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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

Program Design & Customer Experience – 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

Contractor Engagement & Workforce Development – Develop Evaluation Plans

Determine processes for collecting and sharing data about key contractor metrics and workforce development activities.
Handbook

Financing – Make Design Decisions

Determine if enhancements to existing financing products or the development of new products are necessary to allow you to achieve your goals and objectives.
Handbook

Financing – Identify Partners

Identify and partner with financial institutions that can provide capital, underwriting, and other functions to enable your customers to access financing.
Handbook

Financing – Assess the Market

Determine how your target audience currently funds energy efficiency services, to what extent upfront cost is a barrier, and whether improvements to their financing options would increase the uptake of energy efficiency measures.
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

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

Evaluation & Data Collection – Develop Evaluation Plans

Identify the right questions to ask, appropriate metrics to collect, and the processes needed to initiate third-party impact and process evaluations.
Handbook

Program Design & Customer Experience – Assess the Market

Research and analyze the specific barriers, needs, and opportunities for a residential energy efficiency program in your community.
Handbook

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

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

Promote existing loan products when possible before developing new ones

Developing new energy efficiency loan products requires financial expertise and resources that not every program has available or that might not even be necessary. Finding and promoting existing energy efficiency loan products, such as loans that may be offered by a local credit union, your state...
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

Streamline the financing process with easy loan applications and quick approvals

Complicated loan and program application processes have deterred many potential customers from following through with an upgrade. Delays and overly burdensome requirements raise barriers to participation. Many programs have successfully employed strategies to reduce the number of requirements that...
Tips for Success

Energy Efficiency Financing Programs: Financing Energy Improvements on Utility Bills

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

This webcast provides a market update and key program design considerations for on-bill financing 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

Financing Energy Improvements on Utility Bills: Case Studies from the Field

Author(s)
Eleni Pelican, U.S. Department of Energy,
Mark Zimring, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,
Greg Leventis, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,
Merrian Borgeson, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,
Charles Goldman, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,
Peter Thompson, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,
Ian Hoffman, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Publication Date
2014
Organizations or Programs
Power Smart,
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA),
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E)

This webcast provided an overview of on-bill financing programs, and presented three case studies: Manitoba Hydro, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, and Pacific Gas & Electric (California).

Resource - Webcast

Financing Energy Efficiency Improvements Through the Utility Bill

Author(s)
Jeffrey Pitkin, NYSERDA,
Tammy Agard, EEtility,
Frank Spasaro, Southern California Gas Company
Publication Date
2015

This presentation covers the New York On-Bill recovery financing, Home Energy Lending Program's (H.E.L.P.) loan program, and California energy efficiency financing products.

Resource - Topical Presentations

Efficiency at the Meter Using AMI data to unlock new value in EE

Author(s)
Noah Proser, Pacific Gas and Electric Company
Publication Date
2017
Organizations or Programs
Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E)

This presentation describes how PG&E is using advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) to enhance their advanced home upgrade whole-house retrofit program, on-bill financing, and residential pay for performance (P4P) program.

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

On-Bill Financing: Reducing Cost Barriers to Energy Efficiency Improvements (201)

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
2015
Organizations or Programs
Help My House

This summary from a Better Buildings Residential Network peer exchange call focused on strategies and challenges of on-bill financing programs.

Resource - Topical Presentations

Lessons from On-Bill Financing and Repayment Programs

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
2013
Organizations or Programs
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA)

This summary from a Better Buildings Residential Network peer exchange call focused on the performance of on-bill financing compared to other financing programs.

Resource - Topical Presentations

Enabling Investments in Energy Efficiency: On-Bill Repayment Programs

Author(s)
Merrian Fuller, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Publication Date
2010

Presentation describing on-bill repayment programs and providing financing lessons learned.

Resource - Topical Presentations

Pay As You Save (PAYS) Tariffed On-Utility Bill Efficiency System

Author(s)
Paul Cillo, Energy Efficiency Institute, Inc.
Publication Date
2011
Organizations or Programs
Stratford,
NH,
Public Service of New Hampshire,
Kansas How$mart,
Hawaiian Electric Company

Presentation providing an overview of the PAYS financial model, including information on risks and how to manage them, and successful program examples using the PAYS model.

Resource - Topical Presentations

Database of Existing Energy Efficiency Loan Programs

Author(s)
University of North Carolina Environmental Finance Center
Publication Date
2013

This database (in development) contains information about existing energy efficiency loan programs in the United States. For each loan program the following data is presented: financing mechanism (e.g., credit enhancement, on-bill financing), market (e.g., city, state), sector (e.g., residential single family, residential multi-family), and program sponsorship (e.g., DOE programs, ARRA, private lenders).

Resource - Tools & Calculators

ResStock State Fact Sheets

Author(s)
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Publication Date
2017

Each ResStock fact sheet presents the potential for residential energy and utility bill savings for the state. The top ten energy savings home improvements are highlighted.

Resource - Publications

The Impact of On-Bill Programs on Loan Performance: Evidence from the Green Jobs, Green New York Program

Author(s)
Jeff Deason, Goldman School of Public Policy , UC Berkeley
Publication Date
2015
Organizations or Programs
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA)
This paper investigates the credit enhancement value of NYSERDA's on-bill energy efficiency financing program relative to its similar conventional unsecured loan program. In the raw data, while both loan pools perform well relative to credit card lending, the on-bill loans default more often than the unsecured loans. This paper shows that this result persists: on-bill loans default more often, and this finding is not sensitive to model specification. This paper also shows that NYSERDA's alternate underwriting mechanism based on mortgage and utility bill repayment history performs well, and that projected dollar savings from the installed projects do not significantly influence loan performance.
Resource - Publications

Development and Application of Select Non-Energy Benefits for the EmPOWER Maryland Energy Efficiency Programs

Author(s)
EmPOWER Maryland
Publication Date
2014
Organizations or Programs
EmPOWER Maryland

This report analyzes and develops estimates of non-energy impacts that could be included in cost effectiveness analyses for the EmPOWER Maryland energy efficiency programs. Four non-energy benefits are included in this analysis: air emissions, comfort, commercial operations and maintenance (O&M), and utility bill arrearages. In all four cases, a recommended value and methods for including them in future EMPOWER costs effectiveness analyses are provided.

Resource - Publications

On-Bill Financing for Energy Efficiency Improvements: A Review of Current Program Challenges, Opportunities, and Best Practices

Author(s)
American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
Publication Date
2011
Provides review of on-bill financing programs implemented across the country, challenges to widespread adoption, and program and policy recommendations.
Resource - Publications

The Bottom Line on Public-Private Finance Tools for Energy Efficiency

Author(s)
World Resources Institute
Publication Date
2011
Organizations or Programs
ClimateSmart Initiative,
Efficiency Vermont,
Sonoma County Energy Independence Program

Outlines five public-private financing mechanism options for energy efficiency upgrades programs, including on-bill financing, PACE financing, and loan loss reserve funds.

Resource - Publications

DOE State and Local Solution Center: Financing for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

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

This website provides an overview of financing as it pertains to state, local, and tribal governments who are designing and implementing clean energy financing programs. Residential financing tools include residential PACE (R-PACE), on-bill financing and repayment, loan loss reserves and other credit enhancements, revolving loan funds, and energy efficient mortgages.

Resource - Publications

Opening Opportunities with Inclusive Financing for Energy Efficiency: Report on the first year of the HELP PAYS® Program at Ouachita Electric

Author(s)
Ouachita Electric Cooperative,
Eetility
Publication Date
2017
Organizations or Programs
HELP PAYS

This report reviews Ouachita Electric Cooperative's transition to its HELP PAYS® tariffed on-bill investment program. This analysis uses data for the first nine months of the program launched in 2016. Some of those benefits are being validated immediately by the market response in the service area compared to the same period of the prior year with HELP, the on-bill financing program that HELP PAYS replaced.

Resource - Program Presentations & Reports

Better Buildings Neighborhood Program Evaluation Report: Volume 2. Savings and Economic Impacts of the Better Buildings Neighborhood Program

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

Volume 2 of the Better Buildings Neighborhood Program Evaluation Report comprises a measurement and verification process, as well as billing regression analysis on projects with sufficient utility bill data, to determine gross verified savings.

Resource - Program Presentations & Reports

California 2010-2012 On-Bill Financing Process Evaluation and Market Assessment

Author(s)
California Public Utilities Commission
Publication Date
2012
This report focuses on four utilities in California. The research for this report included reviewing program documents and tracking databases, conducting two rounds of interviews with four investor owned utility program managers, interviewing California Public Utility Commission staff members and an intervener, surveying 76 on-bill financing program participants and 29 vendors who helped deliver the program, interviewing 12 account executives, and conducting six focus groups across California with 46 energy audit participants who had not participated in on-bill financing.
Resource - Program Presentations & Reports

Help My House Loan Pilot Program: Program Design and Results

Author(s)
Central Electric Power Cooperative
Publication Date
2013

This case study highlights the Help My House Pilot Program conducted in South Carolina by Central Electric Power Cooperative that included on-bill financing.

Resource - Case Studies

Financing Tool Fits the Bill

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

Clean Energy Works Oregon's (now Enhabit's) experience implementing an on-bill financing program.

Resource - Case Studies

Alternative Underwriting Criteria: Using Utility Bill Payment History as a Proxy for Credit: Case Study on Clean Energy Works Oregon (now Enhabit)

Author(s)
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Publication Date
2012
Organizations or Programs
Enhabit

This case study highlights Clean Energy Works Oregon's (now Enhabit) low interest, on-bill financing and alternative underwriting practices which have achieved a low rejection rate while also maintaining a low loan default rate.

Resource - Case Studies

Content Type

  • Resource (23)
  • Handbook (12)
  • Tips for Success (6)

Resource Type

Program Components

  • Market Position & Business Model (1)
  • Program Design & Customer Experience (8)
  • Evaluation & Data Collection (4)
  • Financing (30)
  • Contractor Engagement & Workforce Development (2)

Program Design Phases

  • Overview (4)
  • Strategy Development (22)
  • Planning (20)
  • Implementation (15)
  • Evaluation (10)

States or Territories

  • Arizona (2)
  • Arkansas (3)
  • California (8)
  • Colorado (4)
  • Connecticut (1)
  • Delaware (1)
  • Florida (1)
  • Georgia (2)
  • Hawaii (1)
  • Idaho (1)
  • Illinois (1)
  • Indiana (1)
  • Iowa (1)
  • Kansas (1)
  • Kentucky (1)
  • Louisiana (2)
  • Maine (2)
  • Maryland (3)
  • Massachusetts (2)
  • Michigan (1)
  • Minnesota (1)
  • Mississippi (1)
  • Missouri (1)
  • Montana (1)
  • Nebraska (1)
  • New Hampshire (2)
  • New Jersey (1)
  • New Mexico (1)
  • New York (4)
  • North Carolina (1)
  • North Dakota (1)
  • Ohio (1)
  • Oklahoma (1)
  • Oregon (4)
  • Pennsylvania (5)
  • Rhode Island (1)
  • South Carolina (4)
  • South Dakota (1)
  • Tennessee (1)
  • Texas (2)
  • Utah (1)
  • Vermont (1)
  • Virginia (3)
  • Washington (1)
  • West Virginia (1)
  • Wisconsin (1)
  • Wyoming (1)

Organizations or Programs

  • EnergyWorks (4)
  • Enhabit (4)
  • New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) (3)
  • Local Energy Alliance Program (LEAP) (2)
  • Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance (SEEA) (2)
  • Austin Energy (1)
  • Beacon Communities Project (1)
  • Be SMART (1)
  • ClimateSmart Initiative (1)
  • DecaturWISE (1)
  • Efficiency Maine (1)
  • Efficiency Vermont (1)
  • EmPOWER Maryland (1)
  • Energize Phoenix (1)
  • EnergySmart (1)
  • EnergySmart Colorado (1)
  • Energy Upgrade California (1)
  • Hawaiian Electric Company (1)
  • Help My House (1)
  • HELP PAYS (1)
  • Kansas How$mart (1)
  • Keystone Home Energy Loan Program (HELP) (1)
  • NH (1)
  • NOLA WISE (1)
  • Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) (1)
  • Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) (1)
  • Power Smart (1)
  • Public Service of New Hampshire (1)
  • Sonoma County Energy Independence Program (1)
  • Stratford (1)
  • Xcel Energy (1)
Residential Program Guide is a resource of the U.S. Department of Energy's Building Technologies Office.
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