How to Capitalize on IRA incentives Part Five

In my last article, I provided information on how to prepare your business for the two energy efficiency rebate programs authorized by the Inflation Reduction Act: the $4.5 billion electrification rebate program and the $4.3 billion whole-house energy efficiency rebate program.

I also discussed how contractors will have to up their game when it comes to properly designing and installing a system and appropriately documenting installation. Now let’s dig deeper into related topics:

• What are the design and installation standards?

• How must they be documented and verified?

• How do I prepare and train my designers, installers and back-office staff?

What are the core requirements?

While each state will have different implementation and verification flavors, core requirements are outlined in the IRA guidance provided by the US Department of Energy (DOE), as well as initiatives by the DOE-supported labs such as the Pacific Northwest National Lab (PNNL).

Let’s start by looking at the guidance published on May 4 by the DOE: States are required to either use the DOE/PNNL workflows or receive DOE approval of alternative workflows. Projects must be installed by a qualified contractor and that contractor must conduct  limited assessment to ensure no harm is going to be done to the home due to the retrofit. Contractors must document the installation by capturing geo-tagged photos (use of PNNL’s Quality Install Tool is recommended). Combustion safety testing is required for HVAC projects if combustion appliances remain in the home after the retrofit occurs.

What are the DOE/PNNL workflows and PNNL’s Quality Install Tool?

The PNNL supports the documentation of the process workflows for the Home Energy Rebate programs. The Quality Install Tool simplifies, standardizes and expedites the creation of highquality installation documentation using photo-based prompts throughout the process, and automatically generates a presentable Quality Install Report PDF that can be saved, emailed or printed. Currently, the tool facilitates workflows for heat pump water heaters, attic air sealing, and attic insulation, with a beta version available for ductless heat pump and central ducted split heat pump workflows. Soon, the tool will be enhanced to encompass all the following quality installation documentation workflows.

These workflows are based on a pre-existing set of checklists that were developed for specific types of home improvements. The Home Improvement Expert (HIE QI) checklists were designed with input from top experts in the residential construction world and are designed to provide broad guidance on what will deliver the highest quality product for the customer.

How do I train my workforce to meet these standards?

The first step is to understand whether your existing business practices and employee competencies align with the QI Checklists and QI Tool. For readers interested in diving into the details of each “quality installation” checklist, you can review them on PNNL’s website, www.pnnl.gov. For HVAC companies, that means being able to perform a room-by-room Manual J, a Manual S, assess and improve ducts, perform combustion safety tests on combustion equipment that remains in the home post-installation, which calls for a combustion safety test on an orphaned gas water heater after a new heat pump is installed replacing a gas furnace. If your company does insulation, you may need to include air sealing in the scope of work, which in turn requires blower door testing.

The second step is to identify training opportunities for your staff that may lack the necessary skills. The Department of Energy (DOE), through its Energy Skilled program, recognizes credential programs that are preparing workers for meaningful and in-demand job opportunities for the clean energy transition. Energy Skilled recognized programs will receive branding material to communicate their recognition from DOE and will be listed on the DOE Energy Skilled website.

Recognition is currently available for the following categories:

• Heat pump installation.

• Heat pump comfort advising.

• Heat pump water heater Installation.

• Home energy assessment.

Once a contractor has employees who have passed the appropriate training, DOE anticipates that the contractor will then be placed on a nationally available list that can be seen by consumers. These contractors are ideally suited to be able to meet the IRA requirements for design, installation, and verification and be “IRAready” and have a first-mover advantage to be eligible to participate in individual state programs.

A third step is to explore business tools that can help your company, your designers, your technicians, and your back-office staff to consistently deliver quality results for the benefit of everyone, including compliance with a rebate program. To be clear, nobody wants a bunch of paperwork and forms. Not DOE. Not states. And certainly not a contractor.

So while the QI Checklists and QI Tool are important resources to define a quality installation and verify a quality installation, respectively, they will hopefully be replaced by smart diagnostics and smart tool technology that helps everyone deliver and verify quality installations with little to no friction or paperwork.

Specific to HVAC, DOE has launched the STEP Campaign dedicated to advancing the adoption of residential heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) commissioning through building strategic partnerships with contractors, training providers, utilities, and energy efficiency organizations.

This initiative encourages the use of smart diagnostic tools, along with other technologies, to reduce installation faults, save energy, and improve the installation quality of residential HVAC systems. The campaign develops targeted resources, provides technical assistance, and recognizes partners for successful implementation of the technology.

Want to get involved and provide feedback?

DOE and PNNL are working with industry to ensure that requirements balance the needs of:

• Protecting the consumer getting work done, as well as meeting the overall need to protect taxpayer funds from fraud, waste, and abuse; and

• Making the requirements reasonable so a quality contractor is not overly burdened with program rules and paperwork.

I’d encourage you to review the QI Checklists and QI Tool to see if you have specific recommendations. For example:

QI Checklist feedback

If you are a business owner, what would you want your crews to perform on every job? And are there elements that you think are not needed? Are there any requirements that are poison pills?

Should a blower door be required for any project that has attic insulation? Or can a “quality” attic insulation job be performed without really measuring the effectiveness of the sealing of the attic plane?

Should a room-by-room Man J be required for any HVAC equipment replacement? Are there any specifications that you’d add or subtract?

QI Tool feedback

If you are a business owner of a home services company or an OEM, what sort of documentation would you want to gather to verify that every job was done well —regardless of whether or not it’s your “a-crew” doing the installation?

DOE and PNNL’s websites for these different efforts do have mechanisms to provide feedback. Program administrators need good advice and engagement from industry so they can build effective tool and resources.

To learn more about Pearl Certification and read other articles in this series as they become available, visit the Southern PHC Pearl Certification page.