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Contractor Engagement & Workforce Development – Develop Resources

Develop workforce and contractor engagement procedures, forms, and materials
Handbook

Market Position & Business Model – Communicate Impacts

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

Financing – Deliver Program

Launch your financing activities in coordination with other program components.
Handbook

Program Design & Customer Experience – Set Goals & Objectives

Establish program goals and objectives to clarify what you want your program to achieve and to guide program design and implementation over time.
Handbook

Market Position & Business Model – Create a Business Plan

Create your organization’s business plan, which describes how your operational and financial structure will support the delivery of energy efficiency services.
Handbook

Market Position & Business Model – Develop a Business Model

Define your business model, including market position, products and services, type of customers, financial model, governance structure, and the assets and infrastructure your organization needs.
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

Marketing & Outreach – Deliver Program

Implement marketing and outreach activities in coordination with other program components to generate demand for your program's services.
Handbook

Marketing & Outreach – Develop Resources

Create your program's branding guidelines and materials to elevate program visibility and support your marketing and outreach efforts.
Handbook

Marketing & Outreach – Develop Evaluation Plans

Develop a plan and metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of your marketing and outreach strategies.
Handbook

Marketing & Outreach – Develop Implementation Plans

Develop a marketing and outreach plan that details your strategies and tactics, workflows and timelines, staff roles and responsibilities, and budget.
Handbook

Marketing & Outreach – Make Design Decisions

Decide on priority target audience segments, messages, and incentives that will motivate customers.
Handbook

Marketing & Outreach – Identify Partners

Establish relationships with organizations that will assist with program marketing and outreach.
Handbook

Marketing & Outreach – Assess the Market

Identify and prioritize potential target audiences based on their likely receptivity to your program's services.
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

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

Contractor Engagement & Workforce Development – Develop Implementation Plans

Develop contractor engagement, quality assurance, and workforce development plans that include strategies, workflow, timelines, and staff and partner roles and responsibilities.
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 – Make Design Decisions

Solidify your program strategy and decide which customers you will focus on; what products, services, and support you will provide; and how you will partner with contractors and others to deliver services to your customers.
Handbook

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

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

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

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

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

Foster “word of mouth” communication from satisfied customers

Programs found that encouraging word of mouth outreach by asking satisfied customers to promote their program experience to peers helped attract more homeowners who completed energy upgrades. Referrals from neighbors and friends who are happy with their energy improvements can provide a good source...
Tips for Success

Language matters – use words that resonate with your target audience

Words have power, so many programs decided to use language with positive associations. For example, the Better Buildings Neighborhood Program encouraged use of the term "assessment" instead of "audit" to avoid the negative connotation of a tax audit. "Home energy upgrade" sounds more positive than...
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

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

Audience Segmentation and Analysis Strategies for Targeted Marketing (301)

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
2015

This summary from a Better Buildings Residential Network peer exchange call focused on how to differentiate energy efficiency customers for targeted marketing campaigns.

Resource - Topical Presentations

Hit The Road: Lessons from Applying a National Campaign to a Local Context (201)

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
2015

This summary from a Better Buildings Residential Network peer exchange call focused on the benefits and challenges of local programs connecting to national campaigns.

Resource - Topical Presentations

Social Media and Messages that Matter: Top Tips and Tools

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
2015
Organizations or Programs
CoMo Energy Challenge

This summary from a Better Buildings Residential Network peer exchange call focused on the benefits, challenges, messaging and imagery of different social media campaigns.

Resource - Topical Presentations

Working With Weatherization Assistance Programs

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
2011
Organizations or Programs
Michigan Saves

This peer exchange call summary focused on integrating income-qualified programs into neighborhood sweeps.

Resource - Topical Presentations

Effective Email Campaigns for Recovery Act Energy Efficiency Programs

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
2011
This presentation provides ideas for the effective use of email communication for programs, including links to additional tools and resources for running a successful campaign.
Resource - Topical Presentations

Social Media Tools & Strategies

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
2011
Organizations or Programs
EnergySmart Colorado

This presentation provides a list of resources and tips for running a social media campaign.

Resource - Topical Presentations

Pro Forma Resources

Author(s)
National Home Performance Council
Publication Date
2012

A pro forma is a tool of forecasting the impact that adjustments to a business model can have on future financials, using a set of assumptions and inputs. In the residential energy efficiency industry, programs can use pro forma tools to forecast the impact that marketing campaigns, incentive re-structuring, or other program changes will have on the program budget and results.  Example assumptions include the number of homeowner registrations that a set of marketing activities generate in a year, average assessment to upgrade conversion rate, and average incentive per project. By applying assumptions such as these, a pro forma tool can also help your program determine how effective various strategies are at achieving program goals and objectives. Program administrators can help contractors by supporting them with their own business pro forma. To help you get started, here are a few useful resources: the National Home Performance Council developed a presentation on their Integrated Pro Forma Project; for an example program pro forma, see the presentation by Virginia’s Local Energy Alliance Program (LEAP-VA); the National Home Performance Council also developed the Contractor Pro Forma Tool.

Resource - Tools & Calculators

Green for All Energy Efficiency Toolkit

Author(s)
Green For All
Publication Date
2012
Organizations or Programs
Enhabit,
Wisconsin Energy Conservation Corporation (WECC),
EnergyWorks KC,
Baltimore Neighborhood Energy Challenge,
BetterBuildings for Greensboro,
Green and Healthy Homes Initiative,
Working Partnerships USA,
NYC Apollo Alliance,
Community Power Works,
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA),
RePower Bremerton,
Local Energy Alliance Program (LEAP),
RePower Bainbridge,
Better Buildings Near Eastside Neighborhood Sweeps Program,
RePower Kitsap,
Michigan Saves,
Keystone Home Energy Loan Program (HELP),
EnergySmart,
Efficiency Vermont,
Long Island Green Homes,
Energy Impact Illinois,
Energize Bedford,
reEnergize

This practitioner-focused Toolkit for Residential Energy Efficiency Upgrade Programs was created by Green For All to assist new, established, and future energy efficiency programs launch and scale initiatives that can deliver the full promise of the green economy. It is intended as a practical resource that offers examples, tools, and templates that a program manager can deploy to implement a variety of aspects of their program including best practice briefs and summary documents, RFPs, contracts, and other program design and implementation templates that communities nationwide have used to create their own efficiency programs.

Resource - Tools & Calculators

The Rhode Island Energy Challenge: Find Your Four! 2013 Year-End Survey Results

Author(s)
National Grid
Publication Date
2014

As part of the Rhode Island Energy Challenge, National Grid called on its Rhode Island residential electric and gas customers to take a pledge to “Find Your Four” as part of a statewide community initiative to encourage homeowners to find four ways to save energy at home. A participant survey revealed that Rhode Island residential customers liked hearing energy conservation/efficiency information via the Challenge; the Challenge had them thinking and acting differently; and the Challenge had customers participating more actively in energy efficiency programs. This report provides more information on the campaign’s major impact in helping National Grid accomplish important goals, including those related to portfolio savings and customer-centric program outreach and engagement.

Resource - Publications

The ENERGY STAR Brand Book

Author(s)
ENERGY STAR
Publication Date
2013

The Brand Book describes the implementation of the ENERGY STAR® logo for ENERGY STAR partners that are labeling a product, new home, or building that has earned the ENERGY STAR. The Brand Book also provides information about designing a new outreach campaign and using the ENERGY STAR® logo to communicating the program's commitment to energy efficiency.

Resource - Publications

Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance 2012 Green Business Award

Author(s)
Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance
Publication Date
2012
This article promotes the Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance’s 2012 U.S. Green Building Council /Business Courier Green Business Award for Education/Outreach - Nonprofit. The award celebrated the program’s outreach approach of reaching out to homeowners directly through community engagement and neighborhood canvassing.
Resource - Publications

Scaling Energy Efficiency in the Heart of the Residential Market: Increasing Middle America's Access to Capital for Energy Improvements

Author(s)
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Publication Date
2012
Organizations or Programs
Camden POWER - A Better Buildings Initiative,
Wisconsin Energy Conservation Corporation (WECC),
Better Buildings Near Eastside Neighborhood Sweeps Program,
Home Energy Affordability Loan (HEAL),
Keystone Home Energy Loan Program (HELP),
Midwest Energy,
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA),
Opportunity Council,
Wyoming Energy Savers
This policy brief describes the energy efficiency financing options programs can use to help financial institutions make energy upgrades affordable and accessible to homeowners.
Resource - Publications

California Public Utilities Commission Joint Consumer Action Plan

Author(s)
California Public Utilities Commission
Publication Date
2017
Organizations or Programs
Energy Upgrade California

This document reflects what the California Public Utilities Commission’s customer engagement campaign will accomplish from April 1, 2017 through March 31, 2018. It also includes goals and objectives, target audiences, high-level approaches and strategies, metrics, and implementation roles and responsibilities for each strategy.

Resource - Program Presentations & Reports

Energy Efficiency Residential Marketing Keep it Simple. Keep it Focused.

Author(s)
Nancy L. Hohns, EnergyWorks
Publication Date
2012
Organizations or Programs
EnergyWorks
This presentation describes the brand, messaging strategy, and campaign tactics used by Philadelphia EnergyWorks to reach its target audience.
Resource - Program Presentations & Reports

Better Buildings for Michigan Neighborhood Sweep Summary Report

Author(s)
BetterBuildings for Michigan
Publication Date
2011
Organizations or Programs
BetterBuildings for Michigan
This report summarizes the results of five neighborhood sweeps, covering more than 2,000 households in Michigan.
Resource - Program Presentations & Reports

Going Deep versus Going Wide as a Program Strategy - Indianapolis

Author(s)
Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership
Publication Date
2011
Organizations or Programs
Better Buildings Near Eastside Neighborhood Sweeps Program
This presentation shares the broad outreach efforts in Indianapolis.
Resource - Program Presentations & Reports

Los Angeles County Energy Program, Home Energy Retrofits Research Report

Author(s)
Los Angeles County, California
Publication Date
2010
Organizations or Programs
Energy Upgrade California
This report describes California property owners' specific interest, awareness, and perceptions regarding energy use, energy efficiency, home energy upgrades, and related topics. The study results were used for program design and to design and support marketing and outreach campaigns that encouraged energy upgrades
Resource - Program Presentations & Reports

March Energy Madness

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
2017
Organizations or Programs
Denver Energy Challenge,
Efficiency Nova Scotia,
Energize Delaware,
Watt Watchers,
Empower Chattanooga,
Energy Upgrade California

This presentation includes examples of 16 programs' creative marketing materials.  The Better Buildings Residential Network held a March Madness tournament to find the most creative residential energy efficiency messages during March Peer Exchange Calls. Sixteen marketing campaigns were featured in a bracket challenge on the calls, and participants made their picks. Residential Network member the Fuel Fund of Maryland was chosen as the winning message for its Watt Watchers campaign.

Resource - Program Materials

Energy Upgrade California 2013-2014 Marketing Plan

Author(s)
Energy Upgrade California
Publication Date
2014
Organizations or Programs
Energy Upgrade California

This plan outlines a brand and marketing strategy to establish Energy Upgrade California as California's central energy management brand and motivate residential and small business energy consumers to take action to better manage their energy use through the brand's comprehensive statewide marketing, education, and outreach campaigns.

Resource - Program Materials

Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance 2012 Green Business Award

Author(s)
Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance
Publication Date
2012
Organizations or Programs
Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance (GCEA)
This article promotes the Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance's 2012 U.S. Green Building Council /Business Courier Green Business Award for Education/Outreach Ð Nonprofit. The award celebrated the program's outreach approach of reaching out to homeowners directly through community engagement and neighborhood canvassing.
Resource - Program Materials

Boulder County Request for Proposal: Colorado Retrofit Ramp-Up Support Services

Author(s)
Boulder County, Colorado
Publication Date
2010
Organizations or Programs
EnergySmart Colorado

Example Request for Proposal (RFP) to provide Boulder County, Colorado with support services for its Retrofit Ramp Up Program including a social mobilization campaign, database management services, and marketing/public relations services for the both the residential and commercial parts of the Program.

Resource - Program Materials

EnergyWorks Grabs Attention in Calm and Stormy Weather with Intuitive Ads

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy

EnergyWorks' phased marketing campaign appeals to Philadelphia homeowners based on the current weather conditions.

Resource - Program Materials

Request for Proposals for the EnergyWorks Public Information and Marketing Campaign for the City of Philadelphia

Author(s)
City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Publication Date
2010
Organizations or Programs
EnergyWorks
This is a sample request for proposals (RFP) from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for public information and marketing support.
Resource - Program Materials

EnergyWorks Grabs Attention in Calm and Stormy Weather with Intuitive Ads

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
2012
Organizations or Programs
EnergyWorks
EnergyWorks' phased marketing campaign appeals to Philadelphia homeowners based on the current weather conditions.
Resource - Case Studies

Focus Series: Energy Impact Illinois Learns That Parties Sell Upgrades

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
2013
Organizations or Programs
Energy Impact Illinois
This case study discusses Energy Impact Illinois' marketing evolution from a broad outreach campaign to a Òhouse partyÓ approach that brought Chicago homeowners, neighbors, and friends together to learn about energy efficiency opportunities, while increasing demand for home energy assessments and upgrades.
Resource - Case Studies

It's Academic: BetterBuildings for Michigan Partners With University to Reach Employees

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
2013
Organizations or Programs
BetterBuildings for Michigan
This Focus Series interview discusses the semester-long, employer-assisted partnership between BetterBuildings for Michigan and Grand Valley State University (GVSU). This successful partnership involved an early adopter outreach campaign and served as a model for other program partnerships.
Resource - Case Studies

Spotlight on Michigan: Experiment to Find the Right Mix of Incentives

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
2012
Organizations or Programs
BetterBuildings for Michigan

This case study discusses BetterBuildings for Michigan's targeted outreach campaigns which applied varying incentives and outreach strategies to neighborhoods with a goal to understand which rebates and strategies work best in the target communities.

Resource - Case Studies

Content Type

  • Resource (29)
  • Handbook (22)
  • Tips for Success (10)

Resource Type

Program Components

  • Market Position & Business Model (3)
  • Program Design & Customer Experience (8)
  • Evaluation & Data Collection (5)
  • Marketing & Outreach (40)
  • Financing (5)
  • Contractor Engagement & Workforce Development (5)

Program Design Phases

  • Overview (9)
  • Strategy Development (22)
  • Planning (17)
  • Implementation (30)
  • Evaluation (12)

States or Territories

  • Alaska (1)
  • Arizona (1)
  • Arkansas (1)
  • California (4)
  • Colorado (7)
  • Connecticut (1)
  • Delaware (1)
  • Florida (1)
  • Illinois (1)
  • Indiana (1)
  • Louisiana (2)
  • Maine (1)
  • Maryland (1)
  • Michigan (8)
  • Missouri (2)
  • New York (2)
  • Nova Scotia (1)
  • Ohio (4)
  • Oregon (2)
  • Pennsylvania (5)
  • Rhode Island (1)
  • Texas (2)
  • Vermont (3)
  • Virginia (1)
  • Washington (2)
  • Wisconsin (1)

Organizations or Programs

  • Michigan Saves (6)
  • EnergyWorks (5)
  • Energy Upgrade California (4)
  • BetterBuildings for Michigan (3)
  • Better Buildings Near Eastside Neighborhood Sweeps Program (3)
  • EnergySmart (3)
  • Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance (GCEA) (3)
  • Austin Energy (2)
  • Denver Energy Challenge (2)
  • Efficiency Vermont (2)
  • Energize Bedford (2)
  • Energy Impact Illinois (2)
  • EnergySmart Colorado (2)
  • Enhabit (2)
  • Keystone Home Energy Loan Program (HELP) (2)
  • Local Energy Alliance Program (LEAP) (2)
  • NeighborWorks of Western Vermont (2)
  • New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) (2)
  • NOLA WISE (2)
  • RePower Kitsap (2)
  • Wisconsin Energy Conservation Corporation (WECC) (2)
  • Baltimore Neighborhood Energy Challenge (1)
  • BetterBuildings for Greensboro (1)
  • Camden POWER - A Better Buildings Initiative (1)
  • Community Power Works (1)
  • CoMo Energy Challenge (1)
  • Connecticut Neighbor to Neighbor Energy Challenge (1)
  • Efficiency Maine (1)
  • Efficiency Nova Scotia (1)
  • Empower Chattanooga (1)
  • Energize Delaware (1)
  • Energize Phoenix (1)
  • EnergyWorks KC (1)
  • Green and Healthy Homes Initiative (1)
  • Home Energy Affordability Loan (HEAL) (1)
  • Long Island Green Homes (1)
  • Midwest Energy (1)
  • Milwaukee Energy Efficiency (Me2) (1)
  • NYC Apollo Alliance (1)
  • Opportunity Council (1)
  • reEnergize (1)
  • RePower Bainbridge (1)
  • RePower Bremerton (1)
  • Sacramento Municipal Utility District’s Neighborhood Program (1)
  • Solar and Energy Loan Fund (SELF) (1)
  • Watt Watchers (1)
  • Working Partnerships USA (1)
  • Wyoming Energy Savers (1)
Residential Program Guide is a resource of the U.S. Department of Energy's Building Technologies Office.
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