California contractors can now use a new home energy assessment software. OptiMiser, an advanced energy modeling and reporting tool, has passed CalTEST for use in the California Home Upgrade program beginning in 2015.
The California Home Energy Upgrade program was recently overhauled to enable better energy savings projections, more consistent incentive calculations, and better overall customer service. As part of the program improvements, the CalTEST software qualification system will allow contractors providing energy assessments and energy improvement retrofits to use advanced software tools that meet rigid quality standards. OptiMiser is one of the first such tools to be approved for the soft launch of the improved California Home Upgrade program beginning January 1, 2015. That will be followed by a full launch on or about April 1, 2015.
OptiMiser software is built from the ground up to make it easier for home performance professionals to sell jobs and perform energy efficiency work. OptiMiser is designed to jump through as many regulatory hoops as possible for contractors while also offering full support for complex home performance measures.
OptiMiser has been at the forefront of the developments in the CalTEST implementation, partnering with the program for model verification and HPXML (data standards) implementation.
“We see the developments in California as an important step forward in our industry. Leif Magnuson, Matt Golden, and the utilities and implementers in California are initiating a visionary switch in our industry to energy efficiency programs that can be driven by real results. At OptiMiser, we believe performance evidenced by empirical results has to drive our industry and we are thrilled to be at the vanguard of this sea change led by California.”
– Andy Bardwell, CEO of OptiMiser
The California launch follows on the heels of similar program changes in Arizona and New York. In Arizona, OptiMiser partnered with Arizona Public Service (APS) and EnergySavvy to deliver an energy auditing software solution for their Home Performance with ENERGY STAR® program. Less than a year after the APS launch, over 95% of audits under the program rely on OptiMiser’s powerful and accurate energy analysis.
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