A growing number of studies suggest that some homebuyers are willing to pay a premium for energy-efficient homes. Real estate professionals are increasingly aware homebuyers consider heating and cooling costs, efficient appliances, and efficient lighting to be important factors in home purchase decisions. Residential energy efficiency and real estate stakeholders, however, agree that the home resale process frequently fails to account for the value of high-performance home features.
A request for proposals (RFP) is often necessary to engage the services of a program implementation partner or third party evaluator. A RFP should have a well-defined scope of work and clear description of how proposals will be evaluated.
Funding for organizational and program activities can come from a variety of sources including, but not limited to, ratepayer funds collected by utilities, grants (federal, state, foundation, etc.), and income from services provided to program participants or contractors. In many cases, individual revenue streams will have specific requirements on how the funding may be spent as well as specific reporting requirements.
A revolving loan fund is capital that is designated as funding for a specific purpose (e.g., to fund energy efficiency and/or renewable energy improvements). Typically, as loan repayments are received, those funds are consolidated and lent out to new borrowers, thus the revolving nature.