5900-447 Energy Star Awards Application - Raters

EPA Form #: 5900-447

OMB Control #: 2060-0586

2020 ENERGY STAR^® Awards

PART 2: Partner of the Year &
Sustained Excellence Award Application

Home Energy Raters/Providers

The simple choice for energy efficiency.

Award Description:

The Partner of the Year and Sustained Excellence awards for Home Energy Raters/Providers recognize partners that have demonstrated excellence and innovation in expanding the market for ENERGY STAR certified homes.

Eligibility Requirements:

To be eligible for recognition, applicants must meet each of the following requirements:

• Verified at least 50 ENERGY STAR certified homes during 2019 (as either a Home Energy Rater, Accredited Rating Provider, or Quality Assurance Provider)¹;

• Maintained active ENERGY STAR partnership in good standing for at least one full year;

• Maintained satisfactory compliance with all applicable EPA regulations (EPA will perform a compliance/enforcement screening for each applicant as part of the application review process); and

• Maintained good standing (e.g., no active or pending disciplinary actions, probations, or suspensions) with their Verification Oversight Organization (e.g., Residential Energy Services Network/RESNET).

To be eligible for a Sustained Excellence award, applicants must meet the above requirements AND have received a Sustained Excellence award the previous year or received a Partner of the Year award each of the past two years. Applicants meeting these requirements will be automatically considered for a Sustained Excellence award.

Application Instructions:

ALL application materials must be submitted electronically through My ENERGY STAR Account (MESA) (www.energystar.gov/mesa) using the electronic application forms provided. These materials must include:

• PART 1: General Instructions & Executive Summary which includes a brief description of your organization and six bullet points showcasing your organization’s main ENERGY STAR certified homes achievements during 2019 in the corresponding fields. (required)

• PART 2: Award Accomplishments Document consists of your organization’s responses to Sections A and B of this application. (required)

• PART 3: Supporting Materials include electronic samples of materials used by your organization (e.g., samples of 2019 marketing and training materials) in support of the ENERGY STAR-related activities described in Section B below. Applicants must provide at least one supporting material for at least one activity in Section B. (required) When possible, please consolidate supporting materials into one electronic file. Any materials submitted may be used by EPA in promotion of the ENERGY STAR program and will not be returned to applicants.

• PART 4: Organization’s high-resolution logo (required)

Selection of Award Winners:

• EPA will evaluate applications based on the information provided in response to the areas specified in Section B.

• EPA may select any number of award winners, depending on the quality of the applications received.

BEGIN APPLICATION

PART 2:
Award Accomplishments Document

Section A (Required for all applicants)

Please indicate your ENERGY STAR Provider/Rater category (select only one):

☐ Home Energy Rater (working with an accredited Provider)

☐ Accredited Rating Provider (acting as both the Rater and Provider)

☐ Accredited Quality Assurance Provider (acting exclusively as a Provider to outside Raters)

Organization Web Site:	Enter organization’s Web site URL here
ENERGY STAR-related Web Page(s):	Enter organization’s ENERGY STAR Web page URLs here

Please complete all fields in the table below:

Year	# of ENERGY STAR Certified Homes Verified 2 3	Percentage (%) of All Homes Verified by your Organization that Earned ENERGY STAR Certification
2019	Enter estimated # of ENERGY STAR certified homes verified in 2018	Enter estimated % of all homes verified in 2019 that earned ENERGY STAR certification
2018	Enter # of ENERGY STAR certified homes verified in 2018	Enter % of all homes verified in 2018 that earned ENERGY STAR certification

Section B (Required for all applicants)

Instructions

Complete each section using concise bullets. Successful applications will:

• Quantify your achievements (e.g., number of homes certified, number of builders recruited to join ENERGY STAR as new/returning partners, number of trainings delivered)

• Specify annual and cumulative achievements within a given timeframe (e.g., verified 100 homes for ENERGY STAR certification in 2019, for a total of 1,000 homes since 2008)

• Include electronic samples of supporting materials used in support of the ENERGY STAR-related activities described below. Applicants are required to submit at least one supporting material for at least one of the activities described below. (required)

• Highlight what sets your organization apart

• Tell a positive story about how you achieved new heights or rose to new challenges

1. Promoting ENERGY STAR Recruitment and Retention (Maximum of 5 points):

In the space below, use concise bullets to describe how your organization directly contributed to maintaining or increasing ENERGY STAR participation by builders and/or Home Energy Raters in 2019. Include descriptions of unique challenges or barriers that you faced in achieving these successes. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Recruiting new builders into the ENERGY STAR program (include builder name and # of homes represented)

• Assisting builders in increasing the proportion of their homes that earn ENERGY STAR or moving to make a 100% commitment to building ENERGY STAR certified homes (include builder name, before and after percentages, and number of certified homes represented)

• Helping builders stay in the ENERGY STAR program in the face of challenges (e.g., transitions to new versions of the program, changes in utility incentive programs, or organizational mergers).

	Example - Worked with ABC Builder to increase their percentage of ENERGY STAR certified homes from 50% to 75%, representing a difference of 700 additional certified homes in 2019.
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2. Assisting Builders in Meeting ENERGY STAR Program Requirements (Maximum of 5 points):

In the space below, use concise bullets to describe how your organization directly assisted builders in meeting ENERGY STAR program requirements in 2019. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Identifying cost effective solutions to achieve greater energy efficiency

• Identifying innovative approaches for improving verification workflow (e.g., improvements in scheduling and reporting)

• Assisting builders with incorporating emerging technologies and advanced building practices

• Providing technical support and training to builders and/or Raters (for accredited Providers)

• Centralizing HVAC design services for builders

• Developing quality management plans for builders

	Example – Provided technical training and support to three builder partners to help them meet ENERGY STAR requirements, including understanding ENERGY STAR compliance and program updates and building in varying climate zones.
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ENERGY STAR^® is the simple choice for energy efficiency. For 25 years, EPA’s ENERGY STAR program has been America’s resource for saving energy and protecting the environment. Join the millions already making a difference at energystar.gov.

ENERGY STAR^® is the simple choice for energy efficiency. For 25 years, EPA’s ENERGY STAR program has been America’s resource for saving energy and protecting the environment. Join the millions already making a difference at energystar.gov.

3. Assisting Builders with Homebuyer Education⁴ (Maximum of 5 points):

In the space below, use concise bullets to describe your organization’s efforts in 2019 to assist builders in increasing homebuyer awareness of, and demand for, ENERGY STAR certified homes. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Developing ENERGY STAR-related marketing collateral (printed materials, online content, social media content, etc.)

• Delivering ENERGY STAR training to builders’ sales agents and/or real estate professionals

• Providing ENERGY STAR marketing materials for builder open house events

Applicants are strongly encouraged to provide electronic examples of all relevant materials used for this activity.

	Example – Trained a total of ten sales staff for five builders on an ongoing basis to talk about the features and benefits of ENERGY STAR certified homes to customers.
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ENERGY STAR^® is the simple choice for energy efficiency. For 25 years, EPA’s ENERGY STAR program has been America’s resource for saving energy and protecting the environment. Join the millions already making a difference at energystar.gov.

4. Implementing Innovative Quality Assurance Approaches (Maximum of 5 points):

In the space below, use concise bullets to describe any innovative quality assurance approaches that your organization applied to ENERGY STAR certified homes in 2019. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Using new tools and technology (such as digital field data collection tools, geo-tagged inspection reports, and remote or video-based QA)

• Providing ongoing quality assurance feedback through non-traditional mechanisms (e.g., Peer-to-Peer QA)

• Providing in-house training beyond minimum Continuing Education requirements

• Conducting field or file QA at a frequency higher than required by minimum standards

	Example – Developed a new technology solution to streamline our ENERGY STAR inspection and reporting process through a hand-held, cloud-based platform.
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5. Demonstrating Industry Leadership with ENERGY STAR (Bonus):

In the space below, use concise bullets to describe your organization’s efforts in 2019 to be an industry leader for the ENERGY STAR Certified Homes program. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Delivering ENERGY STAR information at industry conferences and meetings

• Engaging with code officials, utilities, and green building programs regarding ENERGY STAR

• Sharing ENERGY STAR information/knowledge with other Raters and Providers

• Delivering ENERGY STAR presentations/trainings for utilities

Applicants are strongly encouraged to provide electronic examples of all relevant materials used for this activity.

	Example – Participated in a meeting with other Raters to present information to our local utility about preparing builders for the roll-out of Version 3.1 in our state.
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Prepare/Gather Remaining Documents for Upload

PART 3: Supporting Materials (at least one required, as described in the Application Instructions above)

PART 4: Organization’s High-Resolution Logo (required)

ENERGY STAR^® is the simple choice for energy efficiency. For 25 years, EPA’s ENERGY STAR program has been America’s resource for saving energy and protecting the environment. Join the millions already making a difference at energystar.gov.

ENERGY STAR^® is the simple choice for energy efficiency. For 25 years, EPA’s ENERGY STAR program has been America’s resource for saving energy and protecting the environment. Join the millions already making a difference at energystar.gov.

ENERGY STAR^® is the simple choice for energy efficiency. For 25 years, EPA’s ENERGY STAR program has been America’s resource for saving energy and protecting the environment. Join the millions already making a difference at energystar.gov.

ENERGY STAR^® is the simple choice for energy efficiency. For 25 years, EPA’s ENERGY STAR program has been America’s resource for saving energy and protecting the environment. Join the millions already making a difference at energystar.gov.

ENERGY STAR^® is the simple choice for energy efficiency. For 25 years, EPA’s ENERGY STAR program has been America’s resource for saving energy and protecting the environment. Join the millions already making a difference at energystar.gov.

ENERGY STAR^® is the simple choice for energy efficiency. For 25 years, EPA’s ENERGY STAR program has been America’s resource for saving energy and protecting the environment. Join the millions already making a difference at energystar.gov.

1 Applicants should make their best estimate of the expected number of homes to be verified for ENERGY STAR certification during calendar year 2018. EPA will confirm the final actual number of reported homes prior to selecting award winners.

2 For organizations that are exclusively Quality Assurance Providers, use the number of home ratings processed on behalf of Home Energy Raters rather than number of homes verified.

3 Applicants should make their best projection of the expected number of homes to be verified for ENERGY STAR certification for 2018. EPA will confirm the final actual number of reported homes during the review process, prior to selecting award winners.

4 If you are submitting an application as a Quality Assurance Provider, this part does not apply and can be skipped.

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