Michigan Homebuilders Training: Integrating Building Codes, ENERGY STAR, and Building America Case Study Documenting an Integrated Workshop Approach -

Michigan Homebuilders Training:Integrating Building Codes, ENERGY STAR, and Building America

Case Study Documenting an Integrated Workshop Approach - 2007

Overview

BackgroundPartnersWorkshop ResultsRecommendations & Conclusions

MI Homebuilders Training - Background

Goal of integrating the following subjects for Michigan Homebuilders:

Michigan Uniform Energy Code

ENERGY STAR homes & products

Federal tax credits for new home construction

Building America best practices


Project Objectives:

Emphasize the state residential energy code in relation to other building standardsIncrease # of builders building ENERGY STAR homes & using ENERGY STAR productsIncrease # of homes built to the federal tax credits standard Increase use of Building America best practices


Streamlined Project Objectives:De-mystify the various construction standards (state code, ENERGY STAR, LEED for Homes etc.)Demonstrate that energy efficient homes can be constructed in a cost-effective manner beneficial to builders and homeowners


Methodology:Workshop format: 6 half-day Michigan sessionsPresentation showing 3 different home styles achieving: 1) state energy code compliance, 2) ENERGY STAR certification & 3) federal tax credit qualification


Methodology:

Presentation also included Building America best practices

ENERGY STAR products were emphasized throughout

Michigan focus with all construction examples

Energy Use Comparison

Venture Incorporated Pontiac, MISource Energy Use: Building America vs. Standard

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

Standard 3 Bedroom Building America 3 Bedroom

10

^6

Btu

/ye

ar

Heating Cooling Hot Water Lighting Other

Exterior1” layer of XPS insulating sheathingseams taped

Air Flow Retarder System

MI Homebuilders Training: Partners

Michigan Energy Office plus:Michigan Energy Demonstration Centers (nonprofit education organizations)Building America partner Venture, Inc.Home Energy Raters (workshop presenters)Homebuilders AssociationProfessional Program Evaluator

MI Homebuilders Training: Results

7 sessions completedGeographic spread: Detroit area (2 sessions), Ann Arbor (2 sessions), Lansing, Grand Rapids, Marquette167 participantsPre-surveys completed before the sessions (assess current building practices & knowledge)


Post-surveys completed after the session (gather info. on participant reactions to the workshops)

Home Energy Raters provided practical info. to building professionals


Evaluation included:Assessment of the operation - delivery of the program (review of project materials – interviews with project managers and staff)Estimations of potential energy savings as a result of the project (qualitative methods)


Evaluation:

Program was well administered

Deliverables within budget

Despite concentrated delivery time, sessions were completed as planned

“Front-end” presentation preparation from SEO was helpful


Evaluation:

Workshop presenters exhibited good experience in the field

Project managers attended sessions to monitor content quality


Attendee breakdown:

113 – direct housing construction ties

54 – related professionals (gov., nonprofit, utilities etc.)


Pre-survey results:

Previously built an ENERGY STAR home: 26% (8% built more than 1)

Had a HERS rating on their home: 30% (8% had more than 1)

Always or usually offer extra EE options: 62%


Pre-survey results:Are very familiar with the Michigan energy code: 25%Are somewhat familiar with the Michigan energy code: 50%Know the requirements of the federal tax credit for new homes: 23%Applied for a federal tax credit: 19%


Pre-survey results:

Relatively low pre-existing level of knowledge & experience w/ advanced EE construction (suggesting even lower levels of knowledge from other builders)


Post-survey results:Positive assessment of workshops from attendeesPurpose of training was clear: 93%Met or exceeded expectations: 96%Very useful or fairly useful: 97%Learned new building science info: 86%


Post-survey results:

Most important finding: 95% said they would apply info learned to their own building practices


Energy Savings Impact:

Training programs present challenges for estimating energy savings impact

Hypothetical scenario: ½ of the attendees responsible for 3 additional ENERGY STAR rated homes following the training (conservative assumption)



Energy savings per home: estimates provided from HERS presenters with software modeling

Average estimated annual energy cost savings per medium sized home built to ENERGY STAR standards: $700

83 attendees X 3 homes X $700 = $174,300 annual savings


Energy Savings Impact:Conservative estimation suggests 1 year of resulting energy savings is more than twice the project budget cost ($74,000)Translates to about ½ year payback period for the projectAssuming a 40 yr. lifetime of a new home, lifetime energy savings are approx. $7 million at current energy prices – exceeding project costs by almost 100 fold



This all assumes no “spill-over” savings potentially resulting from the training beyond the 3 new homes per 83 attendees

MI Homebuilders Training: Conclusions

• In the absence of actual impact evaluation results, a conservative projection of energy savings far exceeds the project costs

• HERS providers/workshop presenters provided valuable insights to evaluator regarding:

• perceived marketplace obstacles• effective EE features to promote to customers,

and • suggestions of how to increase the # of ENERGY

STAR rated new homes

MI Homebuilders Training: Recommendations

• The evaluation suggested this type of training approach should be reproduced on a larger statewide scale reaching more builders

• Couple the training effort with utility sponsored financial incentives to builders and/or home buyers

• Concentrate future training sessions during builder’s off-season

• Diversify future training to accommodate builders new to the EE concept and seasoned EE experienced builders

• Consider having the program pay for one home energy rating for each builder attending a workshop

MI Homebuilders Training: Conclusions

• Project was well-designed & delivered w/ responsible administration & good quality control

• Existing level of EE knowledge of builders attending was fairly low – suggesting builders who did NOT attend would feature a lower level of EE knowledge

• Attendees rated the training very high

• Using conservative assumptions, the project will likely result in total energy savings far in excess of the costs of the project

Finished Cape Cod

Michigan Homebuilders Training:

Integrating Building Codes, ENERGY STAR, and Building America

Documents

Michigan Homebuilders Training: Integrating Building Codes, ENERGY STAR, and Building America Case Study Documenting an Integrated Workshop Approach -