Offering Energy Analyses Can Create More Work for You

By Donna Shirey, CGR, CGP, CAPS Remodelers are a unique group of business people who are innovative, persistent and creative in their approach to business. Although it is important to stay focused on the core business, it is becoming evident there is a need to diversify. Diversification can create stability. With the economy in a constant state of fluctuation (the story of the last two and a half years), it is nice to be able to identify a new “division†of your company. With this in mind, my company now offers energy analysis for existing homes. This concept is introduced to clients during our initial interview. I ask probing questions about their energy bills and how comfortable they are in their home. I find people will “live†with uncomfortable (too hot or too cold) places in their homes. By asking probing questions, the truth comes out. They have high energy costs, drafts, noise and a variety of other “ailments†in the home. These are uncomfortable things clients think they have to live with because they do not know a solution. Our work in homes is becoming more scientific through the use of building science. I have formed a strategic partnership with a member of Home Performance Washington, a membership organization of residential energy professionals and service providers dedicated to the whole-house energy retrofit industry in Washington state. My firm partners with a Home Performance Washington member who completes an energy analysis on a home. The member does a great job of identifying air leakage through walls, roof connections and HVAC ducts. Its team members look at the furnace and hot water tank because they can be energy hogs. They then create a report that lists what can be done to improve the energy efficiency of the home. Items are listed in the order of priority (health and safety issues first) with a dollar amount to make repairs. I sell the concept of energy analysis, sign a contract with the homeowner and then work with my Home Performance Washington partner to coordinate the analysis. Sometimes my firm completes the repairs and energy-efficiency upgrades, and sometimes the Home Performance Washington partner does. If the partner does the work, I manage the organizational items and they add a “bonus†for me. We have a great working relationship and, generally, it leads to extra work for them and for me. Check in your area whether you have an organization of companies that perform energy analysis, like Home Performance Washington. They are a group of like-minded companies who believe in the value of saving energy in existing homes. And remember, diversification leads to stability. Donna Shirey is president of Shirey Contracting Inc., Issaquah, Wash., and a member of Qualified Remodeler’s editorial advisory board.