The city of Fresno applied for a Department of Energy Grant and they won. So instead of laying off building department workers, the city purchased blower doors, duct testers, and infrared cameras. Marlin Alvis, a local Green Building consultant, initially advised the city followed by Consol, a major California efficiency consulting firm. Soon the building department employees will be certified as HERS raters (Home Energy Rating System) and they have plans to audit 7,000 Fresno homes a year for the next three years. The Fresno Housing Authority has contracted with the city to perform 1,200 audits on their housing units. The FHA has about 12,000 units under their jurisdiction.

Some local HERS raters are concerned that having city employees as HERS raters will cut into their business. But the truth is, we may not have enough HERS raters. As part of California's Strategic Energy Plan, the state will unveil HERS II, an ambitious plan to address the state's existing housing stock. The HERS Index is a computer model of an existing home and rates the home based on current energy code. The computer model will suggest "cost effective measures" such as upgraded insulation or replacement of air conditioning and heating equipment. Word is they will add solar PV to the list in the coming months.

What's neat about this is that the state approved program can be used to quantify energy savings and qualify the home for what's called an "Energy Efficient Mortgage", or EEM. The EEM allows home buyers to borrow up to 5% more than the home's selling price without having to qualify for it. The funds are earmarked for energy efficiency upgrades. The logic is sound, The savings on the utility bill from "cost effective measures" more than offset the higher mortgage payment. This will be amplified when the Publicly Owned Utilities switch their billing to Time Dependent Valuation (when you get charged based on demand on the grid).

Kudos to the City of Fresno. This is a big deal.