Processing an RNC Program home in Ekotrope

1. Starting a Program application

After initiating an Ekotrope project (natively in Ekotrope; or via REM/Rate XML) take the following steps to begin an RNC Program application.

Expectations around timeliness of registering projects remain that all applications should be started no more than 2 weeks after rough inspections.

Project Info > Site Info

1: Complete the “Site Info” tab.

The following items are required to start an application:

  • Community

  • Lot / Unit Number

  • Address

*Duplicate Community/Lot combinations will be blocked.

Project Info > Duke Progress/Carolinas

2: Complete all fields in the “Duke Progress/Carolinas” tab (Premise number is not required to start an application).

  • Select “Under Construction'“ as the Submission Status

  • Select the appropriate builder from the drop-down.

The following items are required to start an application:

  • Enrolled Builder - If submitting in DEP territory, the Enrolled Builder (Duke Energy Progress) needs to be completed and if submitting in DEC territory, the Enrolled Builder (Duke Energy Carolinas) should be completed. The builder does not need to be selected from both drop downs.

  • Expected Completion Date

3. On the Ekotrope project’s homepage, select either “Duke Energy Progress” or “Duke Energy Carolinas” under the “Submit Project” drop-down.

If you are unsure which territory the home is in, reach out to the RNC Program team at DERNC@icfprogram.com.

Your application has now been started and will appear in the Program’s database.

2. Submitting a final project for incentives

The steps for submitting a final Ekotrope project closely match those outlined above for starting an application, with the following differences:

  1. Submission status must be set to “Final Submission”

  2. All project, site, and rating info fields are required

  3. Automated QA checks will ensure that the project complies with Program guidelines and requirements

 

The following Project Info items are required in addition to those required to start an application:

  • City

  • Zip code

  • Plan/Model

  • Start date

  • Close-in date

 

Specific to REM/Rate XML users — complete these steps prior to those listed immediately above:

  1. Import your REM XML into the already-started Ekotrope project

  2. Set the new Building Design (created by the import) as the Master Design by clicking the blue ribbon next to the Building Design.

3. Using Ekotrope

Quick Results.PNG

The Basics

New and experienced users alike are encouraged to make use of Ekotrope’s online knowledge base. An excellent starting point is the “New User Tour”. After reviewing this material users will be familiar with the the Quick Results pane. The Quick Results items highlighted in the image at right will be useful to raters as they review the impacts of spec changes on HERO performance and incentives.


Advanced Users

Determining cost-effective strategies for builders to comply with the HERO code is a primary task for raters in the RNC Program. A critical tool for providing useful recommendations is Ekotrope’s component load diagnostics tool. It clearly outlines the performance of building components relative to the HERO reference home (or any reference home of your choosing).

Visit the Ekotrope Support page for guidance on using the tool.