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GOAL:  6 million new green-collar jobs.

Efficiency First is a nonprofit trade association that unites

• Home Performance contractors,
• residential energy consultants,
• building product manufacturers
• and other key members of America's growing green-collar workforce

Efficiency First advocates using the federal Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program as a standard model for efficiency retrofitting, including third-party verification. National contractor and auditor certification and accreditation should be mandated through RESNET (Residential Energy Services Network), BPI (Building Performance Institute) or other qualified accreditation agencies who conduct independent, third-party quality assurance on the work performed.

Together they intend to escalate the fight against global warming. Efficiency First was founded in 2009 to represent its members in public policy discussions at the state and national levels, to promote the benefits of Home Performance retrofitting, and to help our industry grow to meet unprecedented demand for quality home retrofitting services.

Our mission is to collaborate with legislators, government agencies and professional organizations in the advancement of a performance-based market for energy efficiency that will enable rapid growth in our industry while maintaining profitability and quality of service.

"Our goal is to see a steady run rate of
10 million home retrofits per year by 2020."

According to the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, residential buildings alone generate over 20 percent of carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel consumption in the United States.

Because the vast majority of America's 128 million homes do not operate anywhere near peak efficiency, large-scale retrofitting of existing residential buildings will play a key role in achieving significant greenhouse gas reductions, while lowering residential energy bills, improving indoor air quality and thermal comfort, reducing our dependence on foreign oil, and creating millions of new jobs for American workers.

The home retrofitting industry can achieve a 25% or greater decrease in non-renewable energy consumption by America's housing sector, leading to a 5% decrease in the country's overall carbon emissions - equivalent to taking half of all current passenger cars off the road.

The industry will employ at least 1.25 million American workers directly, and with the inclusion of manufacturing and other supporting industries, will generate up 6 million new green-collar jobs.

Technical Specs for Energy Star Qualified Homes

Homes built under 2001 T-24 code had until December 31, 2006 to complete construction.

All homes completed on or after January 1, 2007 must be 15% more energy efficient than the latest T-24 code (2005 T-24). Homes that were enrolled in a utility rebate program by December 31, 2005 had until January 1, 2007 to be qualified using the old ENERGY STAR guidelines. All homes enrolled in a program after January 1, 2006 must be qualified using the new guidelines and have a Thermal Bypass Checklist inspection. However, for the period January 1, 2007 to June 30, 2007, homes in this category will not be denied the ENERGY STAR label due to non-compliance with requirements of this additional inspection. As of July 1, 2007, these homes must pass the Thermal Bypass Inspection to earn the ENERGY STAR label.

The current ENERGY STAR Qualified Homes guidelines require that homes be 15% more energy efficient than the code under which they are permitted and be inspected by a CEC certified third party HERS rater. Sampling is allowed and shall follow the CEC HERS protocols.

Energy Star Qualified Homes Guidelines

The ENERGY STAR Qualified Homes guidelines requirements also include:

• Verification of adherence to the EPA ENERGY STAR Thermal Bypass Checklist/CEC Quality Installation Insulation merged protocols.
• All cooling equipment shall be sized according to the latest editions of the ACCA Manuals J and S, ASHRAE 2001 Handbook of Fundamentals, or the equivalent computation procedure.
  • Maximum oversizing of air conditioners is 15%.
  • Equipment oversizing calculations shall use 99.0% and 1.0% outdoor design temperatures as published in the ASHRAE Handbook of Fundamentals for most representative city. However, a prevailing outdoor design temperature used by the local HVAC industry that can be documented with available weather data is an acceptable alternative. The Indoor temperature shall be 75ºF for cooling and 70ºF for heating.
  • Infiltration rate shall be selected as tight.
  • Indoor and outdoor coils shall be matched in accordance with ARI standards.
• Ductwork leakage must be less than 6 cfm to outdoors per 100 square feet of conditioned space, though duct leakage tests can be waived if ducts and equipment are located in conditioned space and the home's envelope leakage is less than 0.25 CFM 50 per square foot of building envelope. (Meeting T-24 tight duct standard of 6% or less leakage of total air flow satisfies this requirement.)

Additional requirements bulleted above can be used to achieve the 15% performance margin. EPA also recommends, but does not require, that ductwork be located in conditioned space with a minimum of R-4 insulation to prevent condensation and moisture problems. Updated on February 28, 2007

FURTHER INFORMATION:

California Building Performance Contractors Association

CBPCA trains and certifies contractors for a better approach to energy efficiency, safety, comfort, and value. California Building Performance Association is a non-profit organization supporting energy efficiency and the residential contracting industry.

Utility Company Programs for Energy Star Ratings

Advanced Home Program by Southern California Gas Company

Performance Programs. Projects qualify when they exceed 2005 Title-24 compliance by 15%. California Energy Star® New Homes Program SoCal Gas Company

Advanced Home Program by San Diego Gas & Electric

The California ENERGY STAR® New Homes Program is a performance based program designed to encourage builders to construct single family and multi-family buildings that are energy efficient. San Diego Gas & Electric

SoCal Edison

California Energy Star New Homes Program Recognized as a National Leader in building conservation. SoCal Edison

PG&E ENERGY STAR® Qualified New Homes Program

PG&E works with builders to ensure that ENERGY STAR New Homes exceed California's rigorous energy efficiency PG&E

HP's got the industry's first, along with smart ways to put the cool on energy costs from the den to the desktop and datacenter. With a goal to reduce our global energy use 20 percent by 2010, HP is helping by greening their products.

By making environmental responsibility an engineering priority, HP has been able to design high-performance systems that are built to last, yet put efficiency first.

ENERGY STAR® qualified HP products:

• HP computers
• HP monitors
• HP televisions
• HP printing and imaging products

Green Computer Features from HP

The HP business desktop PCs have sleep settings preset to save power when not in use and adjustable fan speeds to maximize operating efficiency -- so don't turn these green features off!

They also include temperature sensors to monitor heat output and fan use, helping maintain the life of your desktop.

HP's new desktop PC's with 80% efficient power supplies are so ahead of the curve they actually beat the July 2007 deadline set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its tougher new ENERGY STAR® 4.0 standards.

In the average commercial office building, as much as 15 percent of the energy bill is driven by technology-product power supplies. The optional 80% efficient power supplies for select HP business desktop PCs reduce wasted power and deliver significantly more efficiency than previous power supplies.

HP flat panel monitors meet demanding emissions, ergonomic and environmental guidelines set by TCO 03 for quality and environmental certification, as well as European Union Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHs) directives for materials. They include advanced power management features that comply with current ENERGY STAR guidelines. HP and World Wildlife Fund-US (WWF-US) conduct a joint initiative to reduce HP's greenhouse gas emissions from its operating facilities worldwide, educate and inspire others to adopt best practices, and use HP technology in conservation efforts around the world.

HP's got the industry's first, along with smart ways to put the cool on energy costs from the den to the desktop and datacenter. With a goal to reduce our global energy use 20 percent by 2010, HP is helping by greening their products.

By making environmental responsibility an engineering priority, HP has been able to design high-performance systems that are built to last, yet put efficiency first.

ENERGY STAR® qualified HP products:

• HP computers
• HP monitors
• HP televisions
• HP printing and imaging products

Green Computer Features from HP

The HP business desktop PCs have sleep settings preset to save power when not in use and adjustable fan speeds to maximize operating efficiency -- so don't turn these green features off!

They also include temperature sensors to monitor heat output and fan use, helping maintain the life of your desktop.

HP's new desktop PC's with 80% efficient power supplies are so ahead of the curve they actually beat the July 2007 deadline set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its tougher new ENERGY STAR® 4.0 standards.

In the average commercial office building, as much as 15 percent of the energy bill is driven by technology-product power supplies. The optional 80% efficient power supplies for select HP business desktop PCs reduce wasted power and deliver significantly more efficiency than previous power supplies.

HP flat panel monitors meet demanding emissions, ergonomic and environmental guidelines set by TCO 03 for quality and environmental certification, as well as European Union Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHs) directives for materials. They include advanced power management features that comply with current ENERGY STAR guidelines. HP and World Wildlife Fund-US (WWF-US) conduct a joint initiative to reduce HP's greenhouse gas emissions from its operating facilities worldwide, educate and inspire others to adopt best practices, and use HP technology in conservation efforts around the world.