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In 2014 when the original article was written our current electronically connected world didn’t exist. One aspect missing from the original article was the vital need for reliably consistent and accurate information to base an energy project’s payback period or ROI* upon. There are many ways to present the findings of a residential energy audit or HERS** rating but it has not been possible to determine if the information taken from the residence is accurate… until now.
The introduction of REMCheck software at the 2019 RESNET conference makes reviewing the information contained in a residential energy audit or rating simple, with 176 instant data reviews performed by the software plus an additional 400+ visual checks organized and queued for easy quality assurance review. When the residential energy auditor or home energy rater also uses the companion hybrid app, REMCollect, in conjunction with REMCheck then the field data collection process is automated and accurate as well.
Why does accuracy and reliability in a home energy audit or rating matter? Here are just a few of the reasons:
- Many government and energy utility rebate programs pay monetary incentives for making a home, apartment or other residential building energy efficient but don’t have a ‘quality check’ system to determine if the field information and subsequent energy reports are even reasonably accurate.
- Lenders, private investors and crowd funding programs rely on the accuracy of the information contained in an energy audit or home energy rating report to base their loans, mortgages and investments upon. If the information is bad or incomplete then the predicted energy and monetary savings will likely fall short of expectations, thereby hurting the project and possibly even convincing the investors and programs to cease.
- A reliable degree of accuracy in a home energy audit or rating report also makes the inclusion of site-based energy systems, such as a solar or wind installation, much easier to calculate and include in a project. If the original information about the residence is inaccurate then all subsequent reports and calculations will also be inaccurate as well.
Many investors, especially institutional or national funds, have literally trillions of dollars to invest in worthy programs and funding deep energy upgrades for residences could and should provide a reliable ROI. However, the current chaotic state of the residential energy improvement industry has the larger investors waiting on the sidelines until they can have a reasonable expectation of accuracy in the findings and reports resulting from residential energy improvement projects.
REMCheck and REMCollect offer the added dimension of reliable accuracy contained both in the reports and in the projected energy savings to be produced by the residential energy efficiency and clean energy projects. As the larger institutional and government program administrators understand the higher level of accuracy available through the REMCheck/REMCollect screening programs then they will begin investing in them.
It is as simple as that! Reliable and predictable energy savings will lead to larger investments into residential energy improvement projects and help create much needed jobs plus more energy-efficient and comfortable housing stock. More and more people are realizing that there can be positive returns on properly implemented energy improvement projects, if the information used for that project is trustworthy.
If you are interested in learning more about how REMCheck and REMCollect will work for you and your projects then please visit: Hathmore.com
*Return on Investment
**HERS – Home Energy Rating System: For more information please visit https://www.hersindex.com/
Eco-Friendly Improvements Link from Bankrate:
https://www.bankrate.com/loans/home-improvement/eco-friendly-improvements/