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Today’s All About Real Estate edition of the Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio show features guest Craig Olson, regional sales manager of SkyeTec. During the conversation, hosts Todd Schnick and Bryan Nonni discuss Craig’s background, SkyeTec, energy efficient homebuilding and its benefits, and much more.
Olson was a home builder in Florida for 10 years until the market began to slow. At this point, he saw an opportunity to move to Tennessee, a location he always wanted to explore. Opportunities continued to open up, and Olson began business development with SkyeTec in the Southeastern region.
SkyeTec is an energy rating and indoor environmental consulting company that provides third party inspections for residential and commercial construction projects. SkyeTec markets to the home builder on the new construction side, and offers a variety of services including ENERGY STAR® certification, HERS ratings, energy code compliance services, quality control “punch out” inspections, moisture management and more. SkyeTec serves builders across the United States. SkyTec’s integrated technology or “SkyeTecnology,” offers clients valuable data to fuel important business and building decisions. All the while, SkyeTec is simplifying and expediting the overall inspection process.
One of SkyeTec’s many programs includes the HERS index rating program, which stands for Home Energy Rating System. This provides builders with a bit more benefit for their buck when getting home energy rating services. It’s designed to provide all the code-required testing such as blow-a-door and duct testing; however, the official HERS seal provides builders with a bit more marketing power. By showing homeowners their estimated utility costs each month, builders can more effectively convey the value of a new home. This gives potential home buyers a better idea of their total monthly expenses and can help them make a more informed decision.
Another important aspect of the HERS rating system is the ability for builders to grade their services. When it comes to duct testing, prior to HERS ratings, builders had no idea how much ducts leaked. “Builders assumed their ducts leaked 10 percent or 15 percent, but with testing, we can narrow that down,” said Olson. This grading system then allows training to take place, which helps these different trades and services to become more efficient. From these data values, SkyeTec can help design a home’s air conditioning system to be more effective. Prior to these ratings, HVACsystems that were sized too big led to more moisture problems. Systems that were sized too small lead to constant running of the system as it worked to try and heat or cool a space.
The next major program offered by SkyeTec is the ENERGY STAR® program. According to Olson, “This is basically identical to the HERS program, but we go above with some other services.” The ENERGY STAR® certification program gets into moisture control, HVAC checklists and more. The program itself is a bit more stringent because it competes with a referenced house as a “standard.” The ENERGY STAR® services in the home being built must match or beat that of the referenced standard house. In the end, the home gets labeled with the ENERGY STAR® Certification seal, which allows builders to market the home as energy efficient.
SkyeTec offers a variety of other energy services, including building evaluations and insurance, on top of the HERS and the ENERGY STAR® programs. Additionally, SkyeTec offers commercial real estate services. For more information about SkyeTec’s services, visit www.SkyeTec.com.
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Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio’s “All About Real Estate” segment airs on Fridays and highlights the movers and shakers in the Atlanta real estate industry – the home builders, developers, Realtors and suppliers working to provide the American dream for Atlantans. For more information on how you can be featured as a guest, contact 770-383-3360 or via the contact form on this site.
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