Hancock Software Support for Home Efficiency Rebates Quick Start Programs
[Framingham, MA, JULY 31, 2023] - Hancock Software, a leading provider of home energy services program management software, is proud to announce that Hancock CloudTM fully conforms to the requirements for a Home Efficiency Rebates Quick Start Program launch in 2023.
Section 50121 of the IRA appropriates $4.3 billion to the Department of Energy (DOE) to carry out a program to award grants to state energy offices to develop and implement a Home Owner Managing Energy Savings (HOMES) rebate program that models whole-home energy consumption before and after an energy efficiency retrofit. HOMES rebate programs operated by state energy offices must “provide rebates to homeowners and aggregators for whole-house energy saving retrofits” and may offer benefits of varying degrees to homeowners up to 150% of Area Median Income (AMI). Providing a program with the methods to calculate and track energy efficiency retrofits while enforcing compliance with the law’s many requirements is necessary and complex.
Fortunately, Hancock Software’s energy services program management software called Hancock Cloud has been providing States with a data collection, analysis, and reporting solution for two decades that streamlines the delivery of precisely this type of energy assistance benefit while enforcing compliance with complex program requirements at the point of entry. Originally developed to assist States with the distribution of DOE Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) funding, Hancock Cloud fully supports all of the HOMES program rules for residential energy efficiency retrofit rebates including:
- Household eligibility verification
- Proposed improvement measure eligibility
- BPI 2400 compliant DOE approved energy modeling
- Tracking and reporting on geo-located photos of installed measures
- Records of all quality control inspections, testing, and corrective actions
- Maintenance of data on certified program contractors
- Simple, role-based user interface for all program contributors
- Braiding of multiple funding sources while enforcing compliance
- Robust data security controls for protection of highly personal data
- Full compliance with DOE/PNNL API for rebate processing
With proven out-of-the-box software as a service platform, States will be able to accelerate delivery of benefits to homeowners under the HOMES program leveraging the Quick Start provisions of the new law. By modeling a program around the established DOE WAP methods consistent with the new HOMES program provisions in Hancock Cloud, States can achieve more rapid rebate delivery and job creation than by the development of an all new program.
Hancock Software CEO, Lily Li, expressed enthusiasm saying, “We are proud that today, more than one-third of DOE funding for income eligible home weatherization across the country is facilitated with Hancock Software technology. With this announcement, we hope to assist States to be able to begin delivering HOMES rebates to benefit more families more quickly.”
States using Hancock Software technology for DOE WAP program administration are successfully braiding federal, state, and local utility funding into a single energy efficiency retrofit project while maintaining compliance with the variety of rules and measures afforded by multiple simultaneous programs. Hancock Software offers an offline mobile energy audit tool that guides an assessor, installer, or inspector through the data collection and analysis steps needed to comply with DOE approved savings requirements. Streamlining the delivery of home energy services with Hancock Cloud means less effort in program administration and supervision and more funding actually benefiting underserved communities as intended.
About Hancock Software
For twenty years, Hancock Software has produced industry-leading Energy Assistance Program Management Software. More than 450 community action agencies and 30 utilities across the United States benefit from Hancock CloudTM to streamline the delivery of energy assistance and weatherization services for residential and commercial buildings. Hancock Cloud empowers organizations to collect and validate data, identify the ideal implementation of energy efficiency services, qualify suggestions across multiple programs using unique rules, and process payments. This unmatched versatility enables clients to streamline their energy management processes and optimize cost savings with ease.
For more information about Hancock Software, please visit their website: https://www.hancocksoftware.com/