Alaska Retrofit Information System (ARIS) Development

CCHRC is managing the development of ARIS on behalf of Alaska Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC). The project goal is to create a means by which to collect, manage, access, and report on information relating to AHFC’s rebate and weatherization programs, as well as other official uses of AkWarm. Once development of the ARIS database is complete, AHFC has indicated they would like CCHRC to maintain and manage the database.

The Alaska Retrofit Information System (ARIS) is a project funded by the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC) and will result in software designed to provide a means for collecting, managing and accessing information about AHFC’s Energy Rebate and Weatherization Programs. It also includes data about the residence owner and rater, pre- and post-retrofit energy rating reports, work done, products used, cost, etc. It includes information from other official uses of the AkWarm and weatherization programs such as Building Energy Efficiency Standard (BEES) compliance certifications.

The data collected will provide CCHRC and AHFC valuable information about energy conservation effectiveness, estimated vs. actual costs, and fund usage, e.g., by political district. It will also provide a strong basis for statistical analysis and follow-up ground-truth studies.

This project is building upon the prototype products and developing a robust SQL-Server database with web-based user interfaces that allow for data collection, reporting and analysis to happen remotely and consistently. It cleanly, securely and reliably integrates AkWarm, weatherization and energy rebate program data, data processing and reporting.

ARIS development in 2010 will add information about energy usage and the efficiency of public and commercial buildings throughout Alaska in preparation for substantial retrofit work planned for 2011 and 2012, funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. CCHRC is collaborating with the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) so that ARIS can be used for their public building retrofit work in approximately 16 Alaska villages. The funds saved by ANTHC through not having to create a redundant system may go directly to energy saving retrofits.

A home in Fairbanks, Alaska, retrofitted in 2008. These photos illustrate the temperature of the exterior walls in winter. On the left, the “before” photo; on the right, the “after” photo.