Need a Good Technician for a Home Energy Upgrade? Google & the DOE Have Your Back – CleanTechnica

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We at CleanTechnica cannot endorse the recommendations of the US Department of Energy and Google. Consumer discretion and Googler discretion advised.

In all seriousness, Google and the US Department of Energy, neither of which need any introduction, have partnered to help homeowners find good, qualified technicians for home energy upgrades.

To be specific, people going to Google Search and Google Maps to look for home energy technicians are now being recommended “highly-trained home energy technicians recognized as Energy Skilled™.” This, as you might have guessed, is a new DOE designation. It “indicates a worker has the skills needed to perform quality work with modern building systems, leading to reduced energy use and cost,” the DOE writes.

There are many good energy technicians out there, and the unfortunate thing is they won’t all be certified as Energy Skilled. However, there are surely also many low-quality and even scammy ones, and this new program will at least help to weed them out. (More and more, it feels like this country is infested with scams. I’m constantly getting spammed on the phone and on email for all kinds of scammy seeming pitches or even clearly scammy tricks. Home energy support and service is an area where many of us our out of our depths and can be ripped off or even just not served very well. Google and the DOE seem set on putting an end to that.

Of course, there’s a ton of money to be saved from home energy upgrades. The payback times and return on investment (ROI) are mouth watering. Anything to help people move forward with one can help their pocketbooks while also helping to keep the climate stable and the air and water clean. “Enabling American consumers to locate the most knowledgeable contractors to perform home energy upgrades will make it easier for them to save money and make their home more comfortable by taking advantage of the tax credits included in the Inflation Reduction Act,” the DOE writes.

“Already, 2.3 million families have claimed more than $2 billion in credits for energy efficient home improvements, averaging $880 per family.”

Topics related to this new partnership include:

• heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC);
• plumbing;
• home energy audit contractors.

Recommended technicians will get a little “Energy Skilled-recognized” badge on Google Search or Google Maps.

“Providing consumers with an easy way to find local, Energy Skilled-recognized technicians ensures that Americans can access home energy assessments and upgrades,” says Jeff Marootian, principal deputy assistant secretary for DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. “This new Google feature supports a skilled workforce, enhances contractor transparency, empowers consumers with better information, and promotes high-quality home energy improvements.”

“This collaboration builds on other recently announced DOE resources to assist home energy contractors and their customers with selecting and installing energy-saving equipment and qualify for home upgrade tax credits,” the agency adds.

And you can go visit the Energy Skilled webpage the Department of Energy created for more details and info if this wasn’t enough.