Biggest Threats to Home Energy Audit Industry 2020

In this issue of the Reschexpert blog we want to discuss the largest threats to Do It Yourself Rescheck Creators and everyone creating DIY Manual J, Manual S, Manual D either for themselves, their construction company, or for others.  Several items are prevalent when assessing what the main threats are to creating your own free Comcheck, free Rescheck, free Manual J, free Manual S, or free Manual D reports for you or others.

The first item we see affecting home energy auditors is uneven application of the rules.  Some projects for the same cities require different levels of depth on each report depending on who inspects the structure.  This can lead to plenty of guess work on the part of the home energy auditor in creating a report that meets the local jurisdiction’s needs for permitting.  We also think that some common sense could be applied on projects.  Take for instance a project that is using ductless mini splits to condition an area and a building department that still requires a full Manual D duct layout.  Or a city that requires one set of inspection forms one week and the next week on a very similar project requires something totally different.  Also spray foam rules and application as it applies to Comcheck and Rescheck is very important.  In the end, no matter what the hurdle we find, we work with the client and building inspector to get the the exact information that they require on a project.  As long as this information goes towards building the most efficient home possible for the end user, we are all for it.  If it moves into arbitrary, jump through my hoops types of request it becomes more suspect and begins costing the end user money that could have been better ear marked for making the home more efficient during construction.

The next item that hurts all at home energy auditors creating Reschecks, Comchecks, Manual J, Manual S, and Manual D is something that has become much more prevalent over the past year, robocalls.  Robocalls are becoming more and more frequent.  We estimate that most home energy audit offices and DIY Rescheck creators operate in groups of 1-5 people.  In the smallest office, one person answers phones, emails, creates invoices, generates marketing materials, and creates the home energy audits that their clients or company needs to survive.  Robocalls rob real clients of phone time with their home energy auditors.  We estimate that most Do It Yourself Rescheck offices receive upwards of 25 robocalls per week.  Many times this is double the number of actual Rescheck, Manual J, Manual S, Manual D, or Comcheck calls that they actually receive from real paying customers.  This is the equivalent of receiving a prank call every 90 minutes during the week.  Not only do these calls waste resources but they distract home energy auditors from the complex calculations and in depth plan assessments they are undertaking.  They also give busy signals to real clients who call.   Overall, this trend of Robocalls stealing Rescheck creators time is moving the online home energy audit process more and more online.  Through email and online chat boxes a savy client can still get ahold of a good Rescheck service instantly.  Much of the open phone call time is being robbed by spammers selling insurance, website upgrades, healthcare, and many other items that rob you of your most productive hours.

The final item that is a threat to most Rescheck, Comcheck, and Manual J creations services is unupdated building department websites.  You see many building departments are currently updating their building codes and requirements in house.  However, they fail to let the city or county’s web design team know of the update.  Outside of the actual building department, there is no way for the outside world to know what the new building department requirements are.  This wastes the time of the building department constituents on every permit.  While the website might say that every project requires a IECC 2009 Rescheck, once the permit is submitted it is rejected and indicated that they truly want an IECC 2018 Rescheck.  With a company like Rescheck.info the change is free of charge, and it only costs the end user and building department time.  However, most other Rescheck and Manual J services charge upwards of $75-$125 for a code change on a Comcheck, Rescheck, Manual J, Manual S, or Manual D.  This wastes money and time and before any change should be able to be made to a building department’s IECC building code we feel that the corresponding website, handouts, and permit forms should need to be updated first to keep everyone on the same page.

Overall with a plan, jobsite address, and square footage we can create a Rescheck, Comcheck, Manual J, Manual S, or Manual D on most projects.  We can steer through most complications that arise and we have our ear to the street to see what challenges face any and all home energy auditors creating DIY Rescheck, Manual J, Manual S, Manual D, and comcheck energy reports.  If you need one of these reports created for you, you can simple email plans, jobsite address, and square footage to service@rescheck.info and we will get you taken care of.