March 2024 - What Jeff Would Fix If He Ran the Programs
WYSL/ Wise Home Energy Show
Jeff Flaherty lays out a blueprint for how NYSERDA and utility rebate programs could actually work better, starting with mandatory geotagged photo documentation on every job, required blower door tests with real accountability for contractors who skip them, and a shift from punishing bad results to rewarding measurable energy savings. He covers a 2006 ranch where the air sealing wasn't done despite being on the contract, a contractor who told a homeowner that attics don't need air sealing and that houses can be "too tight," and a 1965 home where a heat pump and proper insulation brought the total annual energy bill to $1,400 for everything including heating, cooling, and appliances. He also makes the case for banning single-stage furnaces from incentive programs entirely, explains why 90% of HVAC equipment is oversized, 90% of homes are under-insulated, and 90% of attics are under-ventilated, and why staging upgrades in the wrong order forces homeowners to redo work they just paid for.
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