*Please note that this article is designed to pair with the Home Performance Services presentation and explores the “is there a market” question in more depth.

[Ed.] To watch Lucas' presentation on-demand in the Green Building Expo environment, click here.

To get started, let’s define a high performance home.  The simplest description is a residential property that has maximized its comfort and safety while minimizing its costs and impacts.  This ideal does not occur frequently, and only with recent development in building science and analytical tools, can we make high performance realistic for the majority of homeowners.

Previously, homeowners could only install prescriptive improvements like efficient windows.  More often than not, the manufacturer of the product generated the savings estimations and the actual savings tended to be less than predicted.  Now, certified third party professionals can use advanced scientific equipment to analyze envelope leakage, duct leakage, insulation, HVAC performance, appliances, lighting, and plug-loads.  Unique and specific problems can be discovered.  Based on these discoveries, performance-based improvements, which generate predictable and real savings, can be created.

High performance is a good and attainable goal, but it is more challenging to determine whether homeowners, as a consumer segment, desire it.  Initial “early adopter” clients typically care about limiting the impact of their resource consumption, they are between 25-55 years of age, and they have expendable income.  In theory, they would be the perfect candidates.  In reality, people are busy.

The industry doesn’t know whether people will consider home performance improvements pressing enough to become a priority.  Based on the marketing messages they receive, do they feel that anything explicitly addressed an issue that they already cared about changing?  It is unlikely that they are going to be convinced to focus on something they didn’t already want.  Marketing 101 would teach that messages need to fit into the existing desires of potential clients.

In order for large-scale action to take place, we need to use more direct communication and make high performance part of culture.

Contractors have been building American homes in the same manner for 120 years.  That is culture.  Homebuyers are always looking for a good investment, which means comfortable and safe homes in “good” neighborhoods.  That is culture.  Flashy new technology and green features may appeal to a segment of the population.  Again, that is culture.

One of the things that make it difficult for home performance to become part of culture is that most improvements are invisible.  In contrast, solar panel purchasers and Prius drivers gain a visible commitment to their cause.  The problem is that, on a per-dollar basis, home performance improvements are far more effective at creating change.

Energy efficiency has become mainstream, but it is not truly part of culture.  Energy efficiency is a generally understood concept, but as evidenced by California’s Proposition 23, it is not universally popular.  In addition, it is not often that one calls a friend to brag about their new LED light bulb or their Icynene^® insulation.  In contrast, a new car or phone or bike or iPad or outfit is almost always a hot topic.  Culture is not debated and it does not require incentives for discussion and action.

Another difficulty is the disconnect between the convenience of flipping a light switch and the reality of our energy system.  Imagine if you caught your neighbor powering their home by incinerating trash in their backyard and dumping the toxic waste into the local waterway.  You would not be excited about the air quality issues, about the other health concerns, or about the combustion safety.  This scenario is exactly what is happening; however, the destruction and pollution is happening on a broader and more dispersed landscape.

American culture assumes a right to protection from harm caused by irresponsible action.  Home performance improvements decrease societal costs and directly benefit the homeowner.  What is missing is the ability to reconnect people to indirect problems and have them understand they are part of a system with urgent issues that they can help fix.

So how do invisible actions become part of culture?  They need to become part of an established process with clearly delineated triggers for action. For instance, if someone is going to do a remodel or install solar panels, it should be automatic to do a home performance assessment first. Another example is that home performance assessments should become part of the building inspections that occur during escrow periods. More fundamentally, home performance assessments should be part of being a responsible homeowner.

Home performance assessments are the foundation for meaningful change in the residential sector of the built environment.  Homes use 40% of the world’s energy supply and still do not achieve a reasonable level of comfort or indoor air quality.  If we reconnect with our reality and make these improvements part of our culture, we can lay the foundation for a safe and efficient future.

About the Author
Lucas Johnson is Project Coordinator in the Building Performance Services at Allen Associates. Lucas holds a Master of Environmental Science and Management degree with a focus in Eco-Entrepreneurship from the Donald Bren School of the University of California, Santa Barbara.