Masco Home Services has launched a new program offering home assessments and energy efficiency improvement services for existing homes, called WellHome.
The WellHome service is launching in seven cities – Austin, Dallas, Orlando, Phoenix, Tucson, Ann Arbor, Michigan and Nashua, New Hampshire and plans to expand to multiple other cities before the end of 2010.
The company said that the new service will provide assessments and implementation, serving as the general contractor to oversee all home improvement projects. WellHome will provide homeowners with a Whole Home Energy Savings Limited Guarantee on their energy savings resulting from the improvements. State and federal tax credits, and utility rebates and incentives, may be available to help pay for these improvements.
The recently proposed Homestar program, which President Obama is encouraging Congress to enact, may make additional incentives available to homeowners who make weatherization or energy efficient improvements to their home.
WellHome will focus on home performance for existing homes. The company said that it has a team of home performance advisors as well as service providers to supply products and services including air and duct tightness, insulation, windows, energy efficient lighting and new heating and cooling systems to make homes more energy efficient.
Using diagnostic tools, including infrared temperature guns, blower doors and carbon dioxide and air flow monitors, a WellHome Advisor (WHA) will conduct a whole-home assessment. The WHA will assess the home on efficiency and air quality issues.
Following the assessment, the WHA will develop a report via licensed industry software that analyzes the data and illustrates to the homeowner how their home performs relative to energy efficiency. The assessment report helps homeowners make an informed decision about the improvements that will suit their needs and budget by prioritizing the effectiveness of each option, while also showing the long-term cost benefits of installations and improvements.
Larry Laseter, president of WellHome, said: “Millions of homeowners across the country are living in homes that are not as comfortable or energy efficient as they could be. To date, our assessments show that homeowners can see energy efficiency gains between 20% – 50% by choosing our solutions, which also supply comfort and air quality benefits.
”Our approach to home performance is to conduct a thorough assessment and diagnose the issues, but to also fix them, and then guarantee the energy savings. This full-service approach to comfort and home energy efficiency is unique to WellHome and will be the model as we grow nationally.”