For starters, every home is different! A rigid policy that requires a pre-defined set of measures for all situations can make it harder for citizens to comply when the requirements don’t match their situation.

For example, say a policy proposes to require, among other measures, attic insulation in older homes, which looks like a good investment that pays back within several years. However, imagine an individual homeowner has a large attic and a growing family, and they are saving money to convert their attic into an additional kid's bedroom in the next year, which would require removal of any attic insulation in order to put down flooring. Having to comply with a rigid attic insulation requirement would be quite onerous.

Instead, a flexible compliance path allows the homeowner to choose among a set of alternative measures which save at least as much energy as installing attic insulation–a win-win situation.

When you create a policy with flexible compliance in the Cost-Effectiveness Explorer, we will generate flexible compliance tables for you.

To comply with this policy, permit applicants will locate the Required Flexible Score that applies for their homes' construction year at the top of each table. Then, they are free to install any combination of measures from the table that adds up to that Required Flexible Score. In the example of Palm Springs, applicants with a home built before 1978 would be able to install different combinations of measures that meet the required flexible score of 29, and they will be in compliance. One of many possible combinations is to install Cool Roof and New Ducts + Duct Sealing.

You can customize these tables, adjusting the required flexible scores and making measures mandatory or excluding them completely, then share them via a link or download them to include in your policy documents.