The Pains of Progress

After a recent conference, a seat-filler proclaimed – “The presentation was good enough. But, I think some of these ideas are suspect. Maybe 20% is accurate, but I bet other industry professionals would say he doesn’t know what he is talking about.”

Slowly We Go…

The subject matter related to how to quantify home performance and help homeowners live in and keep a healthy home. This is the realty of our industry. There is an HVAC-ton of apprehension and willful refusal to change understandings and habits (see what I did there with that HVAC ton…I’m a quick one, I am…). Larger, more youthful areas of our country likely have an easier go at this. Rural, more aged and conservative communities likely are slower in acceptance.

Building science is not rocket science…common knowledge among building scientists

Building science is not high-level physics. It can be, but most of what practitioners need is not high-level. All building science really does is incorporate the “why” into the “how.” The other thing building science does is provide on-going advancements in testing to confirm – confirm performance, confirm deficiency, and even resolve deficiency. And everyone appreciates resolution, right?

Err, maybe not so much. Turns out, without active and prolific enforcement, many regions of our country remain happily humming along executing at the “same old, same old” quality of construction and home performance. Don’t believe me? Listen to any number of trades-related podcasts – the subject will and does come up routinely. We know what we know and we do what we know and we won’t do what we don’t know unless and until someone else makes us know it (eat my biscuits, Dr. Seuss!).

Hitting Home

In the south, TVA remains king which affects attention to energy consumption

For my business in the conservative South, where TVA still reigns king and electricity remains less expensive per kwh than many other regions of the country, getting anyone to see me as anything other than crazy is not easy. The thing is, there’s no motivation for anyone local to see the merit in using my services – if consumers don’t ask for it, and codes departments don’t require any of it, then what compels any one builder or contractor to learn and do better? Literally, there is no competitive edge in doing so in our market. Yet.

See, that’s my hope. There are a few builders in our region who are doing “some” portion of a pretty good house detail, but no one builder has started to build exclusively with the total details package. I’m hopeful that the trend will continue. Hell, I’m even starting to kick around the idea of doing it. Licensing isn’t that large of a hurdle. If I can understand the building science of a home, and how to test for performance, then surely I can manage a license exam. Based on what I have been seeing for the last decade, I shouldn’t have an issue. Boy, I’d be embarrassed if I did.

New Year Feel-Goods

Going into the new year, I’m hopeful I can begin to find a way to better access the existing housing market and help owners and builders begin to make choices that benefit everyone. As a builder, if you work to change some practices – be it materials used or methods of construction – then you could see improvement in your profit, in your product, and in your client interest. As a homeowner, if you demand better conditions from your home – more than the aesthetics of the kitchen or baths – you could see less money spent on utilities, healthier indoor air quality, and a greater longevity of the home itself. There are many reasons why understanding how your home is failing could help you take control. Such control yields more value for the money and time spent on and in your home.

May the end of year bring you blessings and peace

TNergy Services wishes all of you a safe and enjoyable holiday season. Whether you travel, stay in place, hang out with copious amount of people, or cuddle up with a few good books – may stress not be a mitigating factor for choices made. And, in the new year, if you are ready for a new adventure and to take control of your home, give me a call. I’d be honored and humbled to be of help.

Whaaaaat am I doing?!?

This is a post for all those entrepreneurs who aren’t sure they are making the right choice, or who find themselves with only two nickels to rub in their pockets.

Business Second-Guesses

My business of home performance and home diagnosing (conditions review and consultations) is fledgling by almost all standards of measurement. Add atop this the fact that this is a “side business” resulting from years of self-education while running a home inspection business. I decided that this line of work was not the same as home inspecting, rarely spoken of in the world of home inspecting, and so could be treated separately to best perform for clients.

To complicate matters more, the region of the country in which I reside is not exactly known as a hotbed for building science or home performance. This is ironic since some of our most prominent figures in this field – Allison A. Bailes III and Grace and Corbett Lunsford – are just a few hours drive away from me. Also, some pretty good work occurs at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory related to building science and this isn’t too far away.

Still, trying to get people to see the worthiness for paying a home performance consultant in my market is very tough. The only ones who take that dive tend to be those who already are experiencing issues in their homes. But, this is sad because more proactive assessing could curtail or prevent some of these adverse issues from continuing or becoming very expensive to address.

“ Be true to the value you bring, but don’t be defensive if you have to speak to these things. Just be real and care.”

— TNergy Services

Real World Example

As an excellent example – we have encapsulated crawlspaces. Currently, the companies and contractors performing these encapsulations are charging consumers (be it homeowners or home buyers) exorbitant amounts of money for what is very simple science. Seal the crawlspace off from intruding air and moisture, clean up the space as needed, and manage the air space. That’s the gist of it. Yet, I often see – as a home inspector and a paid home diagnosis consultant – these installs poorly performed and apparently poorly understood by the installer and occupant. If consumers knew they could hire someone such as TNergy Services to assess the condition(s) of their home and then provide them a roadmap for actionable steps, as well as help explain the science and methodology intended to be used, they might get more for their money when they pay for encapsulation. A more educated consumer is a better advocating consumer.

Improperly sealed seams negate the effectiveness and intent of an encapsulated crawlspace.

Fungal growth on framing due to improperly executed encapsulation of crawlspace. Properly installed, encapsulations limit elevated relative humidity which then reduces a favorable environment for fungal growth.

I would be happy to go into the specifics of encapsulating at some point in the future, but for now we have no need – we could be talking about air sealing, water drainage in a wall assembly, insulating an attic, HVAC duct work. There are so many home system components that are often poorly assembled, understood, maintained; there are equally as many home system components paid for that perhaps are not needed, or not as worthwhile as other options would have been – Do you pay for a new window/door package, or do you air seal your wall assembly? This is a question a company like mine can answer based on the home’s conditions, your goals and budget, and other building science information out there.

So What’s To Say For Start-ups

To circle back around to our entrepreneurs who aren’t watching money pour in – one way to stay motivated and find solutions for effective marketing should be to self-argue your way to the same place as these last few paragraphs – what do you feel you bring in value for your client(s), how do you communicate the worthiness of your services, and what can you do to empower consumers writ large? If you have answers to these questions; if you have answers that you believe in wholeheartedly; if you get excited articulating these answers – pinpoint that focal point and go with that. Genuineness is hard to fake and very appealing for most of us. Be genuine. Be caring. Be proactive in marketing. Be true to the value you bring, but don’t be defensive if you have to speak to these things. Just be real and care.