Event Description

Homeowner interest in our capacity to control indoor air quality and increase resilience has skyrocketed. Ventilation has been elevated from bathrooms to main living areas, from a few seconds of exhaust to continuous delivery of fresh filtered air. Concerns around the ability to shelter in place during extreme events range from far-flung rural areas to cities.

Air pollutants like respiratory viruses and wildfire smoke can be prevented from entering and overwhelming a home.

The certainty of a steady supply of clean, filtered air would mean fewer days missed from school and sports activities along with better grades for our kids, increased performance at work for adults, reduced medical expenses, and positive impacts on our local economies. Health insurance companies acknowledge this and are more frequently investing in energy upgrades, particularly in low-income housing, as a risk reduction; proven to be more cost-effective than the expenses of emergency room care and illness.

Many efficiency improvements go beyond energy savings, they also make homes healthier and more resilient during power losses, fires, and extraordinary weather.

It’s also possible that an efficiency project if not installed correctly, can cause health problems.

The EPA, in response to new research and the escalation in interest and concerns, has created a new department – “Energy Plus Health”.

Do assets that result in home resiliency and occupant health contribute to market value? What does the market tell us?

RE pros pursuing expertise in Clean Energy Homes will advance their knowledge of potential improvements in home health and resiliency resulting from common efficiency improvements, expanding their credibility as expert guides for their customers.

Course Highlights

• How common efficiency assets improve health and resiliency
• Home performance elements vital to indoor air quality
• Healthy Housing Principles
• Smoke infiltration prevention
• Case studies of homes that survived wildfires
• Examples of resiliency in power losses
• Considerations in marketing and valuation

Learning Objectives

• Comprehend the beyond-energy benefits of efficiency assets
• Understand what to look for in inspections and interviews
• Accurately describe specific efficiency assets and how they deliver health and resiliency
• Communicate beyond-efficiency benefits in appraisal reports and listings
• Enhance your communication effectiveness with real stories of people who have experienced health improvements and tests of resiliency

Image: Mass Clean Energy Center