by Peter Troast | May 5, 2015


I am deeply touched and honored to have received the Tony Woods Award for Excellence in Advancing the Home Performance Industry. 


Unfortunately, Tony passed away before I had a chance to meet him, but I have the good fortune today of working with companies that were his legacy. People who knew Tony tell me that beyond being a great contractor doing high quality home performance work, he was a tireless teacher, mentor and volunteer.


A commitment to giving back is certainly a common trait amongst the amazing people who have previously won this award. As much as I feel a bit unworthy to be on the same list with them, I share and fully accept that obligation.


Openly sharing what we know, particularly about the tricky world of driving demand for home performance, has been one of our core principles at Energy Circle. But as I wrote in my self-evaluation of our performance last year, I believe that the net effect of our teaching isn't as strong as it can be, and we're reinventing how we approach it. We need to get beyond good scores as presenters, and measure our success on lasting impact.


I love that this award is for "demonstrating extraordinary dedication to and activism in the home performance industry." I am the product of an activist background, and I only hope I can forever maintain that youthful sense of possibility, fresh perspective and, most importantly, urgency.


The ACI community fully gets that the work of the home performance industry is critical to our planet's future. Many of the past winners of this award, and countless others in this industry, have been on this quest for 30 years or more.


Sometimes I need to remind myself that what we are seeking is the "tipping point." To the veterans, for whom I have enormous respect, the fact that we're not yet mainstream is a source of frustration. But when you think in terms of a tipping point, it is just one more high performance retrofitted house that turns the tide. I strongly believe that we are progressing towards that point.


Above all, I am enormously grateful to work in an industry and community that is so centrally critical to the world my/our children will grow up in. 


Thank you.