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SQA Trending Statewide Nonconformance

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To: EmPower+ Contractors
Regarding Programs: EmPower+
Summary: SQA trending statewide nonconformance
Contact: Amy Kasson-Muzio; amy.kasson-muzio@nyserda.ny.gov

Dear Stakeholders,

The NYSERDA Standards and Quality Assurance, SQA, team regularly reviews statewide trends of nonconformances identified during Quality Assurance inspections. To assist contractors by enhancing their internal Quality Control, the SQA team will be sending out emails to contractors who have received the trending statewide nonconformance identified at least once during a Quality Assurance inspection. The emails sent to contractors will contain the nonconformance identified during one or more inspections performed over the past year from the installed energy efficient projects.

The goal is to ensure the installation of the safest and most reliable energy efficient projects for all households throughout New York. The SQA team will assist contractors to successfully pass all inspections and answer questions.

Below is an example of a trending statewide nonconformance identified:

REQUIREMENT: Combustion Appliance Zone (CAZ) safety issues have been corrected.

NONCONFORMANCE DESCRIPTION: CAZ and appliance related safety issues have been corrected per ANSI/BPI-1200 Sections 7.8.1.1, 7.8.1.3, 7.8.1.5, 7.8.2.2 and 7.8.4.

The most common reasons why this nonconformance is identified are because:

  • Vent/flue/connector piping does not have the minimum clearance from combustible materials per BPI-1200 and NYS Residential Code
  • Unintended vent/flue/connector openings causing leakage (corrosion, broken fittings, detached piping/fittings)
  • Vent/flue connector is not pitched up from the appliance connection point to the chimney/vent connection.

To avoid this nonconformance we highly encourage the leadership and crew members to:

  • Maintain minimum required clearances between insulation, chimneys, vents and connectors. Repairs made to single wall vents and appliance connectors, such as holes made for combustion analysis should be covered with materials approved by NYS code, use of snap in metal plugs are recommended, foil tapes do not meet minimum code material requirements.
  • Replace/repair vents, flues, connectors to address leakage and improper pitch, this work scope item should be included as a health and safety measure.
  • Where the existing appliance flue outlet is too tall to install the flue/connector with the proper pitch per the appliance manufacturer specifications and/or code include replacement of the appliance with a heat pump or combustion appliance with a flue outlet that is low enough, for example a short gas fired hot water heater. This work scope item should be discussed with your account manager and should be included in the work scope as a health and safety measure for program review.

If you have any questions or need any assistance, please submit to:

inspections@nyserda.ny.gov

We appreciate the hard work and effort put forth by all installers.

Sincerely,The Standards and Quality Assurance Team

REA Website Updates

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To: Participating Contractors
Regarding Programs: Residential Energy Assessment Program (REA)
Summary: REA Website Updates
Contact:homeaudits@nyserda.ny.gov

In coordination with the launch of the NY Home Energy Portal (NYHEP), all REA contractors are encouraged to review the new documents available July 10, 2023 on the REA Contractor Website including:

Program Manual – updated to reflect NYHEP adjustments.

REA Workflow User Guide – Full NYHEP walkthroughs and links to Knowledge Base.

Customer Report Mapping – Identifies data modeled in NYHEP used to populate the Customer Report.

REA Photo Template – Opportunity to provide a photo report to customers.

Please reach out to homeaudits@nyserda.ny.gov with any questions or concerns.

Invoices for the weeks of July 3 and July 10

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To: Participating Contractors and Stakeholders
Regarding Programs: EmPower New York, Assisted Home Performance
Summary: Invoices for the weeks of July 3 and July 10
Contact: Account Managers

With the 4th of July holiday and the transition from Uplight to the NYHEP, program will be processing one Assisted Home Performance/EmPower invoice package per week, instead of two.The invoices will be processed in accordance with the timeline below:

  • Week of July 3, Invoice package will be processed on July 6
  • Week of July 10, Invoice package will be processed on July 12

If you have any questions, please reach out to your Account Manager.

EmPower+ Contractor Program Announcement- Go Live Next Week

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To: Participating Contractors and Stakeholders
Regarding Programs: EmPower New York, Assisted Home Performance
Summary: EmPower+ Contractor Program Announcement- Go Live Next Week
Contact: Account Managers

Please remember that the EmPower and Assisted Home Performance programs will be combining into one program, EmPower+, next week, on Monday, July 10, 2023. Please see prior program announcements for full details.

For current Participating Contractors, no action is required for you to continue working in the Program through EmPower+. Your existing Participation Agreement remains valid under EmPower+. If you decide you no longer wish to Participate in EmPower+, please send us an email to empower.residential@nyserda.ny.gov.

As you communicate EmPower+ changes with your staff, and customers please emphasize that, although the program names are changing, the customer experience should not change; NYSERDA is still dedicated to reducing energy usage for low- and moderate-income households.

To help assist with this rebranding, we ask that you please review your literature and websites and change all references to EmPower NY and Assisted Home Performance with ENERGY STAR® to EmPower+ by September 1, 2023. All marketing and promotional materials as well as forms with the Empower or Assisted Home Performance program names should stop being used by September 1, 2023, at the latest.

Please make sure to attend the July 7 Contractor webinar for additional EmPower+ information, the sign up information is below:

If you have any questions about this change, please contact your Account Manager.

EmPower+ Launch

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To: Participating Contractors and Vendors
Regarding Programs: EmPower+
Summary: EmPower+ Launch
Contact: Please reach out to your Account Manager

NYSERDA is announcing the launch of EmPower+ for Spring 2023 which will be the culmination of a years’ long effort to combine the EmPower NY and Assisted Home Performance with ENERGY STAR® programs into one program with a single application, single set of processes and requirements, and a consistent incentive structure. The coordination of these programs began with the launch of the combined income-eligible customer application in July 2021, continued with the alignment of program processes in March 2022, and will finalize with a rebranding and launch of the NY Home Energy Portal on July 10, 2023. EmPower+ will be a seamless experience for all – customers, contractors, and community groups, with customers accessing difference incentive levels based on their income level.

The Program will function very similarly to the current state, with incentive levels for low- and moderate-income households at 100% and 50% respectively. However, this will all be under the EmPower+ umbrella. Customers who have recently applied under the Combined Application will not need to reapply once the switch to EmPower+ has been made.

Name Change

To help assist with this rebranding, we ask that you please review your literature, scripts and websites and change all references for EmPower NY and Assisted Home Performance with ENERGY STAR to EmPower+ by September 1, 2023. Please note the name is EmPower+, not EmPower Plus. If the use of + is prohibitive (such as within a software system), then the name EmPower should be used.

The URL for EmPower+ will be: nyserda.ny.gov/empower. Please review your materials and websites and make any necessary changes.

Retirement of EmPCalc

Over the past two years, processes and procedures have been changed to align EmPower and Assisted Home Performance with ENERGY STAR. With the official launch of EmPower+ and the NY Home Energy Portal, the use of the EmPCalc tool will be retired. All energy modeling and project submissions will be done within the NY Home Energy Portal. There will be no need to upload Excel documents to address versioning, as that will be done automatically within the new system.

Home Energy Assessments

The home energy assessment procedures and reports will align for customers across all income levels, and among the EmPower+ and Residential Energy Assessment Programs. All customers will receive a complete home energy assessment with a report that shows customers all opportunities for improvements in their homes, regardless of available incentives.

As previously announced, all staff who complete energy assessments must hold the proper certifications and submit that proof to the program.

Updates to Program Rules

Required minimum insulation levels required for heat pump installations will be aligned for Empower+, REA, and Comfort Home. Section 5.10 of the Program Manual will be updated with the table below:

Area RequiredInsulation Level
1-4 Family Homes
Attic Gable WallsR-14
Knee WallsR-15
Attic Roof DeckR-28 or Fill to Capacity
Attic Floors/Open AtticR‐38 Average1 or Fill to Capacity
Attic Slope CeilingsR-38 or Fill to Capacity
Attic HatchesR‐20
Pull‐Down StairsR‐13
WallsR-14 or Fill to Capacity
Rim JoistR-14
Air Tightness7 ACH2
Mobile Homes
WallsR‐6
AtticR‐24
BellyR‐21
Air Tightness12 ACH3

The 5% Assisted Home Performance contractor modeling incentive will end for projects submitted for completion after July 7, 2023, as the energy modeling process is being streamlined by being built into the new platform.

Home Performance with ENERGY STAR Name and Logo

The Department of Energy announced that the national Home Performance with ENERGY STAR Program is sunsetting in 2023. This change will not impact NYSERDA running the EmPower+ program and taking a building-science forward approach to energy efficiency and clean energy improvements. However, the use of the Home Performance with ENERGY STAR name and logo will end. NYSERDA is retiring this use with the launch of EmPower+. Contractors and partners who use this name and/or logo should cease to do so by the end of 2024.

As you communicate these changes with your staff and customers, please emphasize that, although the program names are changing, the customer experience should not change; NYSERDA is still dedicated to reducing energy usage for low- and moderate- income households.

If you have any questions about these changes, please contact your account manager.