PCBC 2010 - Energy Retrofit Series

Energy Retrofit Series

Friday, June 11, 2010
Moscone Center

Energy efficient retrofitting can reduce home energy use by up to 40 percent per home, increase real estate values and help create jobs. There are now many local, State and Federal programs that provide marketing, incentives and financing to homeowners and training and certification to contractors. Learn how to use these programs to your advantage and examine how you can translate existing building techniques, technologies and business skills to enhance and expand your current business model.

10:00–10:45am
Energy Retrofitting
- An Overview of Programs, Incentives and Financing
Retrofitting existing housing can slash consumer energy expenditures and increase real estate values, but lack of information and capital can stymie homeowners’ good intentions. Rebates to lower the costs, a mechanism to alleviate high up-front borrowing costs and a simplified retrofit process will help stimulate the market. The federal Home Star program, the Investor-owned Utilities’ programs, and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funded programs throughout California provide consumer rebates and quality control. Improved tools for financing and repayment through existing billing mechanisms will improve opportunities for capturing retrofit work.

Guaranteed you will learn:
• Basics of the federal “Cash for Caulkers” Home Star Program and California retrofit programs that will engage the retrofit market
• Available financing choices including Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs

11:00–11:45am
Recovery through Energy Retrofit – Training and Certification
Energy efficient retrofitting can reduce home energy use by up to 40 percent per home, reduce home energy bills, lower associated greenhouse gas emissions and put Americans back to work. But despite the benefits, barriers exist including the lack of skilled workers to expand efficiency retrofit programs. A large reserve of ready labor in need of moderate retraining and proper certification can be repurposed to enter the retrofit market. Special attention needs to be paid to combustion safety training as well as lead paint training. Community-based training programs, the nationwide Building Performance Institute and NAHB’s Home Builders Institute (HBI), HERS providers, and utilities are all providing retrofit training and certification.

Guaranteed you will learn:
• Requirements/training/certification needed to perform the work for the various programs
• Resources and providers of training

12:00–12:45pm
From Production Housing to Full-service Building Performance Contractor
Most current retrofit businesses serve only a small niche – windows, HVAC, insulation. Few businesses actually understand whole-business systems and the science and techniques behind comprehensive energy efficiency improvements. Who better than production builders to translate existing building techniques, technologies and business skills to enhance and expand their current business model? The public sector is jump starting new energy efficiency markets, but the private sector will develop improved business and finance models. The country currently retrofits about 200,000 homes a year, spread across publicly subsidized programs such as low-income weatherization and private homes. The challenge of the Obama administration is to retrofit one million buildings per year! Do you have what it takes to go down the retrofit road?

Guaranteed you will learn:
• How production builders have translated work in new construction to the retrofit market

Participate in the learning opportunities at the Exhibitorium with your PCBC Exhibits Pass.

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