Independence Energy Homes Joins the Team to Provide Energy Consultation

Last week I was getting nervous about our ability to incorporate all of the energy efficient features of the home in the most cost effective manner possible. I have also been pouring over other case study’s that contain very nice energy modeling data that I craved on our homes. I finally bit the bullet and hired a consulting firm specializing in energy efficient design - Independence Energy Homes.

It turns out that Adam from IEH has been following out progress and reached out to me last week just as I was really craving more energy knowledge on our project. I called him up and within a few days we had a signed contract. The official press release will be out in a few days but out blog subscribers get the advanced notice here. I’ve also added them to our official team roster on the left column of the site.

Today, we had our kickoff meeting as the first part of IEH’s size step process outlined below:

1. Kickoff Meeting - Discuss and agree upon goals and clarify the scope of the energy consultation process.
2. Energy Modeling - A complete energy model of the home is performed and possible improvements over the baseline are listed.
3. Generate Recommendations - The energy model and list of improvements is refined and submitted according to budget and goals.
4. Utility Bill Forecast and Financial Incentive Summary - Annual energy usage and costs are calculated and financial incentives are researched.
5. Renewable Sizing and Payback Analysis - Renewable power sources such as solar thermal and PV are sized for the home and payback periods are provided.
6. Design Change Implementation - Implement changes with builder and architect.

Now that the kickoff meeting is done, things should move relatively quickly. We are aiming to have energy modeling results and recommendations for the home back early next week and should be able to wrap up the entire process by the end of the month. I am very excited to see what results from IEH’s analysis. Their recommendations should be applicable not only to this project but future projects of ours or anyone building a home in the Delaware Valley region.

Independence Energy Homes Links:

HVAC/Energy Design Case Study’s
Sample Energy Design Report (pdf)