BPI invites you to drop by our new Green Jobs Connection webpage, an initiative to connect the very best talent in the weatherization and home performance workforce to jobs within BPI’s network of home performance contractors.

All BPI certified professionals are invited to post their resumes for free on our Certified Professionals for Hire page. You can also browse jobs by category, where any contractor or organization seeking to hire BPI certified professionals may post their job vacancy for free. The site is organized by category, featuring Jobs With Accredited Contracting Companies, Companies Seeking Certified Professionals, Jobs with Industry Partners, and Jobs with BPI.

BPI is working with the National Community Action Foundation (NCAF) to promote the initiative to BPI certified workers now employed in the federal Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP). The program currently employs more than 14,000 workers across the country, and is on track this year to surpass the national goal of weatherizing 600,000 low-income families’ homes. However the Recovery Act’s spending for the WAP program will come to a close in 2012, and many highly skilled WAP technicians will face unemployment. BPI has pledged to do everything it can to connect this talent pool of certified workers to jobs within our network of private home performance contractors.

BPI is also working with industry partner Efficiency First to link this resource to the Efficiency First Jobs Board, creating comprehensive coverage for both employers and job seekers.

No house left behind…
Home utility bills will get unprecedented attention in the home-buying process if Senators Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) have their way. On October 19 they introduced the SAVE (Sensible Accounting to Value Energy) Act of 2011, requiring that home-energy costs play into the formula for determining a home’s value and the prospective buyer’s eligibility. Richard Defendorf has a good summary of SAVE, as well as the new appraisal form, in this article on Green Building Advisor.
In the meantime, did you know that energy-efficiency ratings are already required for home sales in U.K. countries? I didn’t until recently, so I created a survey (still open) in daily5REMODEL to see how remodeling pros feel about broader use of home-performance assessments on homes in North America.
At last count, 82 percent of respondents said they feel performance assessments should be required -- though very few U.S. jurisdictions do require them. Affirming the rule that no good deed goes unpunished, there are also factors that could disincentivize homeowners from getting assessments, as I later reported in this article. Oh, and real estate agents and already-beleaguered home sellers would likely resist them anyway.
In the meantime, they’re pretty good about efficiency in Massachusetts-- tops in the nation, according to the 2011 ACEEE State Energy Efficiency Scorecard. Here’s a recap of the report.

Talkin’ ‘bout my insulation...
Pondering the pros and cons of various insulation types? Paula Melton’s two-part series on BuildingGreen’s GreenSpec site provides a good primer of how insulation works and how to identify the right material based on the client, project, budget, building codes and more. Click here for part one, and here for part two. Meaty commentary for both.
Here's a balanced response on fire risks – beyond spray foam. At BuildingGreen.com, Tristan Roberts gave a balanced response to concerns over spray foam fire risks. Truss and engineered lumber construction, cellulose and even non-flammable roof materials can also increase the risk of catastrophic fire loss.
The key to good spray foam is good installation training – as demonstrated by this super-short video from Energy Vanguard’s Allison Bailes, who reveals a sloppy attic installation of closed-cell foam.
Same goes for batt insulation - which is often badly applied. Check out this photo essay -- also from Bailes -- of “typical problems that cause fiberglass batts to perform poorly.” (The blue markings are at the manufacturer’s request.)
Is hemp versatile or what? The last word on insulation came from Greenbuild, where Mem Inc. and American Lime Technologies unveiled hemp-based insulations that BuildingGreen.com’s Brent Ehrlich found cool, if not particularly easy to cut. They’re item four in this write-up.

Incorporating QA into Day-to-Day Business Practices

At first glance, it may look like third-party Quality Assurance (QA) requirements are just bureaucratic hoops to jump through for the privilege of offering program incentives to your customers. But take another look: the fact is that having a robust QA program is critical to your success. When your company internalizes standard QA practices, turning them into standard operating procedures (SOPs), you can reap the benefits that come from a more satisfied customer base, reduced overhead costs, and a more effective staff.

Three key elements of a good QA program and their benefits are described here.

Documentation and Data Management

The first commitment a contractor makes when signing on to a third-party program usually includes maintaining records and reporting specific project data to the program sponsor. While this may seem like little more than administrative paper-pushing, the savvy contractor knows that it is in his best interest to practice this kind of record-keeping for all of his customers. Why? First, back-up documentation is available should any questions arise about the project. Many potential disputes can be easily resolved by simply producing documentation of pre- and post-installation data. Project data can also be used to review crew performance, giving employers the means for rewarding exemplary performance, understanding training needs, and even identifying patterns of crew behavior that require remedial actions.

Last, but not least, a database of project results can be harvested for useful statistics that can be used for marketing claims (“our customers save an average of $400 per year in heating costs”) and for creating targeted marketing campaigns. Say you begin offering a new product line. With a good customer database that includes detailed project needs and information, you can target those customers who will benefit most from your new offer and avoid wasting money on outreach to those who can’t use it.

Standards

It goes without saying that standards are a necessary component of any quality system. But the truth is, many companies that value quality still operate without putting those standards into writing. Sometimes because the company is small enough that the owner can take personal responsibility to oversee every job. But what happens when companies grow and that’s no longer possible? If you’re the owner of a company, do you simply trust your crews and hope they will practice the same level of judgment as you do? Or, maybe you micromanage them? Standards and guidelines can be a useful tool for striking a balance between giving your staff the independence they need to get the work done and ensuring that work quality is consistent with what you as the owner would deliver personally if you could be at every job.

But, it’s difficult and time consuming to put your personal standards into writing. Have you ever tried to train another person to “do what you do?” It’s the hardest thing in the world because no one is ever going to live up to that standard. Instead, you can use third-party standards as a starting point and layer your own specifications on top of them. BPI’s technical standards provide a solid base to build from. The Department of Energy is currently sponsoring a project to create a national set of Standard Work Specifications for energy efficiency retrofits in residential buildings that is due to be published in 2012. Adopting this kind of guidance into your own SOPs demonstrates to your staff that you are serious about quality, helps them to clearly understand what is expected of them, and sets a bar for performance that can be verified. Verification happens during the inspection process.

Inspections

Rules without enforcement are just so many words on a piece of paper. How many times have you driven to work going faster than the speed limit? Now, consider how your behavior would change if there were always a cop parked on your road with a radar gun pointed at you. You know the speed limit is the law either way, but you tend to care a lot more when there are repercussions. Standards in the workplace function the same way and enforcement starts at the top. When adopting a new set of standards, company owners and top level managers must buy in 100 percent. In addition, the standards must be introduced in the context of an overall system that includes staff training, corporate support (including providing the tools, time, and other resources needed for field staff to comply with the rules), and enforcement.

When a third-party program requires contractors to submit to inspections, it is designed to protect the program sponsor from negative outcomes and to provide assurance that public dollars are being spent appropriately and effectively. These are goals that can also benefit any contracting firm. Instituting an internal inspection process is one of the best ways to ensure that standards are being maintained. It shows staff that the company is serious about its standards and it gives customers reassurance that the company cares about the investment they have just made in their home. A robust inspection program begins with the crews themselves. Field crews should have standard procedures for closing out before they leave a job. This might include elements of BPI’s “test-out” procedures as well as a review with the customer that their expectations have been met. One insulation contractor I know gave his crews infrared cameras to inspect their work as they go along. This wouldn’t have been possible a few years ago, but now inexpensive IR cameras are widely available, and the time and trouble it saves the company far outweighs the cost. This practice also empowers the crews to take ownership of the quality of their own work - it makes them care more. It’s not a substitute for the final third-party inspection, but it certainly helps reduce the number of times they need to go back to fix things they missed.

Not sure where to start?

BPI has created a set of information tools to help guide the development of your QMS system, which will allow you to measure overall performance of your home performance company. These strategies and tactics, tailored specifically for home performance contractors, are based on the internationally recognized ISO 9000 principles. Check it out!

Summary

In short, submitting to a third-party QA program can be a burden or a blessing, depending on what you do with it. By embracing the fundamental philosophy behind these programs and adapting the strategies and tactics to fit your own company, you can create a system that ultimately saves you time and money and creates happier employees and customers. And who wouldn’t want that?

Why Social Media?

You’ve probably heard all about how helpful social media can be for growing your business, but maybe you don’t buy it. It’s a trend, it’s a pain, you’re a technophobe: there could be any number of reasons, we’ve heard them all from Home Performance professionals nationwide. Frankly, I don’t much like Facebook either. There, I said it.

The counter argument is that for every doubter there are an equal number of Home Performance professionals who have embraced social media successfully, and are watching it increase their website traffic and their business. But that misses the larger point: in our view, social media is no longer optional.

Despite all the success stories, it’s not really about how social media can help your business anymore, but rather how not participating in social media can actually hurt your business. This is because Google and other search engines are increasingly using “social signals” (mentions of your company in social media) to determine the relative authority of businesses. If you’re not there, your competitors automatically get a leg up.

Why Facebook?

It’s always a good idea to fish where the fish are, and Facebook is where the fish are. Facebook is far-and-away the most important social media platform in the world. Americans spend more time on Facebook than any other website: it gets more traffic than Google, with over 800 million users. Of those, more than 200 million are right here in the U.S. What’s more: 30 percent are over 35. That’s the homeowner market.

So how do you get started?

You don’t need to have a personal account to start a business page. Just go to the Facebook homepage, and right below where you see the regular sign-up form there’s a link that says “Create a Page for a celebrity, band or business.” Start there.

Once you begin creating your page you’re already in Search Engine Optimization territory. First and foremost, you’ll want to be sure that your business’s Name, Address, and Phone Number (NAP) is consistent with the NAP listed on your website and on any online directories that it’s listed in (Google Places, Yahoo! Local, Angie’s List, etc.). The NAP is your business’s fingerprint around the web, so it’s critical that it’s consistent everywhere it’s listed. You’ll also want to be careful about picking the right business category - depending on which type of business page you choose (“Local Business” or “Company, Organization or Institution”), there will be different options for business categories. The “Home Improvement” Local Business category works, as would the “Engineering/Construction” category if you set up your page as a Company. You can’t really go wrong on this choice--it’s easily changed later--but our general guidance is to use local only if you serve a very tight geography in one community.

When describing your business, remember that this content may be picked up by search engines as well, so be sure to include your core services within your business description -- energy audits, insulation, home performance contracting, or whatever specialties you may have within the Home Performance umbrella.

Content & Engagement:

Your Facebook page is all about indulging the people that visit it. Give them interesting material. Don’t be too promotional--Facebook is about building a relationship with current and potential clients, not pressuring them to “Air Seal or Die.”

You have an advantage in that Home Performance is a new field relevant to everyone. Articles, videos, and even simple photographs are a great way to engage people. Take a digital camera to a job site with you and create an album--people will be able to see your crew in action. If you have an eccentric carpenter with a flair for writing have them write a story about the 18th century farmhouse they weatherized. If you’re ever struggling with the eternal question of “What should I post on Facebook?,” remember that all of the topics that are central to the building performance field are also central to people’s lives: comfort, economics, health and safety.

A few content creation ideas for Facebook:

Horror stories: Take pictures of mold, missing insulation, critters in crawlspaces, and any of the other disgusting things that you find in the buildings you work on. Include a little commentary. (“Look what we found during a home energy audit today! Does your house have this problem?”)

Useful tips: Hate to say it, but most folks are blissfully unaware of the basic tenets of energy consumption in their homes. Helpful information about simple things like pipe insulation, weather-stripping and lighting can all be a helpful surprise for your Facebook fans.

Share links: Come across an article that particularly struck you? Post it. Write up a quick comment and ask your fans what they think.

Ask questions: Questions are one of the best ways to drive engagement (people are much more likely to comment on your update if you ask a question rather than just post a comment).

Word-of-mouth amplified:

The key to success on social media platforms is to understand the social element: we in the home improvement industries always talk about word-of-mouth references, but Facebook is essentially just one giant platform to amplify this word-of-mouth.

While traditional advertising channels are a one-way communication street (put your ad on a billboard, end of story), Facebook creates an inherent viral potential for anything you post. Say, for example, after you set up your fan page and ask your friends and family to “like” the page, you have six fans. Each time that any of those fans “likes” something that you post, or comments on it, their activity will show up not only in their News Feed, but in the News Feed of all their friends. If a friend really likes something that you post, they might even share that content on their own page.

The other important part of the social aspect of Facebook is, since it’s no longer a one-way street, it’s up to you to interact with other users, as well. Go and “like” some other pages -- other local businesses, trade organizations, non-profits, or even bands or movies. It’s all good. Comment on their activity. Foster conversation -- don’t just promote.

An ongoing process:

As powerful as Facebook and other social media platforms can be, they’re certainly not magic. Don’t expect your first status update to go viral, or for your fan count to grow by the thousands during your page’s first week. Don’t go overboard by dedicating 40 hours per week to monitoring your page. Just do what you can do, give your page some love, and be consistent.

As always, good luck, keep up the good work, and if you have any more specific questions about Facebook, feel free to get a hold of us directly at Energy Circle PRO. We’d be happy to chat.

Thanks to our many readers who sent in answers to last month’s “what’s wrong with this picture” game. If you said the problem is the thermostat located just under the return grille, you were partly right. If you said the problem is they forgot to insulate the wall cavity, you were partly right too. The first person to get it wholly right was Vernon Kleckner of Fiber America in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Vernon wrote that there is a connected attic there with a steel air return that is not insulated. He pointed out that this is in the stud bay, so there is no room for insulation, and the cold is conducting through to the drywall. He said there is probably a steel duct or possibly no duct in the unconditioned attic. His solution is to use two part foam to insulate, or create an insulated return. Thanks for playing Vernon!

Guy Dubois of Commonwealth Building Sciences in Richmond, Virginia sent in last month’s challenge, and adds that the square grille is an operating HVAC return, and that there is no insulation between the wall and the return duct (it is not a panned stud cavity). He notes that the return housing is not sealed to the drywall. “Notice the blue streaks at the perimeter as cold attic air is drawn in between the grille and the drywall. Warmer room air is being drawn through the center portion of the grille, thus the warmer temperature there.” Guy also explains that, “the thermostat is thermally bridged to the un-insulated wall. Heat is conducted away from the unit and into the attic in the winter. It is conducted in through the attic wall in the summer. This will cause false air temperature readings.”

Guy’s solution is to air seal the gap between the drywall and the return housing as well as the hole made for the thermostat wiring. He would insulate the exposed return duct, seal it with mastic if necessary, and install insulation between the wall and the return duct (ideally rigid board extruded polystyrene). Guy would air seal that detail too. He says, “I think the issue with thermostats mounted above or below return grilles is that many returns are located in open wall chases. This could set up a similar situation to that illustrated here. With proper air sealing and insulation the location of a thermostat above or below a return intake grille should not be a problem.”