fully buy in. The former group will stick with ENERGY STAR, tweaking their processes where they have to.

The latter have just been coasting to this point, barely qualifying their houses qualified with Indices of 83, 84, 85. That group will have to buy into the program with Version 3 and overhaul their processes, make some changes in materials, and perhaps find a new HVAC contractor. They won't be able to rely on their rater to do all the work and hand them a certificate in the end the way they can now. If they still aren't willing to buy in to the program, they'll either have to drop out or hope they can find a rater and provider who let things slide, opening themselves up to liability in the process.

In an early webinar on V3, Sam Rashkin said he expected a lot of attrition with stricter guidelines. It'll be interesting to see how it all shakes out.

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