Q2 Utility Program Updates
We’re officially half-way through 2023, and it’s been a busy 6 months at Ekotrope. Below you will find updates around what we have been working on behind the scenes in order to optimize usage of Ekotrope for our utility partners as well as general updates to the broader tool. We’re looking forward to working with each of our partners throughout the second half of the year!
Program Updates:
DTE Renovations Program Launch
This past quarter the team worked hard to build out the DTE Major Renovations program within Ekotrope. This is an exciting new program on Ekotrope that will allow existing homes that have been fully gutted and renovated to claim rebates for the efficiency upgrades. In order to submit to the program, raters will need to build out an Existing Home design and a Final Home design. The Ekotrope team built out a new custom reference home for the program’s baseline, and it takes into account the existing home design, industry standard practices, and IECC 2015 to determine savings. Raters will be able to submit to the DTE Major Renovations program once they get approval from the ICF program team.
New Mexico Incentive Updates
The Public Service Company of New Mexico updated their incentives in 2023 and added some exciting new opportunities for builders to gain bonus incentives according to what mark they hit.
The changes included:
Dropping the % above code requirement to 5%
Adding a bonus of $100 for homes 10% above code
Adding an additional $300 for homes with a heat pump water heater
Bonus of $100 for ENERGY STAR certified homes
Bonus of $75 for ENERGY STAR smart t-stats
Bonus of $15 for ENERGY STAR refrigerator
If a project has PNM electric and NMG gas, they can receive the $100 ESTAR bonus for each utility for a total of $200.
Duke Reference Home Changes
Within the Duke programs, the Ekotrope reference home for South Carolina has been updated to better align with the North Carolina reference home. We expect this change to improve energy savings and incentives in South Carolina Program homes.
General Ekotrope Updates:
Throughout the course of the quarter Ekotrope did some general product updates as well. We added a Change Codes button that allows users to pick which codes & programs surface under Quick Results to reduce clutter and speed up the analysis. We also have a new and improved report selection user interface to make it easier for users to find the reports they need and to reduce clutter. Lastly, we’ve added support for ENERGY STAR 3.2.
We’re looking forward to what the rest of the year has in store! If you have any questions about these updates, please reach out to us at programsupport@ekotrope.com.