What does efficiency look like?

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Energy efficiency is fairly easy to define. But what does energy efficiency look like? And if you can’t see it, how can you engage with it?

That’s what Geoffrey Hay, an Associate Professor of Geo-Information Science at the University of Calgary asked the TEDx Calgary audience last summer. He’s the force behind Heat Energy Assessment Technologies, or HEAT, a free GeoWeb service that shows homeowners where their homes are wasting heat and how much it’s costing them.

“We believe that if people could see the waste heat they generate and if they knew how much it cost (financially and to the environment), that they would want to take action,” says Hay.

HEAT maps look a lot like Google Maps – except in addition to street view images, they show waste heat leaving homes. The data, which is captured by an infrared camera during nighttime fly-overs, is used to generate a Residential HEAT Score map (left).

Users can navigate through the map to zoom in on an individual home, view a ranked HEAT score (below, left), and compare an infrared image with a Google Street View image (below, right) in order to identify the top six areas of heat loss.

Of course, just because you can see those problem spots doesn’t mean you know what to do about it. That’s where a certified energy advisor and contractor like Evergreen Home Performance comes in. Whether motivated by cold floors, high energy bills, or a less-than-stellar HEAT score, homeowners turn to Evergreen for a free energy consult that helps them understand their homes and plan comprehensive improvements, including insulation, air sealing, and wet basement remediation.

Hay hopes that by making energy efficiency visible, the HEAT app will inspire that kind of action on a large scale. MIT Climate CoLab certainly sees the potential: Hay and his team earned top honors at the annual Crowds & Climate Conference last week. The award will help HEAT scale up from the pilot project of almost 38,000 homes in NW Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

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Damariscotta

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Portland

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Ryan Adams

Evergreen has insulated two homes that we've owned now and both times we experienced exceptional service and craftsmanship. Our rep, Justin, went above and beyond answering questions and the installation team was attentive to every detail, including pulling out old poorly installed insulation and redoing a bathroom fan that wasn't up to current code. They also left the place spotless every day! Our home is already so much warmer this fall and we are looking forward to using less oil this winter.

Eva G.

Falmouth

Our house still the most efficient home we’ve ever lived in. And we have you folks to thank for that! A special howdy to Brian Robinson please!

Bruce O’Donal and Eva Butler

We just finished a large project of air sealing and reinsulating our 1890s basement and attic which had been completely renovated 8 years ago but still felt cold and lacked proper energy assessment and corrections. We met with Justin in December and were very impressed with his knowledge, professionalism and communication skills and knew Evergreen was who we wanted to work with. Dave was our on hands project manager and was excellent. The office staff has been quick to respond and helpful as well when needed.

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Joel Wentz

Update 12/2018: Evergreen has completed Phase II of my house (insulating and installing air/moisture barrier on exterior walls, replacing old windows) and now that heating season is upon us, the difference is astonishing. The house is tight as a drum and so easy to keep warm. Worth every penny. Thank you all! Working with Evergreen was a positive experience from start (no charge energy audit) to finish (a MUCH more comfortable home). Brian Robinson spent a lot of time with me on the audit, explaining clearly what he was finding in my ca.

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Rockport

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St. George

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Bob & Sue

Whitefield

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RC Lations II

Portland

I was very impressed by the professionalism of this company and the workers. Brian R. was very prompt in replying to my questions; the crew was meticulous in all parts of the work and attentive to the safety aspects concerning Covid; and Brian was extremely thorough in the final inspection. My attic is now snug and warm and I've noticed that the second floor is warmer as well.

Julia S.

Rockland

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Duane B.

East Boothbay

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