Rachel Norton, our residential energy specialist, was recently interviewed by someone interested in energy auditing as a new career. Here is their conversation about what it is like to have a career in energy efficiency in Kentucky.
1. What do you enjoy the most about being an auditor?
There are a lot of things I enjoy about this job. I have a nice mix of time in the field and time inside doing administrative work. I enjoy being able to provide a very practical service to people while also getting away from my desk. My job also involves maintaining and growing lots of partnerships with other people and organizations. Every home is unique, so I’m always finding new issues that need to be addressed and I enjoy the challenge of having to come up with creative ways to address them.
Another aspect I appreciate about my job is the overlap between energy efficiency and health. For example, in a home with an uninsulated crawl space, studies have shown that 50% of the air you breathe firsts travels through that crawl space before entering your home. If you happen to have anything undesirable down there (i.e. mold), then you are breathing some of that in your air. If you make the homeowner aware and they encapsulate the crawl space, not only will they be warmer and have lower bills, but they will also have better air quality. Serving people in this very direct manner is very rewarding to me.
2. What do you enjoy the least?
It’s certainly not the most glamorous to be crawling around in people’s crawl spaces and attics. These types of spaces can sometimes have animal feces, mold growth, or other undesirable materials in them which can be unpleasant. Personal protection is important in these environments.
3. How do you see the job changing or evolving in the next ten years?
I believe that residential energy auditing will continue to be an important tool for years to come. With an aging housing stock and climbing electric rates, services like this will become even more necessary. It’s also a job that is unlikely to be mechanized anytime soon. Since all houses are unique and we are still learning to address a lot of these problems, having an actual human present is currently essential to this process.
4. What further exploration would you recommend to someone considering this field?
I’d highly recommend that you look into several things:
First, consider the health aspects. I would recommend getting some basic training in healthy homes auditing. Understanding this side of the work has proved an invaluable marketing tool.
Second, as you are looking into residential retrofit, consider also exploring commercial energy auditing. There are a lot of interesting programs that are currently being offered in the state of Kentucky, and likely in other places, that incentivize this work, making it an easy sell for a small business.
Third, network and be collaborative whenever you can. This field is growing and there are many highly specified people in it, and lots of opportunities. I also believe it’s important for us to work together as an industry in order to grow our knowledge, share best practices, and improve our methods. I understand competition is part of the process, but I believe we need to promote collaboration and information sharing as much as possible. Creating a solid network will help you explore the industry and remain aware of people that can help you if you get in over your head down the road.
