Home Energy Audit Services backed by depth in building science and craft.
Through the Clean Energy Works Oregon program,
with its rebates and financing to support home energy audit services and remodels, significant public dollars are being devoted to support Oregonians’ efforts to make their homes more efficient and comfortable. From our view, that’s smart stimulus; it benefits local economies, improves how we live in our homes and lessens our impact on the planet.
The folks at Clean Energy Works Oregon agree, of course. And they’re in the midst of a marketing push to get the news out to more Portlanders. Maybe you’ve seen a billboard or heard a spot on the radio recently? Home performance is hitting primetime.
So given this backdrop, what distinguishes Hammer & Hand as a contractor with Clean Energy Works Oregon? What do we bring to the game that’s special?
The short answer is “depth”:
1. Passive House expertise. Passive House is the gold standard of advanced building science, and brings with it the knowledge and skills to transform the energy performance of buildings in the most economical of ways. Hammer & Hand has established itself as a leader in the national Passive House community, with co-owner Sam Hagerman currently serving as president of the national Passive House Alliance US. Our in-house expertise also includes a Certified Passive House Consultant and one of Oregon’s three Certified Passive House Designers.
2. Building Performance Institute (BPI) accreditation. Many contractors will
mention their in-house BPI-certified technicians, and Hammer & Hand has its requisite share as well. But we’ve also committed to the higher standards and quality assurance protocols that make Hammer & Hand one of just six BPI Accredited Contractors in Oregon. This commitment, which carries with it regular audits by BPI, puts home performance and building science at the center of our business practice, impacting how we train our workforce, how we work with subcontractors, and how we hold ourselves accountable to customers.
3. Retrofits performed by expert, career tradespeople. Since 1995, we’ve built our reputation on the quality craftsmanship of the career carpenters in our company and the expert tradespeople with whom we subcontract. When we do a project, we ensure that the right expert is carrying out the right task, every step of the way. Over the years, we’ve developed a “dream team” of the trades to make this happen, and we bring this talent – and the capacity to manage it effectively – to our home performance work today.
The way we see it, to be a good builder in this 21st Century world of rising energy costs and rising performance expectations, you really need to be both a craftsman and a scientist: and nowhere more so than in the realm of home performance. Every home energy retrofit represents a key opportunity to revolutionize the performance of a house. Today we have the building science to achieve big performance gains cost effectively, and the public dollars available to underwrite the work. So our attitude is, let’s take this thing seriously. Let’s bring the full force of building science and precision craft to bear on our home energy retrofits and really make a difference for clients and the planet.
– Zack
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