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Author: NMR Group, Inc.
Publication Date: 2017

This report includes a billing analysis, process evaluation, and baseline study for the Connecticut Residential New Construction (RNC) program. It also includes the results of the process evaluation.

Author: U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date: 2017

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.

Author: Navigant Consulting, Inc.
Publication Date: 2017

This study identifies actionable strategies and innovations to improve the multifamily program performance, realization rates, and overall program cost-effectiveness for both the residential and commercial sectors.

Author: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
Publication Date: 2017

This toolkit is a comprehensive guide to utility benchmarking for the multifamily sector. Benchmarking 101 describes the benefits of tracking utility data and explains how to begin the process. Utility Benchmarking Step-by-Step outlines a six-step approach to utility benchmarking. Policies and Programs summarizes utility benchmarking requirements for HUD programs, opportunities for financial assistance, and HUD programs that support green retrofits.

Author: Ouachita Electric Cooperative; Eetility
Publication Date: 2017

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.

Author: NMR Group, Inc.; The Cadmus Group, Inc.
Publication Date: 2017

This report for the Connecticut Energy Efficiency Board provides a review of best practices in impact evaluation, recommendations for calculating oil and propane savings, and discusses the impact evaluation findings for the Home Energy Services (HES) and Home Energy Services-Income Eligible (HES-IE) Programs. This best practices review provides an overview of key evaluation protocol and guideline documents.

Author: U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date: 2017

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.

Author: 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.

Author: 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.

Author: 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.

Author: The Cadmus Group, Inc.
Publication Date: 2017

This Technical Reference Manual (TRM) defines the consensus calculations of the electric and natural gas energy savings and the electric demand reductions, achieved from installing energy efficiency and renewable energy measures that are supported by Focus on Energy programs.

Author: U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date: 2016

This summary from a Better Buildings Residential Network peer exchange call focused on getting multifamily property owners on board with energy efficiency upgrades.

Author: 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.

Author: American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
Publication Date: 2016

Utilities and regulators increasingly rely on behavior change programs as essential parts of their demand side management (DSM) portfolios. This report evaluates the effectiveness of currently available programs, focusing on programs that have been assessed for energy savings. This report focuses on behavior change programs that primarily rely on social-science-based strategies instead of traditional approaches such as incentives, rebates, pricing, or legal and policy strategies. The objective is to help program administrators choose effective behavior change programs for their specific purposes.

Author: Navigant Consulting, Inc.; ILLUME Advising, LLC
Publication Date: 2016

This report presents the results of the first‐year process and impact evaluation of Berkshire Gas' Home Energy Report (HER) program. The primary objective of the program is to provide residential households with information on their gas consumption and tips on how to save energy to prompt them to take action to reduce their natural gas usage.

Author: U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date: 2016

The Building Energy Data Exchange Specification (BEDES, pronounced "beads" or /bi:ds/) is designed to support analysis of the measured energy performance of commercial, multifamily, and residential buildings, by providing a common data format, definitions, and an exchange protocol for building characteristics, efficiency measures, and energy use.

Author: NMR Group, Inc.
Publication Date: 2016

This report is the process evaluation of the Connecticut Multifamily (MF) Initiative, which leveraged the state's Home Energy Solutions (HES) and Home Energy Solutions-Income Eligible (HES-IE) programs. The objective of this process evaluation is to provide actionable recommendations about how to improve the design, delivery, and administration of the MF Initiative.

Author: U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date: 2016

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.

Author: U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date: 2016

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.

Author: NMR Group, Inc.; Energy Futures Group
Publication Date: 2016

This report presents the results from a comprehensive impact and process evaluation of Efficiency Maine's Low-Income Multifamily Weatherization Program.

Author: U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date: 2016

This summary from a Better Buildings Residential Network peer exchange call focused on how to deploy smart home technologies and analyze their data.

Author: Joel Freehling and Brian Stickles, American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
Publication Date: 2016

This paper describes the current state of energy efficiency financing, highlighting what is and isn’t working, while offering a look at the future of the industry.

Author: U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date: 2016

This summary from a Better Buildings Residential Network peer exchange call focused on obtaining and using energy efficiency data through tools like the Green Button, smart connected thermostat pilots, and operational ratings of homes to evaluate and/or enhance programs.

Author: U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date: 2016

This document provides guidance on how policymakers, utilities, and regulators should approach whole-building data access to maintain the confidentiality of utility customers.

Author: U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date: 2016

This summary from a Better Buildings Residential Network peer exchange call focused on effective strategies to ensure that HVAC contractors do high-quality work and recommend the most appropriate systems for homeowners.

Author: DNV GL
Publication Date: 2016

This report provides the electric and natural gas impacts from the suite of National Grid Multifamily Retrofit Programs as determined through a billing analysis.

Author: NMR Group, Inc.
Publication Date: 2016

This report for the Connecticut Energy Efficiency Board documents the difficulties that evaluators and programs in Connecticut faced in conducting evaluation studies and makes recommendations for improving data quality and consistency.

Author: U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date: 2016

In this project, the U.S. Department of Energy Building America team Partnership for Advanced Residential Retrofit (PARR) worked with Elevate Energy on three tasks: to conduct pre- and post-retrofit analysis on the income and expense data of 13 Chicago-area multifamily buildings, to compare Chicago income and expense data to two national samples, and to explore the ramifications that energy-efficiency retrofits have on nine Chicago-area neighborhoods.

Setting Baselines for Planning and Evaluation of Efficiency Programs
Author: Robert G. Ozar, Michigan Public Service Commission; Carmen Best, California Public Utilities Commission; Jeff Harris, Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance
Publication Date: 2016
Presentation, Media

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.

Author: U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date: 2015

This document summarizes top marketing and outreach takeaways shared by Better Buildings Residential Network members during spring 2015 Peer Exchange Calls.

Author: UIL Holdings Corporation; Eversource Energy
Publication Date: 2015

This technical reference manual provides detailed, comprehensive documentation of resource and non-resource savings corresponding to the Energy Efficiency Fund program and individual Conservation and Load Management (C&LM) program technologies.

Author: Efficiency Maine Trust
Publication Date: 2015

This Multifamily Technical Reference Manuals (TRMs) provide documentation for the Trust's calculation of energy and demand savings from energy efficiency measures.

Author: American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
Publication Date: 2015

The benefits of energy efficiency extend beyond energy savings. Homes, commercial buildings, and industrial facilities gain comfort, health, and safety benefits from energy efficiency programs. Additional benefits for businesses include savings on maintenance, materials, and the costs of regulatory compliance. On the supply side, electric utilities enjoy reduced system costs. Focusing on the residential, business, and utility sectors, this report examines each of these multiple benefits, their role in program marketing, and current best practices for including them in cost-effectiveness testing.

Author: U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date: 2014

This summary from a Better Buildings Residential Network peer exchange call focused on energy modeling in multifamily homes.

Author: Energize Phoenix
Publication Date: 2014

This summary report provides scientific results, lessons learned, and recommendations for driving energy efficiency in existing buildings on an urban scale. It includes program marketing lesson learned, such as: personal outreach and call to action events are critical marketing opportunities.

Author: American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
Publication Date: 2014

In the absence of federal requirements for energy savings, states are leading the way with effective, forward-looking energy efficiency policies. More than half of them have adopted energy efficiency resource standards (EERS), policies that set long-term mandatory energy savings targets for utilities and efficiency program administrators. This paper analyzes statesÕ progress toward meeting these targets.

Author: RePower Bainbridge; Conservation Services Group; U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date: 2014

This guide is designed to serve as a "how-to" reference for island communities (or small, similarly sized, more isolated communities) that want to develop and implement a residential energy-efficiency and conservation program. The purpose of this guide is to help communities chart a course for successful program development based on the lessons learned during implementation and operation of RePower Bainbridge, an energy-efficiency program on Bainbridge Island, Washington.

Author: Dana Fischer, Efficiency Maine Trust
Publication Date: 2014

Insights from Efficiency Maine related to Workforce Development.

Author: U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date: 2014

This guide assists with developing an implementation plan for a Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program. It covers key elements of the plan, including the scope and objectives of the program and the policies and procedures that will ensure its success, including co-marketing and brand guidelines (section 1), workforce development and contractor engagement (section 3), assessment and report requirements (section 4), installation specifications and test-out procedures (section 5), and quality assurance (section 6).

Author: TecMarket Works
Publication Date: 2014

This evaluation plan for the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission includes a market assessment framework which includes indicators of progress toward market transformation; evaluation recommendations for the 2015-2016 program implementation period; and a 6-year evaluation plan for each program or customer sector.

Author: APPRISE Inc.
Publication Date: 2014

This memo provides a review of the New Jersey Comfort Partners Energy Saving Protocols, recommends changes to the calculations and additional calculation protocols for measures not included, and calculates engineering estimates for those proposed energy savings formulas.

Author: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Publication Date: 2014

This report presents the cost of saving energy through efficiency programs funded by utility customers in the period 2009-2011 at the national and regional level for all sectors and the most prevalent program types.

Author: U.S. Energy Information Administration
Publication Date: 2014

This website provides information on U.S. housing characteristics, including energy consumption data.

Author: Cynthia Adams, Local Energy Alliance Program; Larry Earegood, Consumers Energy (MI); John Schott, NYSERDA; Gavin Hastings, Arizona Public Service; Emily Salzberg, Washington State University Energy; Adam Buick, Community Power Works (WA); Bob Knight, BKi
Publication Date: 2014

Quick summaries of strategies various programs have used to improve the efficiency of delivering efficiency.

Author: U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date: 2013

This summary from a Better Buildings Residential Network peer exchange call focused on energy benchmarking and building disclosure policies.

Author: Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance
Publication Date: 2013

This report provides an independent analysis of the economic performance of SEEA's 13-city, U.S. Department of Energy-funded energy efficiency upgrade consortium from 2010 to 2013. It estimates the net impacts of SEEA's energy efficiency programs on the economy of the southeast region as a whole, and on the economies of the states with participating programs.

Author: U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date: 2013

This peer exchange call summary focused on moving from assessments to upgrades in multifamily buildings.

Author: Green For All
Publication Date: 2013

The MPower Toolkit provides templates, resources, and lessons learned to address the barriers faced by the affordable multifamily housing sector when accessing energy efficiency upgrades. The toolkit is also intended for all stakeholders involved in efficiency programs, including efficiency program administrators, state and local leaders, utilities, energy consultants, and financial partners. MPower's core model is useful for all building types. In addition, the toolkit’s chapters are broken out into segments that highlight information and innovations that many efficiency programs are incorporating into their own models. The toolkit is a resource for all practitioners involved in implementing MPower and also serves to assist practitioners of other established efficiency programs. The MPower Toolkit draws from the experience of MPower Oregon, although it differentiates between the core MPower model and how MPower Oregon implemented this model.

Author: Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development
Publication Date: 2013

The document provides best practices and guidance for conducting the energy analysis required for multifamily (MF) building energy improvement projects funded by the various programs of the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development. The intended audience includes energy auditors, building owners and operators, contractors, designers, architects, engineers, and energy efficiency consultants and program staff.

Author: Research Into Action, Inc.
Publication Date: 2013

This document presents the findings from the preliminary impact evaluation of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Better Buildings Neighborhood Program (BBNP). The overall objective of the preliminary impact evaluation was to develop independent, quantitative estimates of BBNP's economic impacts and energy savings for projects completed from the onset of programmatic activities through 2012.

Author: Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance
Publication Date: 2013

This interim evaluation report examines the design, delivery, and market effects of each of the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance's (SEEA) thirteen sub-grantee programs and identifies opportunities to increase each program's success, and quantifies and verifies the energy savings achieved through the programs' funded home energy improvements and the cost-effectiveness of those savings.

Author: Small Town Energy Program
Publication Date: 2013

The Small Town Energy Program (STEP) toolkit gives a complete overview of STEP from planning to implementation. It also includes access to a wide variety of materials developed by the program, including: local asset materials, partner materials, personnel materials, program administrative materials, outreach materials, and surveys. STEP has posted these toolkit documents with the hope that it will assist other small towns and communities in building and running more energy efficiency programs.

Author: U.S. Energy Information Administration
Publication Date: 2013

For this inventory, EIA reviewed and catalogued 329 data sources containing state energy efficiency program evaluation results into an inventory. The focus of this inventory is to support the National Energy Modeling System (NEMS) and to research cost information in state-mandated energy efficiency program evaluations.

Author: Southwest Energy Efficiency Project
Publication Date: 2012

This report explores the best practices that utilities should undertake in the development and implementation of energy efficiency programs. The report calculates the impact that investing in energy efficiency will have on jobs, household income, and state and regional economies, along with the other public health benefits such as reducing pollution.

Author: Institute for Market Transformation
Publication Date: 2012

This report is intended to serve as a guide for policymakers and multifamily stakeholders on benchmarking and disclosure rules and regulations. It provides an introduction to the multifamily housing sector, followed by a thorough review of existing benchmarking and disclosure policies and an assessment of continuing policy challenges and opportunities.

Author: U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date: 2012

This peer exchange call summary focused on multifamily information technology tools for project information, marketing, assessment, tracking and evaluation.

Author: Research Into Action, Inc.; NMR Group Inc.
Publication Date: 2012

This report presents the preliminary process and market evaluation of the Better Buildings Neighborhood Program. As part of the evaluation, the report identifies the factors most strongly correlated with the 10 most successful grantees' performance and offers recommendations to the Energy Department and grant recipients for the final program year.

Author: Washington State University Energy Program
Publication Date: 2012

Evaluation reports from the Seattle Community Power Works program. The city of Seattle worked to encourage efficiency upgrades for single-family and multi-family residences, small businesses, hospitals, and large commercial and municipal buildings.

Author: Washington State University Energy Program
Publication Date: 2012

This mid-program evaluation includes extensive analysis of program sectors, including results of surveys of participants, and summarizes lessons learned to date.

Author: Washington State University Energy Program
Publication Date: 2012

This mid-program evaluation includes extensive analysis of program sectors, including results of surveys of participants, and summarizes lessons learned to date.

Author: Washington State University Energy Program
Publication Date: 2012

This mid-program evaluation includes extensive analysis of program sectors, including results of surveys of participants, and summarizes lessons learned to date.

Author: U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date: 2012

This peer exchange call summary focused on strategies and challenges of working with rental property owners and tenants on multifamily upgrades.

Author: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Publication Date: 2011

This U.S. Environmental Protection Agency resource is intended to help state and local governments design finance programs for their jurisdiction. It describes financing program options, key components of these programs, and factors to consider as they make decisions about getting started or updating their programs.

Author: Southwest Energy Efficiency Project
Publication Date: 2011

This report describes different approaches to energy efficiency finance taken by utilities.

Author: Chris Lohmann, U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date: 2011

Presentation providing an overview of financing programs, a strategy for continuous improvement, tools for program management, a risk management strategy, and common risks associated with financing programs.

Author: Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Publication Date: 2011

The Residential Retrofit Program Design Guide focuses on the key elements and design characteristics of building and maintaining a successful residential energy upgrade program. The material is presented as a guide for program design and planning from start to finish, laid out in chronological order of program development.

Author: U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date: 2011

This case study discusses strategies that Austin Energy, a municipally owned utility, used to collaborate closely with building contractors to launch a new Best Offer Ever promotion quickly and effectively.

Author: Alliance to Save Energy
Publication Date: 2009

This brief focuses on loan programs in 30 states that are currently providing low- to no-interest loans to finance energy efficiency improvements--from energy-efficient windows to replacement HVAC systems--in the residential, business, and public sectors.