Energy Code Report Fee - FAQ

Energy Code Report Fee - Frequently Asked Questions

*updated on 3/27/2024

To level the playing field among all industry participants and ensure all stakeholders are benefiting from RATER equally, we are starting an Energy Code Report fee on May 1, 2024. This will apply only to homes that are not or will not be registered with RESNET. 

This article covers the frequently asked questions about this change. If you have any questions or concerns about this announcement or need further clarification, please do not hesitate to reach out to info@ekotrope.com or support@ekotrope.com

Which reports will incur this new energy code report fee?

Viewing all reports in Ekotrope RATER will remain the same. Premium Energy code reports will only incur this fee when they are downloaded or emailed. Qualifying reports for this energy code report fee are all State and Local Amended code reports, IECC 2021, and IECC 2018 reports. These reports are all located in their respective categories in our report generation menu (see image below). This will be applied to projected and confirmed reports.

A full list of reports is available here (link).

When will energy models incur this energy code report fee?

Premium Energy Code models will incur the premium energy code report fee only when the first qualifying report is downloaded or emailed for that energy model. The fee will only be charged once per energy model. 

Before a user downloads or emails a qualifying report, RATER will prompt the user to indicate whether (i) the energy model will be registered with RESNET in the future, or (ii) if it is solely intended for premium energy code compliance and will not be registered with RESNET.

If the user selects that the energy model will be registered with RESNET in the future, then a HERS Rating credit will be used. If the user selects that the energy model will not be registered with RESNET and a qualifying report is being downloaded or emailed, then the energy code report fee will be applied to the energy model. This fee will be invoiced in the next monthly invoice.  

How will I know if an energy model downloaded a qualifying report?

There will be multiple ways to determine if an energy model has already downloaded a qualifying report. 

First, Providers will have access to a dashboard to track all RESNET Registrations, Energy Code Only Homes (homes that will not be registered with RESNET and downloaded a qualifying energy code report), and other product usage stats such as Inspection Sync and Reports API usage. This dashboard will allow Providers to verify which energy models download a qualifying report and which energy models utilize an Upload Credit.

Finally, for those who use the Ekotrope API, a new project status will be added to indicate if an energy model has had a qualifying report downloaded or if the energy model will be registered with RESNET in the future. 

How will this impact Reports API?

Requests to generate a new Report Job using the Reports API will require an additional data field indicating if the energy model will be registered with RESNET.  This field is equivalent to the user indicating if the energy model will be registered with RESNET in the future or only used for code compliance. 

When will these changes take place?

This will begin on May 1, 2024. 

Do I need to sign a new agreement or order form to use these energy code reports?

Direct RESNET Providers are not required to sign an order form but 3rd party providers will be. Every time a user needs to print or download a Premium Report - the user must indicate that (i) the energy model will be registered with RESNET in the future, or (ii) if it is solely intended for premium energy code compliance, agree to pay the associated fee. By printing or downloading a Premium Code Report - a user will be agreeing to place an order for an Ekotrope Premium Code Report governed by the full terms and conditions of a Premium Code Report Order as detailed here (link).  

What will my new invoice look like?

Your new bill will include two sections. The first section will cover all Rating Credit usage. A Rating Credit is used on the first time an energy model is either registered with RESNET or the qualifying report is downloaded or emailed and the user indicates the energy model will be registered with RESNET in the future. 

As normal, we will report on Rating Credit usage from the past month and bill the regular monthly fee (Credit Fee divided by 12 monthly payments). However, some projects may use a Rating Credit earlier than anticipated. This will happen when a qualifying energy code report is downloaded or emailed before a home is registered with RESNET. This will likely not change the total number of Rating Credits an organization uses after a brief acceleration of credit usage. You should expect to use your remaining Rating Credits a bit earlier than anticipated as a result. 

The second section will include your monthly usage of Energy Code Report credits. This will be billed on a pay-as-you-go basis and therefore will be variable month-to-month.