Send Raters, Guns, and Money – Adding Value with HVAC Design

A few months back, I received the following email about payment to design the HVAC system for a new ENERGY STAR home. The author of the email is a home energy rater, and my client. The “HVAC guy” is the HVAC contractor who has hired the rater to get the HVAC Design completed for the job. 

To:  hvac@energyvanguard.com

From:  [Home Energy Rater] 

Subject:  Payment 

Home Energy Rater: “Apparently I am going to be paid in firearms for this project. Seriously. Do you have a need?

Energy Vanguard: “Uhhhhhh…no! Why do you ask?” 

Home Energy Rater: “The HVAC guy has a gun shop.” 

Though you may be disappointed, I did not accept payment in firearms. 

Alas, I did complete the HVAC Design for the project, and we were paid, with money rather than guns. That project was one of many that have been collaborative efforts between Energy Vanguard and home energy pros (mainly HERS raters). In fact, it’s becoming quite a trend for raters to offer HVAC design as part of their services. They offer up a consulting package that includes their rater services, along with complete HVAC design. It’s a great way for them to add value to the services they offer. 

Whenever a rater needs to qualify a project for ENERGY STAR Version 3 or LEED for Homes, they bring on an experienced HVAC Designer to handle the required Manual J, S, T, & D. Some are just doing it because it’s a good idea. 

The collaborations

Last year, Jamie Kaye of Elm Energy Group brought us in to work on 10 high-end single family homes in the Hilton Head/Bluffton area of South Carolina. He performs the building performance guidance, home energy rating, and performance testing, while I handle the HVAC Design. This is a house-as-a-system approach that usually leads to high performance, durability, and happy clients. 

Janice Romanosky, of Pando Alliance in Baltimore is another of my rater-clients that sees good HVAC Design as critical to every project she works on. We’ve worked together on several LEED for Homes and ENERGY STAR projects, both single- and multi-family. 

The townhome at left is part of an affordable housing project in Baltimore called Barclay/Midway/Old Goucher. It is a complete energy retrofit of existing townhomes in blighted neighborhoods. They’re being converted back into townhomes, and certified as ENERGY STAR, Version 2.5, which included a Manual J, S, & D for each of the 8 unique unit types. These 4-story townhomes are narrow, so aside from being required by ENERGY STAR, integrating the HVAC Design made it easy for the contractor to lay it out in the field. 

The HVAC and energy retrofit contractor, Vis Viva Energy and Services here in Atlanta has made it a goal to provide full design for every HVAC systems they install. Co-owner Lance Beaton, also a HERS Rater, BPI Building Analyst, Earthcraft TA, and LEED AP, believes that this not only streamlines the installation, but ensure that the system will perform well and provide comfort to the homeowner year round.

The energy retrofit of this single-family residence in Jonesboro, GA is one of many we’ve worked on together, and is one of the first we did as a design-build. All of the existing mechanical equipment and ductwork was replaced with a new Mitsubishi CITY MULTI VRF System. Having the designer on site during installation added even more value to the project, as it increases quality control and design compliance.

Finally, I’d be remiss if I did not mention Bruce Looney, the author of the ‘Payment’ email at the beginning of this post. He is a HERS Rater, BPI Building Analyst, and the owner of BiggestAirHole.com (aka Southside Power Company). He has been busy with builders and architects in Charleston area of South Carolina, providing ratings and ENERGY STAR certifications on several low-income and other single-family projects. 

This is becoming a nice, mutually beneficial trend in our HVAC design business. The big winner, though, is the client!