For energy saving, a Weatherization program is quite common to implemented by the Utility companies in the western part of the world. The program is mainly run for the low-earning families. This article emphasize on IWORKETCH’s experience on building a platform for the US-based company.
What is weatherization?
As per Wiki, Weatherization (American English) or weatherproofing (British English) is the practice of protecting a building and its interior from the elements, particularly from sunlight, precipitation, and wind, and of modifying a building to reduce energy consumption and optimize energy efficiency.
Why the weatherization needed?
One thinks that if my house is well insulated than I am good as far as the heat protection of the home is a concern. It is true that various types of insulation can block drafts of the cold winds and protect the home. It gives protection from the “Conductive” heat flow.
We still need weatherization to protect. It primarily reduces “Convective” heat flow.
Insights into Weatherization procedure
Typically following steps are taken:
Step1: In the Weatherization process home’s audit is done. The auditor keeps focus on to check:
- Areas like windows, pipes, wiring that penetrate ceiling and floor, doors, sealing cracks, etc., for high-potential heat loss.
- Light fixtures near attic space
- heat loss due to air-duct
- dampers of the exhaust fans
- pipe condition
- wall, floor, and ceilings condition
- door and window sealings
- and more
An auditor then proposes the changes which can make home more energy efficient.
Step2: Utility companies call for a bid to implement changes from its qualified contractor network.
Step3: A selected contractor implements changes in the home.
Step4: Utility company asks its inspector to validate the changes incorporated in the home.
Step5: Once the inspector approves the changes then the Utility company pays to the contractor.
The normal flow mentioned above might need to adjust to handle cases where low-earning families are not meeting income, age, earnings, etc criteria.
Implementation of the Weatherization Program
While implementing the solution, we considered a list of actors. These are:
- Administrator
- Customer
- Auditor
- Inspector
- Contractor
These actors are using the web-based portal and mobile application. The web-based application is developed on the Windows platform. The mobile application is developed using Xamarin.
The web-based portal works under the contemporary browsers. The mobile application works on iOS and Android.
Summary
The solution is designed and developed mainly for the US residential market. However, the author believes the similar need does exist in all markets including India.
About Author
Atul Gunjal, is CO-founder and CEO of IWORKTECH. The company is Alpharetta, GA based company.It has development centre in Pune, India. Atul has over 30 years of experience in software industry. He direct IWORKTECH’s overall vision and business strategy, including expansion into new markets, high-level technology direction and operations. His previous experience helps him to convert ideas into tangible products. He has experience in building successful software and service organizations.
