Ivy Knoll Senior Retirement Community used PACE financing to make significant building improvements of systems that were outdated or energy inefficient. Through PACE financing, Ivy Knoll management was able to select improvements that had the highest energy savings but also came with higher upfront costs for the 7-story, all-electric building.

This publication summarizes program design, marketing, workforce development, and other key takeaways learned during Peer Exchange Calls.

This summary from a Better Buildings Residential Network peer exchange call focused on how a residential energy efficiency program can work with, for or as utilities.

In this video interview segment, Yvonne Kraus of Conservation Services Group describes how the program aligned its goal of increasing energy efficiency with the community's goal to avoid building a new electrical substation.

In this video interview segment, Yvonne Kraus of Conservation Services Group describes how energy advisors were an important strategy for building trust with customers in the community.

The report makes the case for establishment of common data collection practices for energy efficiency lending. The report reviews existing practices for the collection of four categories of data from energy efficiency financing programs: (1) customer data; (2) financial product and performance data; (3) facility-level data; and (4) energy efficiency project data. The report then identifies high-priority needs, characterizes potential uses for finance program data, and identifies use cases that describe how stakeholders use data for key objectives and actions.

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.

Example of a program design flowchart showing key steps and relationships for the energy efficiency program in Greensboro, North Carolina.

A sample RFP from Greensboro, North Carolina, for energy efficiency loan products.

Philadelphia EnergyWorks helped sustain future programs by sharing marketing insights and program data with a local utility partner.

This peer exchange call summary focused on unique fee-for-service revenues as related to program sustainability.

RePower helped consumers access aggregated information about financing and rebates by compiling a customer-friendly guide to all utility and non-utility incentives in its service area.

Example Request for Proposal (RFP) to provide The City of Greensboro with an estimate for the work required to create a Business Process Management Information Technology Tool (BPM IT Tool) for a municipal energy efficiency project.

In this video interview segment, Andy Holzhauser of the Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance discusses the importance of programs empowering contractors to sell upgrades and loans.

This paper explores ways in which program administrators are using social norms to spur behavior change and, as a result, curb energy use. In recent years, home energy reports (HER) programs have applied the concept of social norms to the energy efficiency context. These feedback programs inform customers of how their energy consumption compares to their neighbors' and provide other information about their usage, with the goal of enticing customers to change their energy use behavior to improve their relative neighborhood ranking.

In this video interview segment, Andy Holzhauser of the Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance discusses how programs can create more effective loan products by first identifying existing loan products and then working to make them better for homeowners and contractors.

Presentation describing the Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance program and tactics used to drive demand and enhance service delivery to make the program simpler for customers.

In this video interview segment, Yvonne Kraus of Conservation Services Group describes how program and utility partnerships can co-benefit each other.

This presentation describes Washington's RePower program and lessons learned on community engagement as a driver of demand.

This peer exchange call summary focused on the challenges and strategies for marketing commercial financial products and attracting financial institutions.

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

This peer exchange call summary focused on activities to streamline service delivery to customers.

This market assessment for the City of Greensboro, North Carolina identifies the customers and potential demand for an energy efficiency upgrade financing program.

This webcast discusses financing program RFPs and contract terms and conditions.

This webcast offers information on successful marketing strategies, as well as design considerations and market research insights for creating and marketing successful projects in specific neighborhoods.

Outlines Philadelphia's EnergyWorks program's use of low-interest loans to incentivize homeowners by tying the interest rate to the number of energy efficiency measures incorporated into the home.

This presentation provides an overview of the lending RFP issued by the city of Greensboro's Better Buildings Program, including a description of the roles and responsibilities for the city and its financial partners.

This peer exchange call summary focused on what energy efficiency programs are doing to target low- and moderate-income households.

Presentation on the organization, funding structure, and market focus of the Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance.

This market assessment evaluates lending options for funding energy efficiency upgrades in North Carolina.

A sample request for proposals from Bainbridge Island, Washington, related to establishing a revolving loan fund and loan loss reserve.

A sample request for proposals from Washington state to develop an energy efficiency credit enhancement grant program.