Page 14 - Builder Brief July 2021

CUSTOMER SERVICE
SIX MAINTENANCE TIPS TO OPTIMIZE HOME PERFORMANCE AND AVOID CALLBACKS
Communicate Best Practices to Clients
Originally published at nahbnow.com
Communicating best practices for maintaining high- performance homes helps ensure the homes you build operate as intended, and achieve continued energy, water, and other utility savings. Residents may be inclined to change settings or turn off equipment if they aren’t aware of its role in the building’s operation, so they need to know how the house functions and why certain systems are in place to help avoid callbacks.
A green home may require a different maintenance plan than a home built to code because of the features and systems it includes, such as solar photovoltaics (PV), high-efficiency HVAC equipment, a rainwater reuse system, mechanical ventilation and more.
“We send training videos to our customers so that they know how and when to clean and change filters on their equipment. We also offer maintenance that we as the builder will service on individual items, from HVAC to termite treatments,” notes Sustainability and Green Building Subcommittee Chairman Brandon Bryant of Red Tree Builders.
Consider incorporating the following steps into your owner’s manual or expanding your business model to include these services as part of a whole-home maintenance package:
1
Educate your clients about the features monitored by the smart thermostat.
A resident may be inclined to turn the heating/cooling system off while away, but you’ve likely programmed the thermostat to maintain a certain indoor relative humidity (45%-65%) so that excess moisture doesn’t lurk in the floors and walls. Explain that keeping the HVAC system running can help prevent moisture, mold and mildew from building
up in the wood framing or drywall, mitigate asthma or allergy triggers, and maintain better indoor air quality (IAQ).
Encourage your customers to keep the pre-set schedule for the fan within the smart thermostat to maintain better IAQ for the tighter building envelope. This allows the fan to run so that fresh air can circulate throughout the house.
14 JULY 2021 | GREATER SAN ANTONIO BUILDERS ASSOCIATION