TOPIC: NACHI Green Inspections

John

How did you obtain your training for thermal and what type of camera are you using?

How can you do a quality energy inspection without using a blower door?

I sub contract my IR stuff out.  He got his level 1 certification through The Snell Group. And he uses a Fluke Ti25.  And he does have a blower door.

This inspection isn't an energy inspection.  I created this forum not for the IR part of things.  As some of you know, to become a "Certified IR Inspector" you must inadvertently take the Green Home course through NACHI.  What I am trying to decide is to whether I want to offer this little "Green Inspection" as part of my list of money making options my customers can choose from.  In other words, I am trying to offer more products for my customer to buy! 

To make this decision I need to know certain facts and the best way to get that info is to go out and do it. The second best way is to ask others who do them for the info.  I need to get an idea of price for this inspection.  I need to get an idea of time involved to do this inspection.  And I need to get an idea of difficulty to do this inspection.

If you go through and look at the list, most of the items are pretty easy items to check.  There are some that are difficult and I don't think you would be able to verify them unless you were there as the home was being built.  If anyone has any tips or tricks to verify the difficult ones, I sure would like to hear them!  ;D

As for IR inspections, I offer those with and without a home inspection.  With, I charge $100 per hour + Inspection fee.  Without, I charge $125 per hour.  And one day I hope to be able to afford my own IR equipment and be able to cut out the middle man.

John
Green inspection is not an energy audit (as per say you don't use blowers or thermal cameras). You just verify the components of the home and assign points to it. You are looking to see if they are using the latest green technologies in manufacturing a home and in the appliances and lighting that they use.

Older homes you'll rip right through because you now they are not going to be built with engineered lumber, etc....The more green technology used the longer your inspection.

Bottom line is you are just verifying what claims are being made on the MLS listing.
I add $150 on top of my regular inspection and as a stand alone I charge $400. For the moment

I've been rolling around $150 for the price to do the Green Inspection checklist.  But then I start to think about the cost of my normal home inspection, starting at $200, I think I should lower the price to something between $75 & $100.  Problem is, how long will this inspection take and will it be worth my time and expense to offer it to my customers?  This Sir, is the bottom line, will it be a cost effective decision to offer this inspection?

As I sit here writing this, I'm starting to roll around $85 in my head.  I think that price is a good middle of the road price but I still need to know more about the time involved.

John
If your worried about pricing because of the area you live in. Then just market it as an add on to your regular inspection and charge an extra $100 to $150, whatever the market will bear. You'll get to see most of the check list during your regular inspection and what ever is not caught, finish off the list after the inspection. Depending on the size of home it may add an extra hour to your regular inspection. And your clients will see your being extra thorough with the inspection.

As a stand alone it takes around 1 to 1 1/2 hours if your thorough and again that depends on the size of home and time of year up here.

Energy audits do essentially that.  I don't know what a "Green Inspection" is really.

Being "green" used to be common sense.  Now it is a fad, and soon a mandate.  Mo' money, mo' gubment control.

When I was a kid, we used to put plastic over our windows in winter, turn down the thermostat at night, fix or replace bad appliances, turn the lights out, not waste - now that's "green."

When there is a profit motive it will happen all over.  For example, aluminum has been recycled for over 100 years.  It is the most recycled thing we have.  Why?  Profit.

Asphalt is the same.  Copper the same.

Plastic bags?  No, <1%.  Cans?  No, <1%.  I look around my neighborhood at the recycle boxes on trash day.  Few people do it.  Why?  The trash company makes money collecting and turning it in (if they even do) but we don't.  When they make it worth our time and effort more of us will do it.

The earth has survived gigantic cataclysms - polar magnetics have shifted completely, huge comets have struck, daily, sometimes devastating, earth quakes, monstrous natural oil leaks deep in the oceans - you name it.  Turning in a few plastic bags, newspapers, aluminum cans, picking up dog poop - that's going to "save the planet?" 

Before energy audits came out, I used to do green inspections as a part of my regular home inspection.  It's common sense - you need to add insulation, replace the fridge, upgrade the AC, caulk, install a storm door and better windows, etc.  Now, people want to pay me to give them a computer print out that says the same thing!  OKAY!!  Pay me!!

Hey, maybe THAT'S why they call them GREEN inspections!!

IMHO were all going to have to offer Green, LEED, or HERS, to stay ahead of the competition.  LEED & HERS seem to be the Green industry acceptable certification. I have a local agent pushing on the back with both hands to help him become the local GREEN AGENT. He will in turn help me become the local rating guru....oh wait - green spaceman... Still uploading all the details into my head....

I can definitely see this too as the prices for the tools needed continue to drop in pricing and tax and other incentives are offered. Some cities are even starting to require them which would obviously be a big boon.

I offer a green inspection. Why not offer it? It's all the rage. My inspection consists of a similar checklist to NACHI's, but I also added MANY of my own items to look for, and I also offer recommendations on things homeowners can do to become "greener"; these recommendations are unique to every house/individual.