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Contractor Engagement & Workforce Development – Assess & Improve Processes

Monitor the effectiveness of contractor and workforce development efforts, motivate improvement, address low performers, and adapt on a regular basis.
Handbook

Market Position & Business Model – Assess & Improve Processes

Develop processes, strategies, and procedures to continuously improve your organization’s operations and position in the market.
Handbook

Evaluation & Data Collection – Communicate Impacts

Communicate pertinent results of evaluations to program staff, partners, and stakeholders.
Handbook

Market Position & Business Model – Communicate Impacts

Publicize benefits and lessons learned resulting from your organization’s success in the market.
Handbook

Contractor Engagement & Workforce Development – Communicate Impacts

Communicate program results to contractor partners and workforce development stakeholders.
Handbook

Financing – Communicate Impacts

Communicate the results of your financing activities to internal and external partners.
Handbook

Financing – Assess & Improve Processes

Focus on the continuous improvement of your financing activities by tracking and evaluating data, responding to feedback, and modifying strategies when needed.
Handbook

Marketing & Outreach – Assess & Improve Processes

Monitor the effectiveness of marketing and outreach strategies and adapt as needed.
Handbook

Marketing & Outreach – Communicate Impacts

Communicate marketing and outreach results internally and to partners.
Handbook

Program Design & Customer Experience – Overview

Design a residential energy efficiency program that integrates marketing and outreach, contractor coordination, incentives, financing, and program evaluation to provide customers with the products and services they want through a customer-centric process.
Handbook

Financing – Overview

Ensure that your program’s customers will have access to affordable financing, so they can pay for the services you offer.
Handbook

Market Position & Business Model – Overview

Identify your organization's preferred market position by assessing existing market actors, gaps, competitors, and potential partners. Develop a business model that will allow you to deliver energy efficiency services.
Handbook

Evaluation & Data Collection – Overview

Develop evidence-based insights into your program’s performance through third-party process and impact evaluations. Learn how to develop effective data collection strategies and timely evaluations to identify important program achievements as well as opportunities for making program improvements.
Handbook

Marketing & Outreach – Overview

Spur consumer demand for your program's services by understanding your target audience and motivating them to act using effective messaging, marketing and outreach tactics, and attractive program offers.
Handbook

Program Design & Customer Experience – Assess & Improve Processes

Improve your program’s efficiency and effectiveness through regular information collection, assessment, decision-making, adaptation, and communication.
Handbook

Program Design & Customer Experience – Communicate Impacts

Develop a strategy for communicating program impacts and benefits to key audiences to create and sustain support and engagement.
Handbook

Contractor Engagement & Workforce Development – Overview

Support and partner with the workforce who will deliver your program’s energy efficiency services by understanding their capacity, recruiting contractor partners, enabling technical training and business development support, fostering clear communication, and refining program processes over time, in partnership with your workforce.
Handbook

Offer homeowners multiple types of assessments

Several successful residential energy efficiency programs offered multiple types of home energy assessments to appeal to a wider spectrum of homeowner interests and needs. These ranged from online home assessments to brief walk-throughs to full diagnostic testing. A comprehensive evaluation of over...
Tips for Success

Adapt your business model to fit your external environment

To develop a successful business model, Better Buildings Neighborhood Program partners found it critical to have a strong understanding of the external environment within which they operated. This included who their customers were, who their competitors and partners were, what key policies governed...
Tips for Success

Consider a diversity of funding and revenue sources and make selections based on local opportunities when planning for long-term program sustainability

In order to craft a sustainable financial model, organizations need to identify long-term sustainable revenue sources. As with the Better Buildings Neighborhood Program, grant funding can be a great way to get an effort off the ground; however, grant funding does run out, leaving the need to secure...
Tips for Success

Design a program that provides value for contractors and considers their seasonal business cycles

Many residential energy efficiency programs run into challenges maintaining an appropriately sized, well-trained workforce from program launch through maturity, as well as through the fluctuating demand of the seasons of the year. Some programs found that their contractors preferred a smooth annual...
Tips for Success

Leverage the many complementary benefits of energy efficiency programs to broaden your organization’s reach and partnership opportunities

Home energy assessments and upgrades can offer more than just energy savings benefits. They can make homes safer, enhance home value, and reduce health risks for residents. Better Buildings Neighborhood Program partners found that emphasizing the full range of benefits that upgrades offered helped...
Tips for Success

Connect home performance professionals to trainings focused on the skills that employers want and the community needs

Effective home performance contractors require many types of skills and expertise. To help individuals develop those skills, programs can target training on the specific topics and skills needed for successful home performance work. Many Better Buildings Neighborhood Program partners found that they...
Tips for Success

Have clear rules and systems for identifying and remedying contractor problems

Even with the best contractor partners, a program may sometimes encounter difficulties that require remediation. Consistent with Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program principles, many Better Buildings Neighborhood Program partners discovered that they could address these difficulties by...
Tips for Success

Maintain a sufficient workforce from program launch into program maturity

Your program will rely on its contractor base in order to succeed, so take steps to ensure that the capacity of the workforce is sufficient to launch your program and to maintain it as it grows. An evaluation of over 140 programs found that successful programs fostered and maintained relationships...
Tips for Success

Contractors are your sales team – educate and empower them with the skills to sell home energy upgrades

Many home performance programs have confronted the challenge of how to reach out to more customers and to improve conversion rates of customer interest into completed upgrades. Realizing that the contractor is a primary face-to-face link between customers and the program, some Better Buildings...
Tips for Success

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

Develop routine reports or dashboards to help monitor the collected data

Many Better Buildings Neighborhood Program partners found that program dashboards—regularly updated, easily accessed, summary reports of key metrics—helped them identify problems and monitor program progress toward their goals. Depending on the program’s goals and needs, dashboards included metrics...
Tips for Success

Establish collaborative partnerships with contractors and communicate with them early and often

Contractors are more likely to serve as program champions when the program engages with them throughout program design, delivery, and improvement. Your contractors are the primary contact points with your customers, and the quality of their interactions and services strongly influences how customers...
Tips for Success

Use compatible formats for data sharing and reporting, and work with partners to implement standard data exchange protocols

Many Better Buildings Neighborhood Program partners found that it was critically important to use compatible formats for data sharing and reporting with partners. Aligning data formats and collection plans with national data formats (e.g., Home Performance XML schema (HPXML), Standard Energy...
Tips for Success

Develop data collection and evaluation plans in conjunction with program design

Many Better Buildings Neighborhood Program partners found that it was important to communicate during the program design phase with organizations and individuals that will collect or supply data for the evaluation. In this way, the involved individuals and organizations understand why the data is...
Tips for Success

Establish data sharing relationships as early as possible

Though potentially challenging, establishing relationships for sharing energy consumption data is critical for evaluating program impact on energy and cost savings. Many Better Buildings Neighborhood Program partners found success by approaching utilities during the program planning phase, or at...
Tips for Success

Invest in information and communications technology

Paper-based or spreadsheet-based information collection processes can be low cost to develop and easy to roll-out, but more often than not, they become cumbersome to aggregate and store the data from many sources. Many Better Buildings Neighborhood Program partners found that investing in...
Tips for Success

Good news is addictive – spread news about program accomplishments widely and often

Successful programs use many channels to communicate accomplishments and results to stakeholders. These include word of mouth and products such as press releases, announcements on websites, case studies, and presentations. Many programs use earned media—especially local media when possible—by giving...
Tips for Success

Measure and evaluate performance at key points in the process

Measuring performance at key points in the upgrade process (e.g., assessments, conversion rates, and financing applications) has helped programs understand where their processes are working smoothly and where they are not. This information has helped them continuously improve their program design...
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

Develop partnerships based on an alignment of goals, strong collaboration, and consistent communication

Programs that have developed strong and lasting partnerships have done so by identifying shared goals and seeking ways in which programs and partners can mutually benefit by advancing each other's missions. Even if partners don’t have the same goals as your program, you can still try to find ways to...
Tips for Success

Incentivize the action you want your customer to take

Successful programs know that it is not enough to get customers interested in their services. They know that homeowners that receive assessments but don’t undertake upgrades don’t receive the benefits of energy efficiency—and programs don’t get credit for energy savings. Instead of emphasizing...
Tips for Success

Recognize customers who make improvements

Some programs provide customers with a “certificate of completion” to recognize and reward homeowners’ accomplishment in completing an upgrade. Visible awards or affirmation, such as yard signs, window stickers, or favorable comparisons to neighbors can motivate homeowners to undertake upgrades...
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

Keep the program simple for your customers

Given all of the other things that compete for your audience’s attention, it is critical that program participation steps are straightforward and easy to understand. Many programs have found that complexity makes it harder for interested homeowners to complete upgrade projects. These programs have...
Tips for Success

Make upgrade options clear and concise for customers

Programs in many regions of the U.S. find that the concept of home performance is new to homeowners. Homeowners may not know how energy efficiency measures compare (e.g., energy savings benefits of insulation versus new windows) or have not heard about some effective measures, such as air sealing...
Tips for Success

Provide customers with a single point of contact to help them through the upgrade process

While homeowners may be interested in the benefits of an energy upgrade, many are deterred from completing an upgrade project because of the complex and unknown process. Often, a significant portion of homeowners who receive energy assessments do not continue with the upgrades. As part of the Better...
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

Hire staff with financing skills and knowledge

Financing can be a complicated topic for programs, and having staff with financing knowledge and expertise can be very valuable. Financing program administration involves working with lenders and understanding how they operate as well as understanding financial regulatory issues and loan product...
Tips for Success

Speak about financing in ways that resonate with homeowners

Many programs struggle with communicating the value of financing to homeowners. Financing can be a complicated topic, and ensuring that homeowners understand how their loans work and the benefits they will realize is important for converting interest into action. Many Better Buildings Neighborhood...
Tips for Success

Help contractors understand the program’s financing options and benefits, so they can communicate to homeowners

Homeowners do not benefit from access to financing if they don’t know about or understand options available to them. Contractors are often the primary transaction point for selling upgrades, and many programs have found that ongoing collaboration with contractors through sales training, regular...
Tips for Success

Leverage financial sector marketing channels

Lenders can be a valuable partner for programs in marketing loan products and driving demand for home energy upgrades. They are often a trusted source of information in a community, and they have access to potential customers and partners such as existing customers, loan aggregators, and large...
Tips for Success

Communicate with audiences at least three times; once is not enough

All residential energy efficiency programs have found that outreach needs to be repeated to connect with and remind potential participants about program offerings. As marketing gurus note, the majority of people need to be exposed to a product message at least three times (on separate occasions) to...
Tips for Success

Engage with potential lending partners early, and make a clear business case for their involvement

Some lenders perceive home energy lending to be too risky or not profitable enough for them to get involved. Programs have found that engaging potential lending partners early in the program design process, especially in face-to-face meetings, helped them understand both lender needs and the risks...
Tips for Success

Follow through with customers

Following up on leads that result from your marketing and outreach efforts quickly and consistently will help your program convert them from interested parties to satisfied customers. Many programs found a sizable drop-off in action if they or their contractors were not able to follow up within a...
Tips for Success

Promote financing as part of energy efficiency sales transactions

Low-cost financing for home energy upgrades does not increase customer demand for upgrades on its own. A comprehensive evaluation of over 140 programs across the United States found that homeowners must be sold on the benefits of home energy upgrades before financing can become valuable to them...
Tips for Success

Adapt messages to your primary target audience’s needs

Many programs found that market research can help identify, segment, and characterize audiences to understand how to prioritize them. A comprehensive evaluation of over 140 programs across the United States found that programs had greater success when they identified specific target populations...
Tips for Success

Conduct one-on-one outreach where people gather and help them take action right away

Programs that conducted one-on-one outreach found that community events provided good opportunities for the program and its partners to connect and build credibility with potential customers. Particularly successful events were ones that attracted the program’s target audience and aligned with their...
Tips for Success

Engage media to garner attention and credibility

Many successful programs found that getting media attention for their offerings and benefits helped add credibility to marketing efforts and expand their reach. By positioning "green" stories or home improvement mini-segments on local television or radio stations, they provided timely content that...
Tips for Success

Make upgrade benefits visible by showcasing completed projects and actual results

Unlike remodeling projects, home energy upgrade benefits are generally not immediately visible to the casual observer. Strategies that demonstrate tangible benefits from upgrades can help increase understanding and motivation with potential customers. To help energy efficiency become real, some...
Tips for Success

Motivate action through financial incentives and time-limited offers

Incentives can be the easiest approach to overcome motivation barriers and attract customers’ and contractors’ attention, as long as the upgrade and reimbursement processes are kept simple and easy to follow. Successful programs have found incentives help entice customers to complete upgrades...
Tips for Success

Using Deemed Savings and Technical Reference Manuals for Efficiency Programs and Projects

Author(s)
Tina Jayaweera, Northwest Power and Conservation Council,
Jennifer Easler, Iowa Attorney General's Office,
Chuck Rea, MidAmerican Energy Company
Publication Date
2016

Applying well documented stipulated (deemed) values is a common practice for determining the savings from energy efficiency projects and programs and the databases where such deemed values are cataloged are called Technical Reference Manuals (TRMs). This webcast introduces the use of deemed savings, information on setting up and updating TRMs, lessons learned, and resources for state officials. As examples, speakers discuss the content and development processes used for the Northwest regional TRM and the Iowa state TRM.

Resource - Webcast

Evaluation of Residential Behavior-Based Programs

Author(s)
C. Anna Spurlock, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,
Annika Todd, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,
Bill Saxonis, New York Department of Public Service
Publication Date
2016

Residential behavior-based (BB) programs use strategies grounded in the behavioral and social sciences to influence household energy use. These programs have unique evaluation challenges and usually require different evaluation methods than those currently employed for most other types of efficiency programs. This webcast provides an introduction to documenting the energy savings associated with BB programs and examples of how different jurisdictions are addressing BB program evaluation.

Resource - Webcast

Setting Baselines for Planning and Evaluation of Efficiency Programs

Author(s)
Robert G. Ozar, Michigan Public Service Commission,
Carmen Best, California Public Utilities Commission,
Jeff Harris, Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance
Publication Date
2016

The key challenge with quantifying savings from end-use efficiency activities is the identification of an accurate baseline from which to determine the savings. Regardless of the protocol or procedure applied, all savings values are determined by estimating likely energy use in the absence of the program or project (the “counterfactual” scenario, or baseline). This webcast provides an introduction to considerations and common practices for defining baselines, the relationship between baselines and savings attribution, and examples of how different jurisdictions are addressing market baseline studies, setting baselines for retrofit measures, and market transformation program baselines.

Resource - Webcast

Presentation on the Energy Efficiency Reporting Tool for Public Power Utilities

Author(s)
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,
American Public Power Association
Publication Date
2016

This presentation discusses the energy efficiency reporting tool for public power utilities. The tool is an Excel-based template is designed to produce consistent, useful metrics on program investments and performance for small to medium-sized administrators of public power efficiency programs.

Resource - Webcast

Lessons Learned and the Better Buildings Residential Program Solution Center

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
2016

Take you on a tour of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Residential Program Solution Center content and functionality and explore how you can use the Solution Center to help design, implement, and evaluate residential energy efficiency programs. Program examples focus on contractor engagement and workforce development. Learn how to support and partner with the workforce who will deliver your program’s energy efficiency services by understanding their capacity, recruiting contractor partners, enabling technical training and business development support, and refining program processes over time.

Resource - Webcast

Energy Efficiency Cost-Effectiveness Testing Forecasting

Author(s)
State and Local Energy Efficiency Action Network
Publication Date
2014

This webcast provides an introduction to cost-effectiveness testing for energy efficiency programs, key drivers in the cost-effectiveness results, and cost effectiveness tool developed for the U.S. Department of Energy.

Resource - Webcast

Long-Run Savings and Cost-Effectiveness of Home Energy Reports

Author(s)
State and Local Energy Efficiency Action Network
Publication Date
2014

This webcast discusses the savings and cost-effectiveness of home energy reports programs.

Resource - Webcast

Energy Efficiency and Conservation Loan Program Webinar Series: #5 On-Bill Financing

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Agriculture,
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
2014

This webinar is the fifth (in a series of six) hosted by USDA Rural Utility Service (RUS) and focusing on the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Loan Program (EECLP). This webinar focuses on financing energy improvements on utility bills and features case studies about Roanoke Electric Cooperative's Upgrade to Save program and North Arkansas Electric Cooperative. It also provides information for programs seeking on-bill financing project assistance.

Resource - Webcast

Energy Efficiency and Conservation Loan Program Webinar Series: #3 Residential Energy Efficiency Deep Dive, Part One

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Agriculture,
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
2014

This webinar is the third (in a series of six) hosted by USDA Rural Utility Service (RUS) and focusing on the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Loan Program (EECLP). The first in a two-part series, this webinar shares best practices from the more than 40 competitively selected state and local governments who participated in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Neighborhood Program, including market position and business model, program design and customer experience, evaluation and data collection, marketing and outreach, financing, and contractor engagement and workforce development.

Resource - Webcast

Energy Efficiency and Conservation Loan Program Webinar Series: #4 Residential Energy Efficiency Deep Dive, Part Two

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Agriculture,
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
2014

This webinar is the fourth (in a series of six) hosted by USDA Rural Utility Service (RUS) and focusing on the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Loan Program (EECLP). The second in a two-part series, this webinar shares best practices from the more than 40 competitively selected state and local governments who participated in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Neighborhood Program. This webinar focuses on data collection and continuous improvement, partnering with financial institutions, community-based outreach, and quality assurance of contractor work. It also features a case study from Jackson Electric Member Corporation about their audit tools, rebates and loans, tracking and reporting, and marketing and advertising strategies.

Resource - Webcast

Energy Efficiency and Conservation Loan Program Webinar Series: #2 Evaluation, Monitoring & Verification

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Agriculture,
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
2014

This webinar is the second (in a series of six) hosted by USDA Rural Utility Service (RUS) and focusing on the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Loan Program (EECLP). This webinar covers the key concepts of Evaluation, Monitoring & Verification (EM&V), gives an overview of the full process, from estimating savings before programs are implemented to measuring and verifying the savings at the end. The webinar also covers EM&V framework, evaluation plans, technical reference manuals and measurement and verification studies.

Resource - Webcast

Energy Efficiency and Conservation Loan Program Webinar Series: #1 Overview and Cost Effectiveness

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Agriculture,
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
2014

This webinar is the first (in a series of six) hosted by USDA Rural Utility Service (RUS) and focusing on the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Loan Program (EECLP). This webinar provides an overview of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Loan Program. It covers the requirements and benefits of the program and also discusses steps you can take to evaluate the cost effectiveness of energy program options.

Resource - Webcast

Demonstrating Success and Sustaining Impact

Author(s)
Kelly Lucci, Vermont Energy Investment Corporation
Publication Date
2014
Organizations or Programs
Efficiency Vermont

This webcast is part of a three-part series on communications strategies and methods. It focuses on how communities can effectively showcase the benefits and successes of a clean energy initiative to ensure additional funding opportunities, continued engagement, and sustained behavior change.

Resource - Webcast

Preliminary Impact Evaluation of the U.S. Department of Energy's Better Buildings Neighborhood Program

Author(s)
Jeff Dowd, U.S. Department of Energy,
Ed Vine, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Publication Date
2013
This presentation discusses the preliminary impact evaluation of the U.S. Department of Energy's Better Buildings Neighborhood Program, including program processes and what program elements are most successful in inducing market changes that will result in sustainable savings.
Resource - Webcast

Energy Efficiency Cost-Effectiveness Testing

Author(s)
Snuller Price, Energy and Environmental Economics, Inc.,
Tim Woolf, Synapse Energy Economics,
Tom Eckman, Northwest Power and Conservation Council,
Sami Khawaja, The Cadmus Group, Inc.,
Steven Schiller, Schiller Consulting, Inc.
Publication Date
2014

This webcast provides an introduction to cost-effectiveness testing for energy efficiency programs. It also covers key drivers in the cost-effectiveness results and cost-effectiveness tools developed for the U.S. Department of Energy.

Resource - Webcast

Communicating Success: Measuring Improvements, Sharing Results

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
2011
This webcast teaches attendees how to leverage program results to promote energy efficiency campaigns.
Resource - Webcast

Door-to-Door Outreach and Tracking Impacts

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
2010
Organizations or Programs
Efficiency Vermont

This webcast discusses door-to-door campaigns and how to track the impacts of these campaigns.

Resource - Webcast

Financial Program Management for Continuous Improvement

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
2011
Organizations or Programs
EnergySmart Colorado,
emPowerSBC
This webcast discussed financial program management.
Resource - Webcast

EM&V Basics, Tools and Resources to Assist EECBG and SEP Grantees

Author(s)
Julie Michals, Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships, Inc.,
Phil Sieper, The Cadmus Group, Inc.,
Mark Stetz, Stetz Consulting
Publication Date
2010

This webinar offers an introduction to EM&V basics, including data collection, tracking tools, M&V approaches, and reporting energy savings.

Resource - Webcast

Tips and Tools for Promoting Your Energy Efficiency Project

Author(s)
Jim Arwood, National Association of State Energy Officials,
Nancy Raca, ICF International
Publication Date
2010

This webcast provides information on why outreach is important for program success and how programs can promote their efforts.

Resource - Webcast

EM&V Webinar Series

Author(s)
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Publication Date
2017

This webinar series is intended for state officials starting or expanding their EM&V methods for a wide range of efficiency activities including utility customer-funded programs, building energy codes, appliance and equipment standards, energy savings performance contracting, and efficiency programs that support pollution reduction goals or regulations.

Resource - Topical Presentations

Innovations in Processes to Accelerate Home Upgrade Programs

Author(s)
Dale Hoffmeyer, U.S. Department of Energy,
Chris Baker, Arizona Public Service (APS),
Torsten Glidden, Build It Green
Publication Date
2016
Organizations or Programs
Energy Upgrade California,
Arizona Home Performance with ENERGY STAR

Achieving energy savings goals and improving customer and contractor satisfaction while staying cost-effective makes managing home energy upgrade programs challenging. DOE's Home Upgrade Program Accelerator is working with program administrators to identify strategies that overcome challenges and achieve better results. The Arizona Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program completed process improvements that improved contractor satisfaction and deceased quality assurance labor.  Build It Green implemented software improvements to their utility program's online rebate applications portal to accelerate data processing.

Resource - Topical Presentations

Making the Grade: Innovative Approaches to Improving Quality

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
2017
Organizations or Programs
Enhabit,
Consumers Energy

This summary from a Better Buildings Residential Network peer exchange call focused on innovative approaches to increase contractors' work quality through feedback reports and contractor ranking, decrease quality assurance costs through remote quality assurance, and improve contractor engagement. It features speakers from Consumers Energy, Enhabit, and DOE.

Resource - Topical Presentations

Utility Benchmarking in Multifamily Housing 201: Let Performance Data Drive Your Decisions

Author(s)
Scott Ledford, ICF International,
Colleen Woodson, BrightPower, Inc.,
Julie Klump, Preservation of Affordable Housing",
ICF International
Publication Date
2017

This presentation helps multifamily building owners better understand the how and why of utility benchmarking. Explore strategies and resources for translating benchmarking results into concrete next steps toward improving property performance.

Resource - Topical Presentations

Utility Benchmarking in Multifamily Housing 101: Kilowatt Count Your Way to a Trimmer Bottom Line

Author(s)
Terrance Brady, Tampa Housing Authority,
Scott Ledford, ICF International,
Dan Teague, WegoWise,
David Ruggiero, ICF International
Publication Date
2017

This presentation helps multifamily building owners better understand the how and why of utility benchmarking. Learn about the benefits of utility benchmarking, including various drivers for performing utility benchmarking at multifamily properties, and explore how your organization can start with utility benchmarking with the help of HUD resources.

Resource - Topical Presentations

Behavior-Based Energy Efficiency Programs

Author(s)
Bonneville Power Administration,
Snohomish County Public Utility District,
Puget Sound Energy,
Clark County Utilities
Publication Date
2013

This presentation describes behavior-based energy efficiency programs and the results of the implementation of pilots from the Snohomish County PUD, Puget Sound Energy, and Clark Public Utilities. These program design features included home energy reports, web portals, and social media platforms.

Resource - Topical Presentations

Just What the Doctor Ordered: Integrating Health Benefits Into Energy Efficiency Programs

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
2017

This summary from a Better Buildings Residential Network peer exchange call emphasizes the health benefits of upgrades to make your program relevant to potential partners and audiences. Speakers include the City of Fort Collins, Colorado and  Green & Healthy Homes Initiative Greater Syracuse, Home Headquarters.

Resource - Topical Presentations

Master Key: Unlocking Innovative Approaches to Program Design

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
2017

This summary from a Better Buildings Residential Network peer exchange call focused on behavior change program design and design thinking to increase program reach. It features speakers from See Change Institute, Efficiency Vermont, and Navitas Partners, Inc.

Resource - Topical Presentations

The Ultimate Retrofit: Zero Energy Ready Homes

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
2017

This summary from a Better Buildings Residential Network peer exchange call focused on best practices on upgrades for zero energy ready homes. Speakers include  Florida Solar Energy Center and BIRAenergy.

Resource - Topical Presentations

Making an Impact: Low-Income Energy Efficiency Programs

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
2017
Organizations or Programs
Elevate Energy

This summary from a Better Buildings Residential Network peer exchange call focused on unique challenges for energy efficiency and weatherization programs serving lower income residents in single-family and multifamily housing. Speakers include American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, Elevate Energy, and Energy Outreach Colorado.

Resource - Topical Presentations

Who's Got Game? Interactive Customer Engagement Strategies

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
2017
Organizations or Programs
Consumers Energy Smart Energy Challenge,
Focus on Energy

This summary from a Better Buildings Residential Network peer exchange call focused on key challenges and opportunities to deploy interactive engagement strategies including customer segmentation, loyalty and reward programs, and gamification. It features speakers from Fiveworx, ICF International, and Cool Choices.

Resource - Topical Presentations

0 to 60: Best Practices for Accelerating Program Performance

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
2017
Organizations or Programs
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA),
Arizona Home Performance with ENERGY STAR

This summary from a Better Buildings Residential Network peer exchange call focused on implementing process improvements using lean processes, an approach of continuous improvement, use of Standardized Workforce Specifications (SWS) to improve quality, and contractor feedback tools. It features speakers from DOE, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), and Arizona Home Performance.

Resource - Topical Presentations

Innovative Approaches to Financing

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
2017

This summary from a Better Buildings Residential Network peer exchange call focused on types of financing used to support home energy upgrades, including Warehouse for Energy Efficiency Loans (WHEEL) and on-bill financing (OBF) through rural electric cooperatives. It featured speakers from the Energy Programs Consortium and The Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina, Inc.

Resource - Topical Presentations

Known Unknowns: Key Energy Efficiency Trends in the New Year

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
2017

This summary from a Better Buildings Residential Network peer exchange call focused on new trends or changes in the market for home energy upgrades heading into the new year. Speakers include E4 The Future, Building Performance Institute, Inc, and American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.

Resource - Topical Presentations

State of the Union: Best Practices from 'Most Improved' Energy Efficient States in 2016

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
2017
Organizations or Programs
Efficiency Maine,
Michigan Saves

This summary from a Better Buildings Residential Network peer exchange call focused on how recent policy changes have impacted residential energy efficiency program implementation. Speakers include Efficiency Maine, Michigan Environmental Council, and Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities.

Resource - Topical Presentations

America's Next Top Energy Model: Tools and Best Practices (101)

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
2016

This summary from a Better Buildings Residential Network peer exchange call focused on how organizations can utilize energy modeling tools like the Asset Score for multifamily buildings into their program offerings, narrow the gap between predicted and actual energy savings, and use program data to increase program productivity and quality. It features speakers from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, and OptiMiser.

Resource - Topical Presentations

Boom Chika Boom: Demand Response and Behavior Change (301)

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
2016
Organizations or Programs
Narragansett EnergyWise Program,
AEP Ohio

This summary from a Better Buildings Residential Network peer exchange call focused on changing homeowner behaviors to reduce energy demands. It featured speakers from City of Fort Collins Utilities,  American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, and the Rocky Mountain Institute.

Resource - Topical Presentations

Diversifying Funding Sources and Building New Revenue Streams (201)

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
2016
Organizations or Programs
Energize Connecticut

This summary from a Better Buildings Residential Network peer exchange call focused on how organizations can diversify and grow new revenue streams and types of financing approaches used to make resources stretch further and help homeowners finance upgrades. Speakers include Connecticut Green Bank, Sealed, and Craft3.

Resource - Topical Presentations

Do You Hear Me Now? Communicating the Value of Non-Energy Benefits (101)

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
2016
Organizations or Programs
Elevate Energy

This summary from a Better Buildings Residential Network peer exchange call focused on communicating non-energy benefits that homeowners and building owners are most interested in. Speakers include Elevate Energy, Green & Healthy Homes Initiative, and Skumatz Economic Research Associates, Inc.

Resource - Topical Presentations

Connect 4: Energy Efficiency in Relation to Other Program and City Goals (101)

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
2016

This summary from a Better Buildings Residential Network peer exchange call focused on how energy efficiency could be used to achieve other goals. It features speakers from the City of Orlando and Seattle City Light.

Resource - Topical Presentations

Here Comes the Sun: Advances in Residential Solar (301)

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
2016
Organizations or Programs
Local Energy Alliance Program (LEAP)

This summary from a Better Buildings Residential Network peer exchange call focused on the intersection between solar and residential energy efficiency. Speakers include Ecolibrium3 and Local Energy Alliance Program (LEAP).

Resource - Topical Presentations

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Content Type

  • Resource (279)
  • Tips for Success (42)
  • Handbook (17)

Resource Type

Program Components

  • Market Position & Business Model (56)
  • Program Design & Customer Experience (98)
  • Evaluation & Data Collection (182)
  • Marketing & Outreach (91)
  • Financing (58)
  • Contractor Engagement & Workforce Development (49)

Program Design Phases

  • (-) Overview (34)
  • Strategy Development (638)
  • Planning (650)
  • Implementation (625)
  • (-) Evaluation (316)

States or Territories

  • Alabama (7)
  • Alberta (1)
  • Arizona (12)
  • Arkansas (3)
  • British Columbia (1)
  • California (41)
  • Colorado (24)
  • Connecticut (26)
  • Delaware (2)
  • District of Columbia (1)
  • Florida (11)
  • Georgia (4)
  • Illinois (13)
  • Indiana (3)
  • Iowa (1)
  • Kansas (2)
  • Kentucky (1)
  • Louisiana (8)
  • Maine (14)
  • Maryland (12)
  • Massachusetts (13)
  • Michigan (14)
  • Minnesota (6)
  • Missouri (3)
  • Nebraska (1)
  • New Hampshire (9)
  • New Jersey (4)
  • New York (22)
  • North Carolina (5)
  • Nova Scotia (1)
  • Ohio (13)
  • Ontario (1)
  • Oregon (32)
  • Pennsylvania (12)
  • Rhode Island (9)
  • South Carolina (6)
  • Tennessee (5)
  • Texas (16)
  • U.S. Virgin Islands (3)
  • Utah (2)
  • Vermont (13)
  • Virginia (11)
  • Washington (30)
  • Washington D.C. (1)
  • Washington DC (2)
  • Wisconsin (6)

Organizations or Programs

  • Enhabit (31)
  • Austin Energy (15)
  • Connecticut Neighbor to Neighbor Energy Challenge (12)
  • Efficiency Maine (12)
  • Energy Upgrade California (11)
  • Local Energy Alliance Program (LEAP) (11)
  • EnergySmart (10)
  • Michigan Saves (10)
  • New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) (10)
  • Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance (SEEA) (10)
  • Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance (GCEA) (9)
  • Community Power Works (7)
  • EnergySmart Colorado (7)
  • EnergyWorks (6)
  • National Grid (6)
  • RePower Bainbridge (6)
  • Efficiency Vermont (5)
  • Elevate Energy (5)
  • Energize Connecticut (5)
  • Energize Phoenix (5)
  • Energy Impact Illinois (5)
  • Eversource (5)
  • Long Island Green Homes (5)
  • NeighborWorks of Western Vermont (5)
  • NOLA WISE (5)
  • RePower Kitsap (5)
  • Arizona Public Service (APS) (4)
  • Be SMART (4)
  • Focus on Energy (4)
  • Keystone Home Energy Loan Program (HELP) (4)
  • RePower Bremerton (4)
  • United Illuminating (4)
  • Denver Energy Challenge (3)
  • Low Income Energy Efficiency (LIEE) Program (3)
  • Massachusetts Department Of Energy Resources (3)
  • Mass Save (3)
  • Solar and Energy Loan Fund (SELF) (3)
  • BeSmart Maryland (2)
  • BetterBuildings for Michigan (2)
  • CharlestonWISE (2)
  • Efficiency Nova Scotia (2)
  • emPowerSBC (2)
  • Energize New York (2)
  • Energy Trust of Oregon (2)
  • Maryland Home Performance with ENERGY STAR (2)
  • New Jersey Clean Energy Program (2)
  • Puget Sound Energy (2)
  • Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) (2)
  • ShopSmart with JEA (2)
  • Texas LoanSTAR (2)
Residential Program Guide is a resource of the U.S. Department of Energy's Building Technologies Office.
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