2017 HeatSmart Massachusetts Pilot Table of Contents

Transcription

1 2017 HeatSmart Massachusetts Pilot for Clean Heating & Cooling Technical Consultants RFP ID: MassCEC 2017-HSMP-02 Posting Date: July 24, 2017 Table of Contents 1. Opportunity Summary Program Description... 2 A. Program Goals... 2 B. Program Process... 3 C. Funding Availability... 5 D. Anticipated Term of Contract Requirements and Deadlines... 6 A. Scope of Work... 6 B. Technical Consultant Qualifications C. Proposal Requirements D. Application Deadlines and Contact Information Evaluation Criteria General Request for Response Conditions A. Notice of Public Disclosure B. Disclaimer ATTACHMENT A: Signature and Acceptance Form ATTACHMENT B: Template Technical Consultant Contract RFP ID: MassCEC 2017-HSMP-02 1

2 1. OPPORTUNITY SUMMARY The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center ( MassCEC ), in conjunction with the Department of Energy Resources ( DOER ), is releasing a Request For Proposals ( RFP ) for consultants or professionals with significant expertise in residential scale clean heating and cooling technology in Massachusetts to serve as a technical consultant(s) ( Technical Consultant ) to support the pilot round of the HeatSmart Massachusetts Program ( HeatSmart Mass or the Program ). HeatSmart Mass is a community-based outreach and education program that will encourage clean heating and cooling technologies that include air-source heat pumps, ground-source heat pumps, central biomass heating, and solar hot water. The Program aims to help 1) drive down the installation cost and 2) increase deployment of residential and small-scale commercial clean heating and cooling installations through a group purchasing model. HeatSmart Mass is modeled on the highly successful Solarize Massachusetts program, which is now in its seventh year and has served 58 communities and resulted in over 3,400 contracts and 20.6 megawatts of solar photovoltaic projects. The pilot round of the Program seeks to serve up to four communities ( Communities ) across the Commonwealth. The solicitation for Communities is running simultaneous to this RFP. For more information on the Community RFP please see MassCEC s website. MassCEC and DOER are looking for respondents to this RFP (an Applicant ) that can serve as the Technical Consultant for one or more of the following three scopess ( Scope ): Scope 1: Provide technical assistance to participating Communities for the installer selection process, Scope 2: Provide technical support to participating Communities during implementation of the Program, and/or Scope 3: Provide comprehensive thermal energy assessments for up to 100 participating property owners. Recognizing the variety of clean heating and cooling technologies and specialties within the industry, MassCEC and DOER anticipate selecting up to four Applicants for the first Scope, one Applicant for the second Scope, and one Applicant for the third Scope. Entities are highly encouraged to partner together and apply as a single Applicant that can provide expertise for multiple clean heating and cooling technologies. 2. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION A. Program Goals In Massachusetts, heating accounts for approximately one third of all greenhouse gas emissions. 1 It is also the largest household energy expenditure for most households, commonly thousands of dollars per year, especially in areas with higher cost heating fuels and inefficient building stocks. Clean heating and cooling 1 (pgs ) RFP ID: MassCEC 2017-HSMP-02 2

3 technologies directly use or amplify renewable thermal energy and can often result in significant cost savings compared to traditional fossil fuel heating systems. Installation prices per unit of capacity for small-scale clean heating and cooling installations are generally higher than large-scale installations, in part due to the extra cost of customer engagement and acquisition including marketing, advertising, and negotiating with multiple customers. The aggregation of multiple smallscale clean heating and cooling installations within a Community provides opportunities to realize economies of scale for installers, which can translate to cost savings for the customer. By educating and engaging the local members of a Community, streamlining marketing efforts, and aggregating sales, the HeatSmart Mass Program will help drive down the cost of clean heating and cooling projects and make them more accessible for residents. The goals of the HeatSmart Mass Program include: Increase education and awareness of clean heating and cooling technologies; Reduce costs associated with the purchase and installation of clean heating and cooling projects; and Increase local adoption of clean heating and cooling technologies. B. Program Process A proposed timeline for the Program is provided below. Further explanation of the process is provided in the text below. Please note that this is an estimated timeline and dates are subject to change. HeatSmart Mass Pilot Milestone Tentative Timeline MassCEC/DOER Review of Communities and September-October 2017 Technical Consultants proposals Announce Selected Communities and Late October 2017 Technical Consultants HeatSmart Mass Community Volunteer November 2017 Training Promotion of Energy Audits within Selected From Community selection until the start of the Communities customer sign-up period MassCEC launches RFP for Installers November 2017 Communities, Technical Consultant, and Early December 2017 MassCEC Review and Score Installer Proposals Community-Installer Interview Day Mid-December 2017 Announce Selected Clean Heating & Cooling Early January 2018 Installers Outreach Strategy Development with Installer January 2018 Customer Sign-Up Period Begins February 2018 Meet the Installer Presentations with MassCEC and Selected Installer Within 2 weeks of start of customer sign-up period Customer Sign-Up Period Ends July 2018 Deadline for Installations Recommended 1 year after contract signature RFP ID: MassCEC 2017-HSMP-02 3

4 Community Selection and Volunteer Training Along with the release of this RFP, MassCEC is concurrently releasing and RFP to select Communities to participate in the HeatSmart Mass pilot. Each Community is required to designate a Municipal Representative, a lead volunteer ( HeatSmart Coach ), and a team of volunteers. Upon selection, both designees will collaborate to work with MassCEC, organize Community meetings, delegate volunteer activities and responsibilities, and manage outreach efforts. For selected Communities, the Municipal Representative, Community HeatSmart Coach, and core volunteer team will have the opportunity to receive training on the HeatSmart Mass Program and how to answer common questions about their selected clean heating and cooling technologies. Technical Consultant Selection Through this RFP, MassCEC will competitively select Technical Consultants to provide support for the HeatSmart Mass Pilot. As detailed in Section 3.A below, MassCEC and DOER are looking for Applicants that will provide technical guidance for installer selection; provide technical assistance to participating Communities during implementation of the Program; and provide technical support to homeowners by performing enhanced thermal energy assessments in up to one pilot Community. Promotion of Energy Audits MassCEC and the selected Technical Consultant will work with all selected Communities between Community selection and the customer sign-up period to encourage residents to complete no-cost Mass Save energy audits or the equivalent. Energy efficiency measures can allow a homeowner to install a smaller, less expensive heating system. An audit is a prerequisite to participation in the Program for individuals. Installer Selection After Community selection, MassCEC will release an RFP for installers to participate in the Program. The selected installers will offer discounted pricing to participating Communities. As part of the installer selection process, selected Communities will appoint a Community review team to review installer proposals that have met threshold technical requirements. Multiple installers may partner together in the case of small companies that would not have the capacity to apply individually or in the case where a participating Community has selected more than one clean heating and cooling technology. With the support of MassCEC, DOER, and a Technical Consultant, the Community review team will invite up to three installers or installer Partnerships per technology to a day of scheduled interviews with MassCEC, DOER, the Technical Consultant, and the Community ( Interview Day ). After the completion of the Interview Day, the Community review team, with input from MassCEC, DOER and the Technical Consultant, will select their first choice of installer(s). The number of installers selected per Community will be dependent on the number of installers necessary to provide coverage for all of the Community s selected clean heating and cooling technologies. MassCEC will then move forward to contract with the installer(s) on behalf of the Community for the duration of the HeatSmart Mass Program. Outreach, Education, and Marketing A central goal of the HeatSmart Mass Pilot is to reduce prices by alleviating some of the marketing and customer acquisition costs associated with small-scale clean heating and cooling installations. HeatSmart RFP ID: MassCEC 2017-HSMP-02 4

5 Mass will provide several types of outreach and marketing support to participating Communities. A Technical Consultant will conduct a market assessment of the best targets for the campaign to assist the Community volunteer team and the selected installer. Each Community will receive a starter kit of standardized marketing and outreach materials that will include a clean heating and cooling guidebook, post cards, posters, banners, and t-shirts. Additionally, each Community can request a marketing grant of up to $9,000 to utilize for Community-specific marketing needs (as approved by MassCEC). Each selected installer(s) will also deploy an outreach and marketing strategy to enhance local interest in the selected clean heating and cooling technologies with input from the Community. In addition to MassCEC s marketing and education toolkit, MassCEC and the Technical Consultant will work with the Community to host a Meet the Installer presentation, where various stakeholders, including Community and other municipal representatives, MassCEC, the Technical Consultant, and the selected installer(s) will meet with residents to increase awareness of clean heating and cooling and its benefits. Customer Sign-Up Period Starting around February 2018, interested customers in the selected Community will be able to contact the installer and sign up for a site assessment. Customers with sites that are deemed feasible for a clean heating and cooling project will have the option to contract with the installer before the Program deadline of July 30, The installer will be responsible for assessing individual sites, working with interested customers to design appropriate systems, and contracting with customers for installation of clean heating and cooling systems. The installer will be responsible for completing each clean heating and cooling installation within one year of application approval. C. Funding Availability MassCEC anticipates contracting with up to six Technical Consultants for the Scopes described in Section 3.A. Technical Consultants will be paid by the hour for the time actually spent assisting MassCEC and Communities throughout the duration of the Program. Since MassCEC anticipates selecting multiple Technical Consultants, the amount of work assigned to any one Technical Consultant will be at the sole discretion of MassCEC. The cumulative awards for all Scopes shall not exceed $450,000. It is anticipated that the maximum cumulative award for each Scope would not exceed the following: Scope 1 (Installer selection): $50,000 (up to $12,500 per Community) Scope 2 (Support to participating Communities): $300,000 Scope 3 (Enhanced thermal home energy assessments); $100,000 D. Anticipated Term of Contract A final contract is subject to successful negotiation of a final budget and scope of services. A template MassCEC- Technical Consultant Contract is attached to this RFP as ATTACHMENT B: Template Technical Consultant Contract. It is essential, in order to meet the Program goals and timelines, that Applicants are prepared to execute a contract with MassCEC soon after their selection. Therefore, each Applicant must review the template contract and provide comments on the template at the time of application. MassCEC s selection of an Applicant pursuant to this RFP does not mean that MassCEC accepts all aspects of the proposal, modifications to which may be requested and agreed to during contract RFP ID: MassCEC 2017-HSMP-02 5

6 negotiations. It is anticipated that the contract will commence in November 2017 for a period of at least one year. The majority of work will be completed in the November 2017 July 2018 timeframe, but services may be requested on an as-needed basis through November REQUIREMENTS AND DEADLINES A. Scope of Work There are three Scopes that Applicants may respond to as part of the HeatSmart Mass pilot round. Applicants may respond to 1, 2, or all 3 Scopes: 1. Scope 1: Installer selection MassCEC and DOER anticipate selecting up to four Technical Consultants to provide support to participating Communities during the installer selection process. Applicants for this Task must have the technical qualifications outlined in Section 3.B for at least one of the clean heating and cooling technologies. To fulfill the Scope, Applicants would perform the following component tasks ( Tasks ): Task A: Technical Assistance: Provide technical assistance to Communities with installer selection o Assist in reviewing the proposal submissions for the Installer RFP o Complete a threshold review of installer proposals that meet the minimum technical requirements of the installer RFP o Complete MassCEC s scoresheets evaluating installer proposals based on technical criteria o Answer any technical questions from MassCEC, DOER, or Communities about installer proposals o Deliverable: Completed installer threshold review and evaluation scoresheet within ten days of receiving installer proposals Task B: Manage Process: Coordinate the installer interview process. o Schedule and take notes for calls to discuss installer proposals with MassCEC, DOER, and Communities o Schedule and take notes for in-person installer interviews with MassCEC, DOER, and Communities o Schedule and take notes for calls to finalize installer selection with MassCEC, DOER, and Communities o Conduct additional administrative tasks as request by MassCEC o Deliverables: Coordinated process with documented notes, as described above Task C: Miscellaneous: MassCEC may elect to assign other tasks to the Technical Consultant during the installer selection as the need arises. These tasks would be billed at the Technical Consultant s hourly rates, not to exceed a fixed fee mutually agreed upon at the assignment of the task. 2. Scope 2: Support to participating Communities RFP ID: MassCEC 2017-HSMP-02 6

7 MassCEC and DOER will select one Technical Consultant to provide support to participating Communities during the implementation of HeatSmart Mass. The selected Technical Consultant may also be selected for Scope 1 or 3, though this it is not required that Applicants for this Scope apply for Scope 1 or 3. Applicants for this Scope must have the technical qualifications outlined in Section 3.B to support all four clean heating and cooling technologies (ASHPs, GSHPs, Central Biomass, and Solar Hot Water). Applicants would perform the following Tasks: Task A: Marketing and Outreach Materials: Support the development of marketing and outreach materials by MassCEC and the Communities. o Before the customer sign-up period, the Technical Consultant should support participating Communities in promoting energy audits (as desired by the participating Communities), through the development of talking points and content for marketing materials to be coordinated with Mass Save as needed, and approved by MassCEC. o As needed, assist MassCEC in developing content for the starter kit of marketing materials that will be provided to each selected Community. Potential resource documents are listed below: Develop talking points for each of the four clean heating and cooling technologies that communities could use in marketing materials; Develop Frequently Asked Questions document(s), based on MassCEC Solarize Mass FAQ template; and Develop educational tool to help volunteers and residents determine which technologies may be good for a residence, in the case that multiple technologies are available within the community. o Deliverables: Marketing and outreach content and materials as described above and finalized with MassCEC and participating Communities. Task B: Pre-screening Checklist: Develop a pre-screening checklist for households that are considering participating in HeatSmart Mass for each Community. o Work with MassCEC to develop an online and paper questionnaire that screens for residences that are well-suited to the clean heating and cooling technologies selected by each Community. o Create a functionality on the online checklist that allows customers to indicate whether they are interested in learning more about HeatSmart Mass once they see the results of the survey. For the paper version, include a check-box that indicates that the respondent is interested in learning more about HeatSmart Mass. o Work with each Community to determine whether the checklist can be embedded on the Community s HeatSmart webpage or hosted in some other online location (e.g., Google Forms). Work with the selected installer(s) to provide interested leads. o Deliverables: A pre-screening checklist for each Community that feeds into some type of database for interested homeowners. Task C: Trainings and Guidance Documents: In preparation for the customer sign-up period, the selected Technical Consultant will implement the following trainings and create the following best practices documents, as requested by the participating Communities and approved by MassCEC, RFP ID: MassCEC 2017-HSMP-02 7

8 o For Community HeatSmart Coaches and volunteers: In coordination with MassCEC and DOER, organize trainings on the selected clean heating and cooling technologies. o For Communities permitting department: Guidance on best practices for permitting of applicable technologies. o For Communities building inspectors: Training with local inspectors on what to look for during inspections of applicable technologies. o For Communities building inspectors and installers: Development of post-installation checklist by technology that could be used by the installer and local inspector to verify that project meets code and MassCEC minimum technical requirements. o Deliverables: Completed trainings and guidance as described above, based on the interests and needs of each participating Community and as preapproved by MassCEC. Task D: Market Analysis: Prepare a market analysis of the buildings that are the best target for HeatSmart Mass. o Within each of the four participating Communities, complete a geographic analysis of the residences best suited for the technologies selected for that Community. Analysis should be based on geographical data such as assessor data and census data, and should screen based on factors such as current heating fuel, access to natural gas, and demographic factors. o Deliverables: Before the start of the customer sign-up period, provide the installer and the Community with a list of neighborhoods and/or specific addresses that are best-suited for outreach. Task E: Program Support: Provide Program support during customer sign-up period. o Facilitate planning for a Meet the Installer event, and other Community-sponsored events as approved by MassCEC. o Provide general technical assistance to volunteer teams and municipal representatives during the customer sign-up period, as pre-approved by MassCEC. (Note: Technical Consultants will not be asked to review or redesign installer s proposals for specific buildings.) o Schedule, create the agenda, and summarize bi-weekly check-ins with MassCEC, Communities and installers. o Work with MassCEC to optimize the database for collecting weekly data from installers. Selected installers will be responsible for tracking the number of leads and site visits each week, as well as project information for all contracted projects. o Tracking, reporting, and analyzing metrics for participating Community, including but not limited to: Metric Units Installation costs per project $ Installation costs per project relative to statewide average costs % Capacity per project kbtu/hr Number of site assessments Number of installations Contract closure rate % RFP ID: MassCEC 2017-HSMP-02 8

9 Municipality participation rate (% of residents participating) % Greenhouse gas savings per project and community Metric tons Lifetime energy savings per project and community kbtu Lifetime consumer energy cost savings per project $ Rebates and Incentives per project $ Project financing amount and source (HEAT loan or otherwise) $ Incentive dollars per estimated lifetime therm delivered $/therm Note: Greenhouse gas savings and energy cost savings are to be estimated based upon the previous fuel type and assumptions mutually agreed upon by MassCEC and the selected Technical Consultant. o During the customer sign-up period, send weekly metrics overview to MassCEC and Communities in a format to be specified by MassCEC. This will include metrics overview for the entire Program, and community-specific metrics. o Deliverables: Notes from bi-weekly check-in calls, database of Program metrics, and weekly metrics summaries of the metrics described above. Task F: Pilot Analysis: After the customer sign-up period, conduct pilot close-out activities and analysis. o Schedule, create the agenda, and summarize debriefs with installers and communities at the conclusion of the pilot round. o Complete an analysis at the completion of the pilot round of the successes, challenges and recommendation for improvement based on lessons learned. o Complete an analysis of final Program metrics. o Deliverables: Based on the debriefs and an analysis of the metrics develop: Internal analysis: A report to be provided to MassCEC on best practices and lessons learned from the HeatSmart Pilot. External pilot overview summary: A public overview of the HeatSmart Pilot with summary metrics. This would take the form of a short PowerPoint presentation and brief report, similar to the Solarize Pilot Overview and MassSolar Connect Pilot Overview. Task G: Miscellaneous: MassCEC may elect to assign other tasks to the Technical Consultant during the HeatSmart Mass pilot as the need arises. These tasks would be billed at the Technical Consultant s hourly rates, not to exceed a fixed fee mutually agreed upon at the assignment of the task. 3. Scope 3: Enhanced thermal energy assessments MassCEC and DOER seek to pilot enhanced thermal energy assessments that include the components of a Mass Save Home Energy Assessment and provide homeowners with comprehensive, objective, and transparent information about various HVAC and hot water technology options regardless of the home s current heating or hot water fuel, including clean heating and cooling technologies ( Enhanced Audits ). MassCEC anticipates selecting one Applicant to provide Enhanced Audits to up to one hundred (100) residences in one of the selected Communities. More detail on the Enhanced Audit is specified below. Applicants for this Scope should have the technical qualifications pertaining to Scope 3 outlined in Section 3.B to RFP ID: MassCEC 2017-HSMP-02 9

10 support all four clean heating and cooling technologies (ASHPs, GSHPs, Central Biomass, and Solar Hot Water) and must be qualified to be a Mass Save home energy specialist. Applicants for this Scope should be able perform the Tasks below. Based on their expertise, Applicants may also suggest modifications to the Tasks below or propose additional Tasks to achieve the goal of providing homeowners with comprehensive, objective, and transparent information about various HVAC and hot water technology options regardless of the home s current heating or hot water fuel. Task A: Develop Enhanced Audit Protocols: With input from MassCEC and DOER, develop and finalize the protocol and materials for Enhanced Audit o Audit must include the following: The components of a Mass Save Home Energy Assessment Estimated amounts that weatherization and insulation recommendations could reduce the building s peak heating load in BTU/hr. (Optional) Components to assess or improve a home s thermal envelope that go above and beyond a standard Mass Save Home Energy Assessment, such as a blower door test or thermal imaging. Provide the customer with transparent information about various HVAC and hot water technology options regardless of the home s current heating or hot water fuel, including clean heating and cooling technologies. Specifically, the Enhanced Audit must provide the customer with: A fuel-blind energy assessment of home space and water heating system options, both renewable and non-renewable, including: o the technical feasibility o energy use impact o energy cost impact o carbon impact Estimated costs associated with technology options, including installation costs and available incentives, rebates and financing provided by Mass Save, MassCEC and other organizations where available. An outline of the next steps to install a new thermal system, including the processes of working with an installer, financing, system design, installation, and incentive processing. o Deliverables: Written protocols for the Enhanced Audit developed by the Technical Consultant with input from MassCEC and DOER. Inputs and information used to analyze the costs and benefits of various HVAC and hot water technology options, including: o the technical feasibility o energy use impact RFP ID: MassCEC 2017-HSMP-02 10

11 o energy cost impact o carbon impact o estimated cost Copies of template and example customer information resources that meet the requirements outlined above. Task B: Outreach: Conduct outreach in the selected Community to sign-up sites for the Enhanced Audits o Sign-up up to 100 residences for Enhanced Audits, prioritizing customers with high cost heating fuels (electricity, oil, and propane), and/or other criteria determined by MassCEC. The target timeframe would be to begin scheduling Enhanced Audits within one month of contracting with MassCEC and to have completed the audits within four months of contracting with MassCEC. At the time of contracting, MassCEC may re-evaluate the number of Enhanced Audits and the timeframe based on the population of the selected Community. o Participants in the Enhanced Audit pilot must agree to share their final report with MassCEC and DOER. Additionally, participants can elect to share their contact information with the HeatSmart installer, if they are a good fit for the Community s selected technology. o Deliverables: Provide a monthly list of the sites that have been scheduled for an Enhanced Audit, including the date of the scheduled audit. Task C: Perform Enhanced Audits o Conduct up to 100 Enhanced Audits and produce audit reports, as developed in Task A. o Deliverables: Provide copies of the Enhanced Audit reports to MassCEC and DOER List of contact information (name, address, and phone number of Enhanced Audit sites) that were a good match for the selected HeatSmart technologies. Task D: Assessment of Enhanced Audits o One month after the completion of the Enhanced Audits prepare a summary memo and a presentation of lessons learned and takeaways. o If requested, participate in a debriefing interview with DOER and MassCEC. o Complete two memos that analyze the customer follow-up three and six months after the completion of the Enhanced Audits. At three and six months after completion of the Enhanced Audits, work with MassCEC to get information about which residences that received an Enhanced Audit also installed a clean heating and cooling technology through the HeatSmart Mass Program. Work with MassCEC and DOER to develop and implement a survey to participants three and six months after the completion of the Enhanced Audits. The survey would ask questions about participant s experience with the Enhanced Audit and ask them what energy efficiency measures they completed. RFP ID: MassCEC 2017-HSMP-02 11

12 Prepare two memos that analyze the results of the installed clean heating and cooling technologies and the survey results after three months and six months. o Optional: Propose other methodologies for analyzing the effectiveness of the Enhanced Audits. o Deliverables: One month after the completion of the Enhanced Audits prepare a summary memo and a presentation of lessons learned and takeaways. If requested, participate in a debriefing interview with DOER. Complete two memos that analyze the customer follow-up three and six months after the completion of the Enhanced Audits. Task E: Miscellaneous: MassCEC may elect to assign other tasks to the Technical Consultant during the HeatSmart Mass pilot as the need arises. These tasks would be billed at the Technical Consultant s hourly rates, not to exceed a fixed fee mutually agreed upon at the assignment of the task. B. Technical Consultant Qualifications Applicants may be individuals, sole proprietors, professional consultants, or companies with multiple employees. Applicants are encouraged to partner in order to provide complementary expertise that a single entity may not possess. Individual entities may apply as part of multiple Applicant teams. Applicant teams should have one entity that takes responsibility for organizing the team and proposal ( Lead Applicant ). The Lead Applicant should sign the Signature and Acceptance Form (Attachment A). MassCEC will give preference to individuals or companies who are not actively installing residential-scale clean heating and cooling systems in Massachusetts, but rather have extensive knowledge of the industry. Installers who are planning to apply to be an installer under the HeatSmart Pilot are not eligible to be a Technical Consultant. 1. Scope 1: Installer selection Applicants for Scope 1 (scope detailed in Section 3.A), must have the following experience: Clean Heating and Cooling Equipment: The Applicant must demonstrate knowledge of the equipment for one or more of the following clean heating and cooling technologies, including insight into manufacturer, direct knowledge of specific equipment performance, and understanding of equipment warranties. Specifically, the Applicant will demonstrate knowledge of equipment including, but not limited to: ASHPs: Outdoor condensers, indoor distribution options, controls (including wireless controls) GSHPs: Drilling best practices, ground loop configurations (horizontal and vertical), pumps, heat pumps, distribution options, and controls Central Biomass: Boiler/furnace, pellet storage, thermal storage tank, pumps, and controls RFP ID: MassCEC 2017-HSMP-02 12

13 Solar Hot Water: Collectors, hot water tank, freeze protection, stagnation control, pumps, controller, and meter System Sizing Best Practices: The Applicant will be required to understand best practices in system sizing methodology, including Manual J heat load calculations for heating systems providing all of a building s heating. Contract Terms: The Applicant must understand common contract terms and conditions, best practices, and the ability to identify contracts that have more favorable customer terms. Quality Installations and Customer Service: The Applicant must demonstrate understanding of best practices in customer service, an installer s capacity to meet anticipated demand, and appropriate installation practices for small-scale clean heating and cooling installations. In addition, demonstrate knowledge of the MassCEC clean heating and cooling rebate program requirements as outlined in the each Program Manual and associated attachments. Technical Assistance in Decision Making: The Applicant must demonstrate ability or experience assisting an entity in the decision making process for a technical or process related issue. Experience providing guidance on technical issues and supporting an entity through the decisionmaking process is beneficial. 2. Scope 2: Support to participating Communities Applicants for Scope 2 (scope detailed in Section 3.B), must have the following experience: Clean Heating and Cooling Equipment: The Applicant must have knowledge of the equipment for all of the following clean heating and cooling technologies, including direct knowledge of specific equipment performance, and understanding of equipment warranties. The Applicant will demonstrate knowledge of clean heating and cooling equipment including, but not limited to: ASHPs: Outdoor condensers, indoor distribution options, controls (including wireless controls) GSHPs: Drilling best practices, ground loop configurations (horizontal and vertical), pumps, heat pumps, distribution options, and controls Central Biomass: Boiler/furnace, pellet storage, thermal storage tank, pumps, and controls Solar Hot Water: Collectors, hot water tank, freeze protection, stagnation control, pumps, controller, and meter System Sizing Best Practices: The Applicant will be required to understand best practices in system sizing methodology, including Manual J heat load calculations for heating systems providing all of a building s heating. Clean Heating and Cooling Installation Practices: The Applicant must demonstrate knowledge of various requirements for the installation of small-scale clean heating and cooling installations in Massachusetts. This includes permitting and the installation process. Communication: Although MassCEC will maintain final control over all marketing material, the Applicant selected for this Scope must demonstrate experience with developing content for RFP ID: MassCEC 2017-HSMP-02 13

14 technical resources aimed at the general public, including strong copy editing, basic graphic design, and basic skills with online platforms such as websites and social media. Trainings: The Applicant must demonstrate experience organizing and facilitating trainings and workshops. Market Assessment: The Applicant must demonstrate relevant experience or skills for conducting a market assessment of which specific homes and neighborhoods are best suited for the selected clean heating and cooling technologies. Program Administration and Support: The Applicant must demonstrate ability or experience implementing a program or campaign, including managing timelines, scheduling calls and meetings, and leadings calls and meetings. Analysis of Cost and Benefits: The Applicant selected for this Scope must be able to conduct quantitative analysis of the relative costs of various heating and cooling technologies, including a simple payback analysis and a lifetime cost of energy assessment. Technical Consultants must also be able to assess the relative carbon impacts of different heating technologies. Analytical Capability: The Applicant must possess the ability to track and analyze quantitative Program metrics, as well as draw qualitative assessments of the Program, in order to evaluate the HeatSmart Mass Pilot. 3. Scope 3: Enhanced thermal energy assessments Applicants for Scope 3 (scope detailed in Section 3.A), should have the following qualifications: Mass Save Auditor: Applicants must be eligible to conduct Mass Save Home Energy Assessments. Audit or Protocol Design: It is preferred, but not required that the Applicant has prior experience designing some type of inspection, audit, or site visit protocol, including designing education materials targeted to building owners. General Knowledge of Clean Heating and Cooling Equipment: The Applicant must demonstrate general knowledge of clean heating and cooling technologies, including equipment performance and site specific requirements of certain technologies. Analysis of Cost and Benefits: The Technical Consultant selected for this Scope must be able to conduct quantitative analysis of the relative costs of various heating and cooling technologies, including a simple payback analysis and a lifetime cost of energy assessment. Applicants must also be able to assess the relative carbon impacts of different heating technologies. Technical Assistance in Decision Making: The Applicant must demonstrate ability or experience assisting an entity (system owner) in the decision making process for a technical or RFP ID: MassCEC 2017-HSMP-02 14

15 process related issue. Experience providing guidance on technical issues and supporting an entity through the decision-making process is beneficial. Analytical Capability: The Applicant must possess the ability to track and analyze quantitative metrics, as well as draw qualitative assessments of the Program, in order to evaluate the outcomes of the Enhanced Audits. C. Proposal Requirements Proposals must contain the following: 1. Executive Summary: Applicants must provide a summary of their organization, their qualifications and their proposed approach to the scope of work described herein. 2. Proposed Approach: Applicants must outline how they would complete each of the Scopes and Tasks that they are applying for as outlined in Section 3.A. This proposed approach would serve as the basis for the scope of work during contracting. 3. Statement of Qualifications: All responses must include a statement of qualifications, experience, and description of the Applicant firm or individual and its/their history. The response should specifically indicate the individual s or firm s current and historical expertise in providing the required clean heating and cooling technical knowledge and insight. Applicants should specifically outline how they meet the requirements outlined in Section 3.B. 4. Staff Qualifications: All responses must include resumes of each individual who will be providing technical services, and written descriptions of the individuals experience with the specified eligibility criteria. MassCEC reserves the right to investigate and review the background of any or all personnel assigned to work under an agreement for services, and based on such investigations, to reject the use of any persons within MassCEC s discretion. Any changes to personnel require formal written approval by MassCEC, and MassCEC reserves the right to terminate an agreement for services if changes are not approved. 5. References: All responses must include references from at least three clients of the Applicant, and preferably clients who have utilized the applicant on matters related to the technical services requested under this RFP. In the case of an applicant team, each partnered entity is required to submit three references. The references must include a contact person, a full address, and a phone number. MassCEC or DOER may not be used as references. 6. Budget and Rate Sheet Submission: All responses must include a detailed budget with estimated budgets for each Scope and Task listed in Section 3.A. Over the course of the Program, MassCEC may consider written requests for adjustments of the overall budget breakdown between Tasks. Proposals should also include information on hourly rates of all team members working on this project. Please clarify rates based on role of member of Technical Consultant team, such as Analyst I or Administrative Support in lieu of the name of a specific individual. Any travel necessary to perform the Scopes must be preapproved by MassCEC, and billed at half of the team member s standard hourly rate. MassCEC will not reimburse RFP ID: MassCEC 2017-HSMP-02 15

16 for tolls, mileage, or parking. MassCEC anticipates that the travel required will be limited. In no event should it exceed 2% of the total award amount. All work is to be billed hourly, except for the fee to perform the Enhanced Audits for Scope 3, which will be billed at a fixed rate per audit. This rate should cover the costs to perform the tasks above and beyond the standard Mass Save Home Energy Assessment. All proposals should also include a maximum requested award amount. The requested maximum award amount should be competitive while realistically accounting for the uncertainties of a pilot effort, but cannot in any case exceed the caps outlined in Section 2.C. 7. Conflict of Interest: Acknowledgement in ATTACHMENT A: Signature and Acceptance Form that the individual(s) submitting this proposal will not be eligible to participate in the HeatSmart Mass Pilot Program as an installer. In addition, the individual(s) may not have any business or contractual agreement with clean heating and cooling companies that may be bidding on the installer RFP in the Pilot Program. The selected installer will be required to attest to this in the contract. D. Application Deadlines and Contact Information The timeline for the RFP process outlined below. RFP Milestone Date RFP for Technical Consultants Released Monday, July 24, 2017 Deadline to submit Technical Consultant Wednesday, August 16, 2017, 11:59 PM Questions MassCEC to post Community & Technical Wednesday, August 23, 2017 Consultant RFP FAQ Proposals Due for RFP for Communities and Friday, September 1, 2017, 11:59 PM RFP for Technical Consultants Please submit all questions to the HeatSmart Massachusetts Team, at heatsmartmass@masscec.com by August 16, 2017 by 11:59pm. HeatSmart Massachusetts Pilot RFP Technical Consultant Question must appear in the subject line. Responses to submitted questions, and other frequently asked questions, will be posted by August 23, 2017 by 5:00pm on MassCEC s website. Responses to this RFP must be received by MassCEC no later than 11:59pm ET on September 1, Only complete, timely proposals will be considered. MassCEC, at its sole discretion, may determine whether an application is complete. The submission must be in electronic form, submitted via to heatsmartmass@masscec.com. HeatSmart Massachusetts Pilot RFP Technical Consultant Proposal must appear in the subject line. 4. EVALUATION CRITERIA Proposals will be evaluated on the criteria below: RFP ID: MassCEC 2017-HSMP-02 16

17 Range of Services to Be Provided Does the Applicant plan to provide services commensurate with the services requested by MassCEC? Has the Applicant demonstrated insight into additional needs of the HeatSmart Mass pilot or proposed additional and valuable recommendations? Cost Competitiveness How does the Applicant s hourly rate compare to other Applicants? How does the Applicant s proposed maximum fee compare to MassCEC s suggested cap and the fee proposed by other Applicants? Experience and Qualifications To what extent does the Applicant demonstrate qualifications for the Tasks that they are applying for as outlined in Section 3.B? What is the quality of the Applicant s performance on similar past consulting assignments or their achievements related to proposed work? Overall Quality of Proposal Does the Applicant demonstrate an understanding of the concepts and motivators underlying the Program? Has the Applicant presented their qualifications clearly and demonstrated an ability to write and communicate effectively to different stakeholder groups? Has the Applicant demonstrated sufficient creativity and flexibility to participate in the HeatSmart Mass pilot? Applicant Team (if applicable): Does the partnership have a history of collaboration? Does the partnership have a clear structure for collaboration? 5. GENERAL REQUEST FOR RESPONSE CONDITIONS A. NOTICE OF PUBLIC DISCLOSURE As a public entity, MassCEC is subject to Massachusetts Public Records Law, codified at Chapter 66 of the Massachusetts General Laws. Thus, any documentary material, data, or other information received by MassCEC from an applicant is a public record subject to disclosure. Applicants shall not send MassCEC any confidential or sensitive information in response to this RFP. B. DISCLAIMER This RFP does not commit MassCEC to award any funds, pay any costs incurred in preparing an application, or procure or contract for services or supplies. MassCEC reserves the right to accept or reject any or all applications received, negotiate with all qualified Applicants, cancel or modify the RFP in part or in its entirety, or change the application guidelines. RFP ID: MassCEC 2017-HSMP-02 17

18 This RFP has been distributed electronically using MassCEC s website. It is the responsibility of Applicants to check the website for any addenda or modifications to a RFP to which they intend to respond. MassCEC accepts no liability and will provide no accommodation to Applicants who submit an application based on an out-of-date RFP document. RFP ID: MassCEC 2017-HSMP-02 18