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Energy.gov Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Residential Program Guide
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Establish a clear system and process for ensuring quality work

A residential energy efficiency program’s success is dependent on the quality of work that contractors conduct in customers’ homes. Indeed, an in-depth examination of selected program strategies found that effective quality assurance and quality control programs provided a foundation for quality...
Tips for Success

Provide information to help customers pick the right contractor

Early on, many Better Buildings Neighborhood Program partners focused on providing customers with a range of contractors to choose from, while providing contractors with access to customers. Customer feedback received by some programs, however, indicated that customers were confused or overwhelmed...
Tips for Success

Recognize and reward good contractor performance

Many programs used the information they gathered through their quality assurance efforts to recognize contractors that deliver consistent, high-quality work. Rewarding good contractor performance can help you build trust, strengthen partnerships, and boost workforce morale. You can incentivize...
Tips for Success

Provide adequate time for data system development and testing

Many Better Buildings Neighborhood Program partners found that setting up their information technology (IT) systems early in the program design stage ensured that data terms and data entry procedures were consistently applied by all system users. Reaching agreement with stakeholders (e.g...
Tips for Success

Provide materials and training to ensure data quality, consistency, and accuracy

Many Better Buildings Neighborhood Program partners found that it is important to get buy-in from program staff and contractors on the importance of data integrity to the program mission and then to invest time to develop materials and train everyone who has a role in data collection and analysis...
Tips for Success

Make sure there are enough customers in your target market to meet your goals and attract partners

Many programs that focused on a specific neighborhood or other small geographic areas have found it difficult to generate enough customer interest, partner interest, and upgrade activity to meet program goals. Regional or statewide approaches are often more attractive to contractors, lenders...
Tips for Success

Design your financing activities to enable long-term sustainability

In order to overcome lenders’ concerns over the risk associated with energy efficiency loans, many Better Buildings Neighborhood Program partners offered credit enhancements to lenders (e.g., loan loss reserve funds) to attract lender participation and to mitigate lender losses in the event of loan...
Tips for Success

Consider tiered financing or rebates to encourage deeper upgrades

Without an incentive, homeowners and contractors may limit themselves to smaller upgrade projects. Programs in search of more energy savings have found that some homeowners already interested in an upgrade are amenable to a bigger upgrade when coupled with better financing terms or larger rebates...
Tips for Success

Partner with organizations or individuals that customers already trust

Many programs found it useful to partner with a range of trusted organizations or individuals to market program offerings to their constituencies or followers. Better Buildings Neighborhood Program participants enhanced their marketing and outreach efforts by partnering with trusted local groups...
Tips for Success

Content Type

  • Resource (46)
  • (-) Tips for Success (9)

Resource Type

Program Components

  • Market Position & Business Model (1)
  • Program Design & Customer Experience (3)
  • Evaluation & Data Collection (2)
  • Marketing & Outreach (1)
  • Financing (3)
  • Contractor Engagement & Workforce Development (3)

Program Design Phases

  • Overview (2)
  • Strategy Development (8)
  • Planning (6)
  • Implementation (6)
  • Evaluation (4)

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Organizations or Programs

  • Be SMART (6)
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  • Local Energy Alliance Program (LEAP) (1)
  • Maryland Home Performance with ENERGY STAR (1)
  • Missouri Agricultural Energy Saving Team —A Revolutionary Opportunity (MAESTRO) (1)
  • NYSERDA (1)
  • RePower Bainbridge (1)
Residential Program Guide is a resource of the U.S. Department of Energy's Building Technologies Office.
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