Words That Turn Home Energy Pros Into Building Science Dorks

Home Energy Pros Sometimes Fall For Jargon, And Lose Customers As A Result.

Home energy pros sometimes fall for jargon, and lose customers as a result.“Ma’am, we’ve just tested your house and found your infiltration rate to be 16.7 ACH50, your R-values to be only 26% of the IECC limits, your duct Qn to be 0.42, and windows to have improper SHGCs. Furthermore, your drainage plane isn’t flashed properly, and the power forwards are crashing the boards with impunity and posting up at will. On top of that, your Turbo-Thermo-Encabulator Max has reached its saturation temperature on numerous occasions because of faulty hydrocoptic marzel vanes. Please sign this contract, and we’ll get it all fixed for you.”

“Ma’am, we’ve just tested your house and found your infiltration rate to be 16.7 ACH50, your R-values to be only 26% of the IECC limits, your duct Qn to be 0.42, and windows to have improper SHGCs. Furthermore, your drainage plane isn’t flashed properly, and the power forwards are crashing the boards with impunity and posting up at will. On top of that, your Turbo-Thermo-Encabulator Max has reached its saturation temperature on numerous occasions because of faulty hydrocoptic marzel vanes. Please sign this contract, and we’ll get it all fixed for you.”

Language matters. Home energy pros have to know all the technical terms (well, maybe not everything I mentioned above), but sometimes it’s easy to forget who you’re talking to and use them in the wrong settings. Talking to a homeowner? Most won’t have a clue when you start throwing out the terms we use so often in our field:

  • ACH50, cfm50, cfm25, Qn
  • ASHRAE 62.2
  • RESNET, HERS
  • HVAC, air handler, plenum, condenser, boot
  • drainage plane, control layer, flashing
  • grade, footer/footing, sill plate, CMU

And on and on. If you’re talking to other pros, those words are appropriate. If you’re talking to homeowners, it’s best to assume they know nothing beyond the basics. Here’s a good list of words that are safe to use with homeowners:

  • house, home
  • floor, walls, ceiling
  • attic, garage
  • windows, doors
  • hot, cold, just right
  • comfort, health, safety
  • air, draft
  • air conditioner, heater, vent, filter, thermostat
  • energy bill, electricity, gas, oil, propane
  • hole, leak, inadequate, incomplete

Get the idea? Keep your discussions with homeowners full of terms like these rather than the ones in the first list, and you’ll get your message across. I’m not saying this to be condescending. I’m saying it because too often we talk over the heads of our clients. They may be hearing, but they’re not always listening. Sometimes they nod their heads and pretend to understand but then don’t answer your calls later.

Getting stricken with jargonitis can happen to anyone. Blower Doors and duct leakage testers are tremendously exciting tools that make us feel smart and important. It’s natural to want to teach all the building science you learned in your HERS rater or BPI Building Analyst class, but clients don’t have the time or interest in that. They hired you to do that for them and tell them what they need to know in language they can understand.

I’m as guilty as anyone in doing this. I constantly have to watch for eyes glazing over and then take a step back. The best thing to do is try to put yourself in the listener’s place and remember that they don’t use all this jargon every day like you do. Keep it simple! Speak their language, and they’re more likely to understand and sign that contract.

This is a great starting point, but effective communication goes a lot deeper than this. If you really want to learn how to talk to homeowners, download and read the report, Driving Demand for Home Energy Improvements, from Lawrence Berkeley National Lab.

Keep it simple!

 

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Photo at top by Andrew Kudrin from flickr.com, used under a Creative Commons license.

This Post Has 8 Comments

  1. Bravo, Allison! I often say I
    Bravo, Allison! I often say I try to be like Ray in Ghostbusters. I understand the science, but I speak real English. Egon wasn’t very good at the real English (aside from ‘because it would be bad.’) We all have to try to keep an eye (or ear) on being too technical, good job pointing it out humorously!

  2. For the price of an audit, I
    For the price of an audit, I turn houses VERY Green. If I make the roof R=60+ and walls R=40, then all I have left is r=5 or r=12 windows. 
    AFTER this, solar and geothermal, as the load is 90% less… no jargon, no long meetings. 
    This took a decade to find ways to deal with contractors, but now it works.

  3. Allison, Well said. I would
    Allison, Well said. I would add “durability” to my list of words to share.  
     
    To the previous poster, Mr. Talo, How expensive are audits in Westchester? I may just relocate. I think you were trying to say that pre-design decisions are a lot less expensive than implementing an auditor’s recommendations on an ill-performing envelope, but the audit is not the problem. Further, an R-12 window? Units with a U-.08333 are not (yet) affordable anywhere. My radiant-barrier foil hat protects me from ideas like this.

  4. In my initial consultation, a
    In my initial consultation, a primary objective is to gauge my client’s knowledge, interest, and ability to talk building science. I find more and more homeowners with at least a basic understanding of building science jargon. It seems that blogs like EV are creating a new generation of savvy consumers! Of course it can be a challenge to deal with clients who think they know more than they do. In that case, educating the client may be the only option, and that can be very expensive.

  5. “on the charge of trying
    “on the charge of trying to teach your customer everything you know and find exciting about building science. How do you plead?” 
     
     
     
    …guilty as charged. 
     
     
     

  6. Nate A.: I
    Nate A.: I’ll have to go back and watch Ghostbusters again. It’s been a long time. 
     
    Tapani T.: Talking to contractors can definitely be a challenge, too. I wrote an article a while back called How to Talk to a Builder. 
     
    TC Feick: Yes, durability is a good one.  
     
    David B.: Excellent point. So first you need to know who you’re talking to. 
     
    Greg W.: The first step is acknowledging you have a problem. Now, you need to get into that 12 step program for home energy pros! ;~) 
     

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