Residential/Mass Markets Sector Report DECEMBER 2013 NEW … Monthly Report DEC... · 2014. 2. 6. · Residential/Mass Markets Sector Report DECEMBER 2013 NEW CONSTRUCTION Accelerate

Residential/Mass Markets Sector Report DECEMBER 2013 NEW CONSTRUCTION Accelerate market adoption of energy –efficient residential building practices and technologies to pave the way for future code adoption.

2013 Objectives

Transition elements of NW ENERGY STAR to the market.

Explore the “Next Step” in new construction.

Develop strategies to support home performance scoring. EFFICIENT HOMES - NW Energy Star Homes (NWESH) Initiative Lifecycle Phase: Market Development

Progress to date

178 certified Homes in December bringing the total certified homes to 2198.

Met with Manor Homes (SW WA/Portland 75 Homes/year) to help them with marketing efforts. Manor is now taking advantage of Northwest ENERGY STAR Homes customizable marketing templates.

Delivered a one hour Multifamily Specification webinar on December 16, 18 and 20 to builders, Raters, and industry related green building consultants.

Delivered a full-day HVAC Design Training in Pasco, WA on December 4. Montana Verifiers Bill Schwahn and Trent Currie attended the training to prepare to deliver future trainings to qualify Approved Northwest HVAC Contractors in Montana. This was the first pre-packaged training that we intend to transition to the market this year.

New Homes Utility Work Group met December 11. Eight utilities attended to discuss multifamily specifications, program updates and utility reports. Meeting notes posted on Conduit, click here.

1 The legacy database for NW ENERGY STAR Homes was decommissioned on July 1. As partners become proficient with the new database (Axis) we anticipate the number of certified homes to climb back up to previous levels.

Jan Feb March April May June July August Sept Oct Nov Dec Total

230 284 108 134 218 310 491 127 135 223 202 178 2198

2

Provided feedback to the EPA on ENERGY STAR v3.1, the EPA’s revised specifications for states that adopt the 2012 IECC or an equivalent code. Input was focused on providing more regionally appropriate checklists and enforcing measures that are energy related.

Held the Regional Provider Forum on December 6, with four attendees. This month’s agenda covered quality assurance and oversight, Axis, HVAC, Multifamily and training.

Held Quarterly Verifier Forum on December 17, with 30 attendees. This month’s agenda covered Axis, HVAC, Multifamily and the Next Step Home Pilot.

Distributed the last Verifier newsletter of 2014 on December 30. To continue the Northwest ENERGY STAR program transition to the marketplace, newsletters will likely be aimed at Providers in 2014.

Northwest ENERGY STAR Market Hand off

Ccontinued working with Pivotal Energy Solutions to develop an Axis report to provide utilities with a means to verify and record incentive measures. Utility reports will be finalized in January, 2014.

Held an Efficient Homes planning session to identify 2014 goals, obstacles, and strategies for success.

In effort for continued improvement of the Axis database based on feedback from database users, Pivotal Energy Solutions released updated user guides for NEEA, Providers, and Raters, to reflect a number of user interface improvements made in October.

Coming Up

See the NWESH calendar for upcoming events.

EFFICIENT HOMES - Next Step Home (NSH) Initiative Lifecycle Phase: Market and Product Assessment (Strategy Testing and Finalization phase anticipated Q3 2014)

Progress to date

To generate builder interest and leads for phase II of the Next Step Home Pilot, developed and distributed editorial content to Home Builder Associations (HBAs), Building Industry Associations (BIAs) and green building programs to distribute to their builder network.

As a result of continued recruitment efforts, we have collected nine sets of house plans from interested builders whose projects align with the Phase II timeline. Initial modeling efforts have begun, with the aim to sign participation agreements in January, 2014.

3

Continuing to schedule and conduct homeowner interviews for the Next Step Home Pilot based on homeowner availability. Results will be aggregated and incorporated into the pilot project reports at the end of Q1, 2014.

Development continues of a one-page flyer and tri-fold brochure for the Next Step Home Pilot that will be used by builders to promote and explain the Pilot to current or future homeowners. The flyer will be customized by project to include advanced technologies and building practices as well as builder and utility recognition.

Developed editorial content to accompany the Pilot application and conducted outreach to HBAs, BIAs and green building associations, introducing a call for projects initiative. As a result, the content was included in HBA and BIA newsletters and pushed out to builders, Green Building Council and Built Green contacts.

Coming Up /In Process

Recruitment of 30 new pilot projects throughout the region continues.

Leveraging the New Homes utility work group to identify possible market partners in utility stakeholder territories.

NW DUCTLESS HEAT PUMP PROJECT Accelerate the adoption and market acceptance of inverter-driven ductless heating and cooling systems in electrically heated homes.

Initiative Lifecycle Phase: Market Development

2013 Objectives

Build market capacity to support 25,000 installations

Support training and installation opportunities outside the traditional HVAC channel

Create consumer demand for ductless heat pump (DHP) product

Support ongoing expansion of ductless technology in the retail channel Progress to date

Influenced 107 DHP installations in December. o There have been 3318 DHP installations to date in 2013

109 Master Installers currently participating in the program.

Performed 13 quality assurance (QA) visits in December. o 10 passes o 3 minor deviations

2 due to lack of risers 1 due to missing UV tape and line-set insulation shrinking back from flare fittings

o QA inspections are performed to evaluate installation quality, provide homeowner education and answer questions about the DHP installation

4

NEEA launched the first phase of the GoingDuctless.com website refresh project in early December.

o The refresh includes updates to website design, content, and navigation to make it easier for partners and consumers to find resources including technology resources, the installer finder, templates and tools, and utility incentives.

The Puget Sound lead generation project continued in December. Puget Sound Energy joined Seattle City Light and Snohomish PUD to reach out to customers who likely have electric resistance heat to promote a special installation discount. Activities included:

o Facilitated collaboration among Mitsubishi, distributors, and selected installers which led to a $300 installation discount from market partners.

o Assisting utility partners in a PR campaign highlighting the promotion.

Supported supply chain partner, Mitsubishi, in the installation of DHP system displays in 32 Sears’s stores throughout the region to provide NW consumers a place where they can see and experience DHP equipment to increase overall consumer awareness and purchase.

o The Project and Mitsubishi representatives visited participating Sears’ stores to evaluate display locations within stores and equip Sears Home Improvement Associates (SHIAs) with targeted messaging to convey to customers.

o A utility rebate marketing cling is intended to be added to the displays in 2014. Final decision on implementing that program will be made after Sears’ installers complete Project Orientation, manufacturer installation and service training, and further utility outreach.

Concluded the 2013 Co-op Marketing Program which launched in May of 2013. o Supported 70 installer reimbursement requests including 57 Master Installer

submissions and 13 Oriented Contractor Submissions. $89,837 of leveraged media dollars was spent by 34 installers who completed

the necessary paperwork for reimbursement. ($148,668 total spend, $58,831 approved reimbursements.)

Coming Up /In Process

Pilot program with four master installers testing different methods intended to capitalize on word-of-mouth promotion of DHP technology to decrease sales costs. Pilot began November 1, 2013 and continues through March 31, 2014.

In coordination with BPA, working with City of Milton on a lead generation activity in early 2014. Activities include a bill stuffer and with support phone number being staffed by CLEAResult. Other utilities that would like to coordinate lead generation activities should contact Michael Freels [email protected] (503) 548-1631.

Utility webinar schedule: o Thursday, February 13, 2014, 12-1 pm PST. Click here to register.

Issues/Initiative Opportunities

The target market of electric resistance heated homes in the Northwest is well defined but much less is understood about the demographic and psychographic segments of this population.

o Data from rebate forms for previous purchasers and the RBSA is being analyzed and secondary research is being conducted to segment the market, prioritize the groups, and develop strategies to increase penetration with the highest potential.

5

HEAT PUMP WATER HEATERS Influence federal standard requiring heat pump water heaters (HPWH) for all electric storage tanks greater than 45 gallons in size.

Initiative Lifecycle Phase: Market Development

2013 Objectives

Transition market test to full scale market deployment

Provide turnkey program platform for utility partners to leverage

Expand retail channel efforts aimed at increasing overall product awareness and sales of Northern Climate product

Develop incentive and expand program offerings via traditional installer networks (i.e., plumbing, HVAC)

Progress to date

Influenced 98 Tier 2 HPWH installations in December o There have been 3181 Tier 1 and Tier 2 sales and installations reported to date.

Delivered two contractor trainings in December o There are now 442 orientated contractor companies and 122 contractors are actively

installing through Smart Water Heat o Contractor trainings are offered to provide a HPWH technology overview, deliver

installation best practices, review available rebates and educate contractors about available tools and resources

Performed 112 quality assurance (QA) visits with an 88% pass rate in December o There have been 643 QA inspections performed from initiative start to date o QA inspections are performed to evaluate installation quality, provide homeowner

education and answer questions about the HPWH installation o December deviation details include:

Minor deviations Unit out of level Inadequate condensation drainage No CAR, 4" ducting

o Major deviation No CO detector - combustible appliance present

o Failed installation Ineligible site, unit was installed outdoors

Tier 2 HPWH Rebate

Helped coordinate an end-of-the-year sales push to move stocked product in the region

6

o To increase sales, NEEA increased the Tier 2 rebate from $750 to $1,000 starting November 15 through December 31, 2013

o To receive the $1,000 rebate, contractors or homeowners must submit completed paperwork by December 31, 2013

o Announced a Tier 2 rebate extension of $750 through March 31, 2014 o After March 31, 2014, NEEA’s incentive structure will focus solely on

upstream/midstream strategies that will include deliberate markdown cycles During the first quarter of 2014 the HPWH team will be developing a

promotions calendar with market partners

Rheem and The Home Depot (THD) Promotion o Collaborated with THD and Rheem to coordinate a promotion around Rheem’s new

Northern Climate Specification-qualifying HPWH Rheem has agreed to contribute up to $25,000 in marketing materials for the

promotion o The promotion launched November 28 and ran through December 31 as communicated

via utility newsletters, webinars and bulletins o Provided utility partners with turn-key marketing templates to advertise the promotion

to customers Templates included: flyers, website and social media posts, and, several utilities

took advantage of the materials

Contractor outreach o In order to gauge contractors’ attitudes and experience with HPWHs, NEEA engaged in

outreach, resulting in 125 conversations with contractors familiar with and new to Smart Water Heat across the region

o A few notable observations include: 55% of respondents currently install heat pump water heaters 79% of installers interviewed are aware of Smart Water Heat 85% of those not installing heat pump water heaters plan on selling them in the

near future o 111 respondents shared what they feel is the main barrier to installing heat pump water

heaters, and top responses were: 39%: cost 19%: no barrier 16%: lack of demand

Coming Up

Electrolux collaboration o Worked extensively with Electrolux throughout Q4 to build a lasting and effective

partnership to increase the adoption of Tier 2 equipment in the region o Announced Electrolux is partnering with AirGenerate to bring two new Tier 2 66 gallon

HPWHs to market o Electrolux performed a very rigorous, multi-stage audit of AirGenerate's production and

quality control processes and capabilities, and awarded AirGenerate an "A rating", the highest available

o Air Generate will continue to manufacture HPWHs under its own brand name, in addition to manufacturing units for Electrolux

o The new models were added to the Northern Climate Qualified Products List on November 27

7

o NEEA met with product managers for Electrolux’s HPWH. Electrolux product will be available at retail locations beginning in early 2014. Discussion points included:

Historical Smart Water Heat promotion examples Electrolux product distribution and pricing Contractor and retail training Opportunities for collaboration

o Details on pricing and availability will be shared in the coming weeks Issues/ Opportunities

There is still ample opportunity to educate new supply chain partners on the value of HPWHs and the region’s commitment to the product category

Utility involvement is extremely beneficial to the success of promotions and contractor trainings o The number of utilities involved in the events seems to correlate positively to

participation

Early in the GE promotion, we learned that all potential retail partners had not been notified in a timely manner of the promotion

o NEEA will share manufacturer promotions with retail partners prior to launch instead of relying on manufacturer partner’s existing communication channels, ensuring full participation of all potential retail partners

o Partners are not always reliable in communicating promotions to their supply chain SUPER EFFICIENT DRYERS Initiative Lifecycle Phase (ILC): Concept Opportunity Assessment (Market and Product Assessment phase anticipated Q1, 2014)

The Super-Efficient Dryer Initiative has advanced from Scanning and Concept Identification phase of the ILC to Concept Opportunity Assessment. Prior to moving the dryer initiative to the Market and Product Assessment phase the Residential Advisory Committee will have the opportunity to review and provide feedback to be reported to NEEA’s management team, per the ILC process. Progress to date No new update to report for December. RETAIL CHANNEL Leverage NEEA’s current presence in the retail channel to help increase the regions influence and maintain relationships with retailers to accelerate market transformation activities.

8

2013 Objectives

Facilitate and participate in the NW Regional Retail Collaborative (NWRRC)

Participate in the Western Region Utility Network (WRUN) representing NW utilities

Deepen and expand retailer relationships by leveraging the TV initiative

Identify new products and market transformation program opportunities for the retail channel by leveraging the success of the TV initiative program and our retailer relationships

Progress to date

WRUN Participated in WRUN Quarterly meeting, topics included:

o 2014 planning and deepening manufacturer engagement for promotion o Staffing resources to help facilitate the group and provide overall administration. o NEEA team presented draft promotional template as a communication tool to help

communicate promotional opportunities to utility partners. o Group committed to deepening engagement with Conduit to house committee notes. o Marketing sub-committee has been repurposed into an on-line committee targeting on-

line opportunities with retailers. Notes to full committee meeting have been added to Conduit at: https://conduitnw.org/Pages/File.aspx?RID=1849

NWRRC Retail Windows Pilot: Continued work for Retail Windows Pilot, finishing development of a consolidated Puget-area rebate form, POP signage, web tout and Lowe’s sales associate training powerpoint. For more information on the Pilot, please read an overview document here.

Coming Up:

Launch of the NWRRC Retail Windows Pilot: o Puget-area utilities: February 1, 2014 o ETO and Clark Public Utilities: March 1, 2014

Notes from NWRRC Quarterly Meeting - Seattle, WA, held on January 14, 2014

Facilitate WRUN /NEEA role discussion with Residential Advisory Committee in January. Issues/Opportunities

Need to refine previously developed NWRRC Communication Plan. Proposed agenda topic for January 14th NWRRC meeting.

Need to develop communication plan/approach with NEEA’s Residential Advisory Committee on WRUN engagement, promotion opportunities etc. Proposed agenda topic for the January Residential Advisory Committee meeting.

WRUN Sub-Committee teams are currently brainstorming on 2014 targets and promotion opportunities.

9

RETAIL PRODUCTS PORTFOLIO (RPP) INITIATIVE Initiative Lifecycle Phase: Market and Product Assessment (Strategy Testing and Finalization anticipated in late 2014/early 2015)

Progress to date

NWRRC members agreed to serve as the Retail Product Portfolio Initiative work group.

Hired new Initiative Manager, Leslie Mestman.

Contract addendums presented to retailers to include product categories: Most Efficient Televisions 2014, ENERGY STAR Air purifiers, ENERGY STAR Home Theaters in a Box. This work lays the foundation with current national retail partner participating in the Television initiative to support the 2014 pilot efforts.

Formation of the RPP work group underway per NWRRC agreement.

Crafting draft product selection criteria to review with RPP work group in Q1 2014 and get their input. The product selection criteria will be used by the work group to identify an additional product category for the 2014 pilot.

TELEVISIONS Use financial incentives to change retail partner television stocking practices thereby transforming consumer purchase patterns and influencing television manufacturers to produce the most energy efficient televisions. Initiative Lifecycle Phase: Market Development

2013 Objectives

78% of TVs sold in the region meet ENERGY STAR v5.3 by end of 2013

22% market penetration of TVs that exceed the current ENERGY STAR v6 specification by at least 20% at year’s end

Influence ENERGY STAR Specifications and support efforts to establish state standards

10

Develop draft transition plan by July 1, 2013

Progress to date

Preliminary YTD Qualified Product Sales (through March, 2013)

ENERGY STAR 5 +20% ENERGY STAR 5 +35%

TV Diagonal <50 TV Diagonal >50 TV Diagonal <50 TV Diagonal >50

9,558 incented 20,922 unincented

9,608 incented 5,691 unincented

15,274 incented 27,960 unincented

8,557 incented 6,555 unincented

Preliminary YTD Qualified Product Sales (April through December, 2013)

ENERGY STAR 6 +20% ENERGY STAR 6 +ME

TV Diagonal <50 TV Diagonal >50 TV Diagonal <50 TV Diagonal >50

78,820 incented 57,966 unincented

30,478 incented 6,224 unincented

68,214 incented 3,699 unincented

10,027 incented 131 unincented

49% percent of televisions on display in December were at least 20% above ENERGY STAR 6.0, flat with October.

52.3% of sales in November were at least 20% above ENERGY STAR 6.0, a 10% increase from the 3rd quarter.

129 field services visits were conducted throughout the region during December.

Quarterly field service reports by funder are available here. These reports provide detailed information on all stores serviced through December 2013.

97 new pieces of POP which display corresponding utility logos were placed on televisions in high visibility locations (end-caps or other promotional display).

Coming Up

Consumer Electronics (Televisions) Initiative ends formal activities on December 31, 2013 and Energy Forward Point-of-Purchase stickers will be removed in January. In 2014, retailers will be incentivized for televisions that meet the ENERGY STAR Most Efficient 2014 standard as part of the Retail Products Portfolio pilot.

Results from experimental design activities around store associate engagement and video wall ad placement are being compiled. Once completed, the report will be shared with the region in order to inform utility program design.

Initiative scheduled for Transition Complete by June 30, 2014. Issues/Opportunities

By mid-February, Energy Forward POP will be removed from stores. OTHER RESIDENTIAL/MASS MARKET RELATED UPDATES Evaluation/Market Research

Understanding the Importance of Energy Efficiency in the Home Purchase Process Report published. Click here to read it. This was a quantitative study of ENERGY STAR homeowners and potential buyers and investigated perceptions around energy efficiency within the home purchasing process with the intention of assisting real estate and home appraisers to better assess Northwest ENERGY STAR Homes in the region. Findings from the report indicate that nearly two-thirds of homebuyers do not consider energy efficiency as a key factor contributing to their purchase decision, though it is a strong secondary driver.

11

Currently soliciting a qualified contractor for the following:

Work related to the establishment of a baseline for the Next Step Home initiative, including some information related to market characterization within the new construction space; we are likely to have a contractor on-board by March.

A “retrospective” market progress evaluation report for NW Energy Star Homes – there have been several MPERs completed in previous years; this work will endeavor to provide a more historic view of the market transformation efforts associated with this initiative and implications for the future.

Codes and Standards The Q4 2013 Codes and Standards updates have been posted to Conduit. Click here for Codes. Click here for Standards. Emerging Technology

Flex-pay: Webinar scheduled to review findings with the region held on January 30. Here’s a link to the report.

Manufactured Housing: No update this month. This is the update from November. NEEA is exploring several emerging tech and standards opportunities around manufactured housing. The work began with BPA several years ago and has progressed to a point where NEEA is considering the potential market transformation. There are three areas of focus:

BPA and NEEA are jointly funding work by Northwest Energy Works to develop and test a specification for High Performance Manufactured Homes. (here’s a link to the description)

NEEA has contracted WSU to support increasing the HUD energy code for manufactured homes currently in rule making at DOE

Investigating opportunity for a “cash for clunkers” play to replace pre 1980’s manufactured homes with new units.

Heat Pump Water Heaters: No new update for December. From last month, NEEA contracted with Ecotope, Inc. and Cascade Engineering Services, Inc. to conduct a laboratory assessment of the Sanden model # GES-15QTA heat pump water heater (HPWH) for northern climate installations. A Northern Climate EF of 2.98 was measured from this CO2-based, inverter-driven variable-speed compressor unit. Although not currently available in the US, the testing shows that with some adaptation, this technology holds great promise for the Northwest. Click here to view the report.

12

Dryers: Click here to see NEEA’s comments on the ENERGY STAR dryer specification posted on Conduit. Check out the new group formed on Conduit. This group provides a forum for discussion, reports and updates on the Region's work to accelerate adoption new clothes dryer technologies. The national collaboration on dryers is provided by SEDI (Super-Efficient Dryer Initiative), as well as EPA's Energy Star program.