In a detailed critique of U.S. home energy retrofit incentive programs, ex-insulation contractor Nate Adams calls for simpler, fuel-agnostic approaches that encourage excellence and accuracy, keep contractors accountable, and compensate homeowners for projected energy savings. By artificially limiting project size, he says programs like Dominion East Ohio’s discourage a whole-house approach that would save more energy, satisfy homeowners, and build employee morale.
“Chasing incentives takes the homeowner’s and contractor’s eye off solving problems and puts it on getting as much rebate with as little out of pocket as possible,” he writes. “This program created thinking around maximizing incentives, which takes the focus off designing solutions to problems, and, ironically, artificially limits job size.”
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