E3 Energy Podcast Transcript Casey: Welcome to the EPA Indoor airPLUS Podcast Series. Hi, I’m Casey Murphy of ICF International. We are here today to have a conversation with Justin Erickson of E3 Energy about the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Indoor airPLUS program. Justin, welcome. Justin: Thank you very much Casey. Casey: Tell us a little bit about yourself and your company. Justin: I’ve been studying and training in building sciences for about 15 years. I started E3 Energy in 2004, helping with and thinking about how to build homes for the 21st century. One of the important things that, when we decided to start this business was, how can we build healthier, safer, more durable and more energy efficient homes, all the while, promoting this and helping out contractors that typically built traditional construction? Casey: How did you first get started? Did you become an ENERGY STAR® provider first, or were you a rater? And when did you first start participating in the Indoor airPLUS program? Justin: Well, I started out as a rater and grew the company, and then became a provider. And we started running ENERGY STAR, and we currently still run ENERGY STAR. Within that we decided that we would start promoting more and more Indoor airPLUS, and this kind of just fell in line following right up with ENERGY STAR knowing that these homes needed to have some more fresh air; have some reduced contaminants; and I think it was a no-brainer for us to start implementing Indoor airPLUS into our homes. Casey: Are any of your builders thinking about going 100% Indoor airPLUS? Justin: Definitely. We have a builder over in New Mexico that is 100% airPLUS. And in the custom side getting them 100% airPLUS really is kind of just falling in line. Once builders get into a program and start promoting a program, they typically do not back out. So, we find once we get them into the ENERGY STAR program, they don’t leave. Once they get into the airPLUS program, they don’t leave. Casey: Do you remember your first impressions of the Indoor airPLUS program? Did it help you understand the link between building science and indoor air quality? Justin: I think the important thing was is that I did recognize the indoor quality of the air when we first started this program. My nose is not as sensitive as some other people’s, but I do know that walking into these homes and having the compliance of ASHRAE with correct ventilation in these homes, there’s a noticeable difference. You can kind of feel it. A lot of people can smell the difference. And, when you walk into these homes, they actually don’t smell or they don’t, you can’t detect the VOCs. I think that was the most important factor of understanding these homes, was that there is no smell and that they are healthy and you actually can sense that. And, with the radon situation, we are in zones 1 and 2. It is a requirement to have radon protection, and we do implement that. And, we found by testing existing homes or other ENERGY STAR homes without airPLUS that we have significant radon levels. Well within the airPLUS program, in any of our homes, we have never had anything over 2 pCi/L, which is very impressive especially in zone 1. Casey: Tell us what it’s like working with builders in your area on Indoor airPLUS homes. Justin: Well working with builders with airPLUS homes, the important part here would be that it’s a requirement to have ENERGY STAR before you do airPLUS. And, we find that builders really like the challenge to continue to upgrade their structures. And, by promoting airPLUS and going over these documents with them, we find that the builders are coming to the table, making this happen; and the important thing here also is that by having another label on the inside of their electrical box, just helps them and helps promote them on their website. And, we find that the customers really enjoy their homes more and more, above and beyond ENERGY STAR, by having fresh air and having some of these water management issues taken care of. Casey: So how do you first connect with your builders? Justin: I would say 9 times out of ten we bring it to the builder’s attention. I think that by working with different styles of builders and helping them understand the building science, the tightness levels, the health and safety issues in these homes, that they typically think that this is a no-brainer and are all for implementing the airPLUS program. Casey: As you know, fully one-third of the Indoor airPLUS checklist deals with moisture management strategies. Are the builders surprised that a lot of the Indoor airPLUS line items are just dealing with quality construction methods? Justin: I think that what the builders get surprised about is they believe that they are already being complaint with the first one-third of the airPLUS verification checklist. And, it is all about documentation and making sure that they are compliant; and that is the easy sell point to the builders is okay, we are already doing this, now let’s verify it. And, I think what the builders feel is that it is a third party verification for them and kind of a piece of mind that a third party rater is looking out for them and making sure that they are getting what they paid for from their subcontractors. So, once we go through this with them, they feel like they’re already completing this, however, there are little tweaks here and there that we would have to adjust typically with these builders. And some of the examples there would be depending on climate zone and applying the ice and water shield in the valleys even though that’s- for example, we work with some builders in climate zone 4, 3 and 5, it’s very important to have a ice and water flashing done correctly. So, we help them not only with following these line items, but also helping them with writing the scopes of work for these line items to get those in their plans so that their subcontractors are doing proper process and procedure. Casey: What kinds of homes do you verify? Justin: We verify low income, high income, slab-on-grade, crawlspaces; we deal with all different styles of homes in northern Arizona, and New Mexico and Colorado. And, there are different variables within each style of home. We typically find that getting the Indoor airPLUS verification checklist into an affordable home and more of the track home building is easier because of the consistency. And, we find that working with high-end contractors or custom homes implementing airPLUS is definitely attainable for them because they have more money available to do this. Now, the implementation of the HRVs or some of the duct work systems and locations of ducts can be a little more challenging in high income, but we find it pretty attainable for all of our builders. Casey: Are you verifying homes in other programs like a local or national green building program? Justin: We are. We do the ENERGY STAR; we do Indoor airPLUS; we do the Builder’s Challenge, and we also do LEED for homes. And we find that these programs all kind of overlap. So, once we help the builder get into these programs, they typically like to do as many as they possibly can. Casey: Do you find that there’s a sequential order or steps that a builder can take in order to participate in these programs? Justin: We definitely believe that there’s a sequential step in this, and we find that starting with ENERGY STAR as kind of the introductory to green building; and we add airPLUS, and then we’ll typically will work within those steps if they are doing ENERGY STAR and airPLUS, they typically get a HERS 70 or below by doing these two programs, which then gets them into the Builder’s Challenge. By doing these ENERGY STAR and these EPA programs, airPLUS programs, we find that getting them into the United States Green Building Council LEED for homes is definitely an easier path to go down to. Casey: If you’re out there already qualifying a home for ENERGY STAR, is it a significant step to add Indoor airPLUS, or is it a streamlined process? Justin: We find it to be very streamlined. We actually staple our thermal bypass checklist for the ENERGY STAR program to our Indoor airPLUS verification checklist. And, we typically are at the site 3-4 times all the way from foundation to finish. So, we don’t find it an issue at all. It literally just takes more verification, you know another checklist, but really no time at all. Casey: And so there are no extra visits to the job site, just 3-4 visits or something that you already worked out with the builder for ENERGY STAR qualification? Justin: Exactly. We find there being no extra visits. I think the important part here is to make sure that you get the builder in line with the program requirements at the front end, and not try to implement this half way through the building process. I think that’s the important part of airPLUS is to make sure that the builder knows what they are getting into and what they’re signed up for and that they have to be compliant at the front end. Casey: For Indoor airPLUS there are some line items that must be verified by the rater, but there are other line items that can be verified by either the builder or the rater. In the work that you do, is it a fairly even split? Justin: The majority of the line items are verified by the E3 Energy team and the raters in the team. We feel that is part of doing our due diligence and part of the responsibility as being a rater and a provider to these builders that it is our job to fill these out. Casey: So as a HERS rater and provider, have you found that you need additional building science training in order to do Indoor airPLUS? Or has it been something that you can integrate without any additional training? Justin: The important part of the training that I had to get up to speed on was becoming compliant with ASHRAE and knowing the amount of cfm required to get into these homes, and then actually how to install the equipment within the structures to make sure that it is complaint and verified. The important part of airPLUS is making sure that these homes are getting their correct air changes per hour and they are doing it the right way through the ASHRAE standards. Casey: Have you had to play much of an educational role then for the builder, the superintendants, trades or even the sales people? Justin: Most definitely. I think the two points is the builder and the trades. Training HVAC contractors and training the builders on what to look for, how to install, and getting them up to speed on the way that their homes should perform and be verified. The other interesting thing here is once builders and HVAC contractors do it once, they want to continue to do it again and again. They actually learn and it’s making better homes for the future. Casey: Have any of your builders promoted the Indoor airPLUS program, and if so, how did they do that? Justin: Some of the builders that we have are signed up with EPA airPLUS, and we put promotional materials in all of our sales homes and then we also use the airPLUS stickers on the inside of the electrical box. So what is happening in the industry is that homeowners are starting to understand ENERGY STAR and now also are starting to understand airPLUS. They are looking for these designation marks on these homes. So, we do have any builder that is in the airPLUS program, we give them promotional material that we typically order off of the website and distribute to our builders. Casey: And have you had the opportunity to talk with any homebuyers about the program, and if so, what are those conversations like? Justin: The one homeowner that comes to mind is a custom home builder in Flagstaff, Arizona, that had a daughter with asthma. And he had an airPLUS home, and one of things that he has expressed to E3 Energy is that his daughter has not had any sort of breakouts symptoms since they moved in to their new home. The homeowner is just ecstatic that his daughter is not having these breakout asthma symptoms anymore. Casey: So for those raters who haven’t heard about Indoor airPLUS, do you have any recommendations for some of their next steps? Justin: Understanding that we are building homes very, very tight, but there is an important piece missing here. Getting these homes ventilated correctly and getting fresh air into them on an ASHRAE national standard is the next step. And it’s very, very important for the longevity of these homes and the health and safety of the occupants to implement the airPLUS. Casey: Have you contacted the Indoor airPLUS team for support, for assistance with technical questions or how to report homes, and if so, how was that experience? Justin: I have. I’ve worked with the Indoor airPLUS team for about two years now, and it’s gone very, very well. We submit quarterly. They have been very good at getting us the marketing material and the labels, and they are making this a very streamlined for a for-profit rating company. And I think that’s a great relationship that E3 Energy and EPA has had. Casey: Have you visited the Indoor airPLUS website? Justin: I have. We are listed on the EPA airPLUS website, and we do find that beneficial. We are updating our website with the airPLUS program. And the materials on there, they’re free to order, and there are also PDFs that you can download and have printed out in many different sizes. Casey: You were recently awarded the Indoor airPLUS leader award for verifying a significant volume of homes. So what do you attribute to your success? Justin: I think what we attribute to the success is being very proactive with builders. We also attribute that to working with quality builders willing to go outside the box and experiment. And I think as a building science company E3 Energy is out there to bring homes into the 21st century. Casey: What are some of things that builders should realize about Indoor airPLUS? Justin: I think one of the biggest things that builders can promote or sell to their clients is that the homes, they already know are efficient, but they can promote health and safety and durability within these structures. And these homeowners that are buying new homes with the current situation that the market is in want to invest in a quality home. The airPLUS program promotes quality of a structure so that’s typically how we are training contractors is that they are healthy and they are safe. And people want to make sure that their investment is secure, and by having these programs in these homes documented and certified, the homeowners or the clients are willing to invest in that style of home. Casey: Justin, I want to thank you for joining us. Visit Indoor airPLUS online at www.epa.gov/indoorairplus for more information or to sign up as a partner. Thanks again. E3 Energy Podcast Transcript 1