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Contact Us: Connie Wilbert
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| Frequently Asked QuestionsWhat should I expect from a Wyoming Home Performance with ENERGY STAR contractor?A contractor who is providing Home Performance with ENERGY STAR services will begin with an inspection of your existing home. This inspection is called a Home Performance Assessment (also known as a "home energy audit"). Prior to the assessment, the contractor will request your permission to gather energy usage data from your utility companies for the past one to three years. Energy usage data provides important clues to how your home is performing and allows accurate analysis for savings. The energy audit allows your contractor to collect technical information such as orientation, shading area, existing HVAC components and performance data, insulation levels, etc. During the inspection, your Home Performance contractor will:
Results of the on-site tests and inspections, along with your energy usage data, are used to locate problem areas in your home and make cost-effective home improvement recommendations for resolving comfort issues and improving energy efficiency, while reducing your annual energy costs. Your Home Performance contractor may request your permission to continue gathering energy usage data for one to five years following the retrofit of your home in order to measure the effectiveness of the home improvements over time. Following the retrofit, your contractor may request permission to write about your home in a case study to help the EPA and DOE evaluate the effectiveness of the programs and to illustrate special solutions to energy problems for other home improvement contractors. Find a home performance contractor today Will my home receive an ENERGY STAR label?No. Existing homes can be vastly improved in terms of comfort,
durability, and energy efficiency, but rarely will it be cost-effective
to bring them to the level of energy efficiency where they can qualify
for the ENERGY STAR label. However, depending on the services you
select, you can expect the energy efficiency of your home to improve
40% to 80% over what it was prior to the retrofit.
Home Performance improvements
also typically result in improved home health and comfort. Third-party Quality
Assurance testing is done on 15% of homes where work has been performed
by home improvement contractors participating in Home Performance with ENERGY STAR.
This Quality Assurance testing must be done to ensure that contractors
provide customers with quality work that will give them added confidence
that their home will perform more efficiently. Do energy-efficient homes look different?No. Home improvement contractors providing Home Performance with ENERGY STAR services
rarely alter the architectural design or appearance of the home.
Is it worth the expense to hire a contractor who shows the Home Performance with ENERGY STAR label instead of another contractor?Contractors who present a Home Performance with ENERGY STAR logo in Wyoming are specially trained and qualified to perform home energy audits. They have agreed to third-party Quality Assurance testing that ensures the home improvements made by these contractors are of the highest quality available. They must verify that any work performed by subcontractors is also of the highest caliber. A home that has received Home Performance with ENERGY STAR improvements actually costs less to own and live in because customers will spend less on their home's utility bill each month. These energy savings will generally more than offset any increase in mortgage payments needed for the improved energy features and can result in a positive monthly cash flow. Find a home performance contractor today Are home improvement loans, financing, or energy efficiency tax credits available through Home Performance with ENERGY STAR?Because energy efficiency improvements can be documented by third-party
home energy raters, HUD, WCDA, and other knowledgeable Wyoming
lenders provide Energy Efficiency Mortgages that will allow you
to finance your home improvements. WCDA also offers the Wyoming
Energy Savers loan as a way to finance certain retrofit features
including insulation and furnaces. Additionally, homeowners may
receive tax
credits for installing certain energy-efficient measures. Who is allowed to provide Home Performance with ENERGY STAR services?Only home improvement contractors who have entered into an agreement with Wyoming Energy Council, Inc., the Home Performance with ENERGY STAR sponsor are allowed to display the Home Performance with ENERGY STAR logo. These contractors have gone through in-depth classroom and hands-on field training, have been mentored, and agree to allow on-going third-party Quality Assurance inspections of their projects to maintain a high level of quality and provide consumers with confidence in the home improvements they receive. |
