Minnesota homes need work to become more efficient, durable, and healthy. Homeowners of all income levels can now or soon use federal and state financial incentives to pursue energy efficiency and electrification/decarbonization improvements.
Homeowners wanting efficiency and decarbonization upgrades often don’t know where to seek services. Opportunities to provide needed services exist within and between the professional trades. This is the business of home performance.
We need more home performance contractors with expertise in home electrification and decarbonization in Minnesota. Current offerings for home performance measures (insulation, air sealing, HVAC, appliance and electrical upgrades, and more) are often prescribed and delivered separately, but customers and contractors benefit from a comprehensive whole-house approach. The time is ripe to develop and foster holistic, high-quality service delivery models to address unmet market needs.
This project offers a free opportunity for contractors to prepare their businesses to offer integrated, holistic home performance and decarbonization services. In a new business incubator program, CEE and industry experts offer coaching, mentorship, technical training, and business support to a cohort of select contractors forging this model.
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A four-month pilot phase will support a select cohort of contractors in the Twin Cities Metro.
Training and business assistance will include in-person sessions, synchronous virtual learning, asynchronous online content, and individualized coaching.
Training content and the program format will be shaped with cohort member input, and each participant will co-create an individualized plan tailored to their goals.
Training Resources for Contractors
- Energy Vanguard a home performance blog by Atlanta-based engineer Dr. Allison Bailes.
- Northern Built Pro a home performance blog by Minnesota builder, building analyst and energy geek Randy Williams .
- Energy Circle Energy Circle is a website design, marketing and training company devoted to high performance building companies. They have an extensive webinar library.
- The Energy Conservatory Minneapolis-based The Energy Conservatory (TEC) develops and sells diagnostic tools and equipment for home performance. They also produce free learning content.
- HVAC School provides free online training in HVAC via podcasts, videos and more. You'll need to register in order to access what they offer.
- ASHP Collaborative Training The Minnesota Air Source Heat Pump Collaborative is a CEE- and industry-led coalition, part of the Minnesota Efficient Technology Accelerator (ETA). You'll need to register in order to access their free online training.
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