Homeowners :: About Us

• Our Approach |
• How it Works |
• Healthy Home

Initial Appointment

The initial appointment with a homeowner is a home assessment during which the contractor surveys insulation levels, potential moisture problems, indoor water use, and equipment efficiencies. The contractor also uses diagnostic equipment, such as the blower door and duct blaster, to assess the home’s energy use and flaws and make recommendations for improvement. The blower door tests help to determine infiltration (how leaky the house is), and the duct blaster test determines duct leakage. In regards to indoor air quality, the contractor also conducts, when applicable, a combustion safety test to detect the potential for harmful gases being drawn into the living space.

Follow Up

By the completion of the initial appointment, which can take several hours depending on the complexity of the house, the contractor will provide a set of prioritized recommendations to the homeowner. Southface staff will be present during the home assessment for a contractor’s initial projects. To provide quality control, Southface will spot-check a portion of a contractor’s subsequent projects in process. Southface will also revisit some projects after work has been completed. Southface acts both as a resource for contractors and as oversight, ensuring that contractors are assessing houses accurately and that their recommendations to homeowners are unbiased.

Homeowners have the final say

Homeowners can arrange to have any desired improvement work completed by either the contractor who performs the home assessment or another participating contractor. While the homeowner is not obligated to choose any of the Home Performance with ENERGY STAR contractors, work performed by participating contractors qualifies for program financing.

A Home Performance assessment is fully comprehensive. Items that are checked during every assessment include:

• insulation levels for all building components
• window types
• air leakage pathways with the blower door test
• efficiencies of heating, cooling, and water heating equipment
• duct system effectiveness with flow hood or a duct blaster test
• ventilation systems (dryer, kitchen range, bath exhausts)
• moisture management components (crawlspace vapor barrier, gutters, yard slope)
• test for the possibility of backdrafting when gas-burning appliances are inside house

Financing

Southface has made special financing available for customers who receive Home Performance with ENERGY STAR assessments and choose to have improvements made with a participating contractor. Loans are unsecured with favorable terms, including up to a 10-year payback period and interest rates 2% lower than the market rate. Loans are only available for improvement measures that fall within the scope of the program. See the financing reference guide and 7 easy steps for more detail

What kind of improvements might my house need?

Typical improvements recommended by Home Performance with ENERGY STAR include:

• Adding insulation
• Air sealing the house
• Sealing or replacing the duct system
• Replacing heating and cooling equipment
• Improving windows
• Installing or repairing dehumidification and ventilation systems
• Addressing moisture issues in the crawlspace or basement