Workforce Instruction for Standards and Efficiency (WISE)
Accelerating California's ZNE homebuilding market by training the construction workforce in advanced energy efficiency construction.
California Homebuilding Foundation (CHF)
Recipient
Sacramento, CA
Recipient Location
8th
Senate District
6th
Assembly District
$4,135,877
Amount Spent
Completed
Project Status
Project Result
The project ended in June and the team submitted a final report. The WISE team provided 141 trainings to the building industry on HPA and HPW practices, including impacts of the 2019 Title 24 requirements on code compliance. Most leading builders of the state's new single-family housing market received training. Additionally, the high school training program (BITA) will provide the new curriculum on HPA and HPW to 1,140 students in the next 3 years. Market trends found the inclusion of HPA built in single-family homes increased from 3 to 45 percent between 2016-2019, and from 0 to 10 percent for HPW. However, the use of 2x6-inch studs in walls (critical for HPW compliance) increased from a tenth of the market to a third. Likely, the temporary solar trade-off option prevented bigger penetration of both measures. The team plans to maintain the WiseWarehouse.org website to offer educational materials and promote certification trainings as a valuable resource to the industry.
The Issue
California's homebuilding market emerged from the 2007-2009 recession to find that many skilled tradespeople had permanently left the residential construction market. Meanwhile, techniques for constructing high performance attics, walls, and roof assemblies that were once considered "advanced practices" employed by few builders became code requirements for residential new construction. The lack of skilled labor, along with increased demand for high-performance insulation techniques, could disrupt the rate of adoption of these measures or lead to poor installation. This could result in lower than expected energy savings and construction defects imposing safety risks or damage to the building.
Project Innovation
This project provided education, outreach, and resources for California's new residential building industry on high performance attics (HPA) and high performance walls (HPW), two new requirements in the state's 2016 Building Energy Efficiency Standards (BEES). The project helped the new residential building industry better understand new requirements and options for compliance and provided them with technical support to enable the transition to the new requirements. Additionally, the project team provided some on-the-job training on the proper installation of insulation and changes to other building systems necessary for meeting the code requirements.
Project Benefits
The California Energy Code requires new homes to be constructed with HPA and HPW to meet energy efficiency standards. This project helped overcome market barriers of the measures by providing the industry with on-the-job training and tools on the best available technologies, techniques, and practices for complying with the new requirements.
Affordability
As builders become more familiar with proper installation practices and products are more widely deployed, the costs for installing HPA and HPW will be reduced. Additionally, proper installation will lead to energy savings, further reducing costs for ratepayers.
Safety
Training will improve safety by ensuring builders follow manufacturers' code-compliant installation guidelines to reduce the risk of construction and structural defects.
Key Project Members
Terri Brunson
Subrecipients
ConSol
Davis Energy Group, Inc.
Chitwood Energy Management
Western Cooling Efficiency Center - UC Davis
Building Media, Inc
TRC Engineers, Inc.
Steve Easley & Associates
Wallrich Creative Communications
Greenworks Consulting
Selby Energy, Inc
California Building Industry Association (CBIA)
High Performance Building and Code Solutions LLC
Energy Docs Home Performance
The Energuy Inc.
Desiree Webb
Match Partners
ConSol
BASF
Owens Corning
KB Home
California Building Industry Association (CBIA)
APA - Engineered Wood Association
Bayer Material Science
Ensoltis Green Hybrid Roofing
Panasonic Eco Solutions North America
PCBC
QC Manufacturing
Shea Homes
SIPA - Structural Insulated Panel Association
SPFA - Spray Polyurethane Foam Alliance
Taylor Morrison Homes of California, LLC
Tru Team of California
