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Author(s)
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Publication Date

This report documents the results of an analysis of the electric end-use energy efficiency potential in the U.S. single-family detached housing stock. Technical and economic potential estimates inform the role that residential energy efficiency plays in addressing the objectives of reliable, affordable, and clean electricity for residential end uses.

Author(s)
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Publication Date

This report is part of a series of "baseline" reports intended to inform the second installment of the Quadrennial Energy Review (QER 1.2). QER 1.2 provides a comprehensive review of the nation's electricity system and cover the current state and key trends related to the electricity system, including generation, transmission, distribution, grid operations and planning, and end use. The baseline reports provide an overview of elements of the electricity system. This report focuses on end uses, electricity consumption, electric energy efficiency, distributed energy resources (DERs) (such as demand response, distributed generation, and distributed storage), and evaluation, measurement, and verification (EM&V) methods for energy efficiency and DERs.

Author(s)
State and Local Energy Efficiency Action Network
Publication Date
This report aims to improve low and moderate income (LMI) stakeholdersÕ understanding of financing options for LMI communities. It discusses the advantages and disadvantages of different options, consumer protections to consider, and lessons learned. LMI stakeholders addressed by this report include state and local policymakers, state utility regulators, program administrators, financial institutions, and consumer advocates.
Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date

This market snapshot of HVAC installation verification tools illustratively presents the categories and uses for the growing market of tools.         

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

This HVAC verifications tool selection guide includes a cross-walk of tool categories with target user audience, benefits and features. This matrix can assist contractors, programs, utilities and others in selecting the appropriate resources to support installation and performance measurement.

Author(s)
American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
Publication Date

This report updates ACEEE's 2013 assessment of multifamily energy efficiency programs in US metropolitan areas with the most multifamily households. Using housing, policy, and utility-sector data from 2014 and 2015, this report documents how these programs have changed in the context of dynamic housing markets and statewide policy environments. The report also offers an analysis of the number, spending, offerings, and targeted participants of current programs and their potential for further expansion.

Author(s)
Elevate Energy
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
Elevate Energy
Elevate Energy constructed a database of 143,000 Chicago multifamily buildings and segmented them based on age, size, and other traits in order to better understand the Chicago multifamily sector. The segmentation findings point to opportunities to improve ChicagoÕs energy efficiency programs. The size of the unsubsidized lower-cost multifamily market in Chicago, added benefits of improved health outcomes for low-income residents, and greater investment in disadvantaged neighborhoods strengthen the case for prioritizing multifamily market for energy efficiency. The report is organized into three parts. The first part describes the datasets used to build a database of ChicagoÕs multifamily buildings. The second reviews key findings from the analysis. The third section provides recommended improvements to efficiency programs based on the segmentation.
Author(s)
Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance
Publication Date
The Midwest is home to a significant stock of multifamily buildings that represent a huge energy savings opportunity. Multifamily housing makes up 11 to 22% of the housing stock in Midwest states. The majority of multifamily housing is renter-occupied, and a large proportion of those renters are low income customers for whom the cost of high utility bills is the most burdensome. This report examines the mixture of multifamily energy efficiency programs in four states Ð Indiana, Ohio, Minnesota and Iowa Ð since 2010. The analysis looks at investment, energy savings and program models offered in each state. These states are not the only states working on multifamily energy efficiency in the Midwest, but they provide a good contrast in terms of energy efficiency policies and performance, as well as having sufficient available data for the analysis.
Author(s)
National Association of State Energy Officials
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
Lean and Green Michigan,
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA),
Michigan Saves,
Keeping PACE in Texas,
Energize New York

This report examines how State Energy Offices and state-level partners are supporting growth and uptake of Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) financing around the country. The report offers examples, insights, and strategies for State Energy Offices, green banks, state financing agencies, and other public and private entities to catalyze, accelerate, organize, and expand C-PACE markets.

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
U.S. Department of Energy's Building America Program

The NorthernSTAR and U.S. Department of Energy Building America Program partnership investigated a new model to deploy building science-guided performance solutions to homeowners. This research explored three aspects to market delivery:
1. Understand the homeowner's motivations regarding investing in building science-based performance upgrades.
2. Determine a rapidly scalable approach to engage large numbers of homeowners directly through existing customer networks.
3. Access a business model that will manage all aspects of the contractor-homeowner performance professional interface to ensure good upgrade decisions throughout time.

Author(s)
American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
Efficiency Vermont

This report details opportunities for scaling up program activity and increasing savings from programs reaching the people who need it most. It discussed best practices from existing programs for overcoming many of the key challenges that program administrators face, including how to address housing deficiencies that prevent energy efficiency upgrades, how to address cost effectiveness challenges, and how to serve hard-to-reach households.

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
EnergyLogic,
Built Green Colorado

Focusing on Colorado Springs, Colorado, as a case study, the U.S. Department of Energy's Building America research team IBACOS suggests a win-win between a builder's investment in energy efficiency and that builder's ability to sell homes. Although this research did not ultimately determine why a correlation may exist, a builder's investment in voluntary energy-efficiency programs correlated with that builder's ability to survive the Great Recession of 2007 to 2009. This report explores the relationship between energy-efficiency ratings and the market performance of several builders in Colorado Springs.

Author(s)
Institute for Market Transformation
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
Elevate Energy,
Austin Energy,
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA),
Mass Save,
City of New York’s Retrofit Accelerator,
Seattle RENEW Multi-Family Housing Program

This report explores how governments and energy efficiency implementers could help stakeholders better analyze and act upon building performance data to unlock savings.

Author(s)
American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
Publication Date

Several recent studies purport to show that particular energy efficiency programs and policies do not work or are too expensive. This short paper is written for people who are not evaluation experts and are trying to understand what conclusions they can take from these studies. We examine many of these papers and find that while they do have some useful findings, they often include a variety of unreasonable assumptions or outright mistakes that undermine their conclusions. Based on this review, we offer several recommendations on ways we can constructively move forward.

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
Elevate Energy,
ICAST’s ResourceSmart initiative

This case study addresses multifamily energy upgrade experiences by two members of the Better Buildings Residential Network—Elevate Energy and the International Center for Appropriate and Sustainable Technology (ICAST).

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

Through field-testing and analysis, this project evaluated whole-building approaches and estimated the relative contributions of select technologies toward reducing energy use related to space conditioning in new manufactured homes. Three lab houses of varying designs were built and tested side-by-side under controlled conditions in Russellville, Alabama. The tests provided a valuable indicator of how changes in the construction of manufactured homes can contribute to significant reductions in energy use.

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

This case study features New York City Energy Efficiency Corporation (NYCEEC), a member that focuses on financing energy efficiency and clean energy upgrades for multifamily buildings in the city and surrounding communities.

Author(s)
Acadia Consulting Group
Publication Date

The primary objective of the quantitative research phase of this survey was to get market-based feedback and insights in the following areas to assist the industry in better serving its constituents, including: insights as to major challenges that industry is facing and potential support that organizations could provide and feedback on how industry organizations could add value for constituents in the future.

Lessons Learned and the Better Buildings Residential Program Solution Center

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

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.

Author(s)
American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
Publication Date

Energy burden is the percentage of household income spent on home energy bills. In this report, ACEEE, along with the Energy Efficiency for All coalition, measures the energy burden of households in 48 of the largest American cities. The report finds that low-income, African-American, Latino, low-income multifamily, and renter households all spend a greater proportion of their income on utilities than the average family. The report also identifies energy efficiency as an underutilized strategy that can help reduce high energy burdens by as much as 30%. Given this potential, the report goes on to describe policies and programs to ramp up energy efficiency investments in low-income and underserved communities.

Author(s)
American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy,
Energy Efficiency For All (EEFA)
Publication Date
The report analyzes data from the U.S. Census BureauÕs 2011 and 2013 American Housing Survey to determine energy burden values for 48 of the largest U.S. Cities. On average, low-income households pay 7.2 percent of household income on utilitiesÑmore than twice as much as the median household and three times as much as higher income households. If low-income housing stock were brought up to the efficiency level of the average U.S. home, this would eliminate 35 percent of the average low-income energy burden of low-income households. The second half of the report focuses on strategies for alleviating high energy burdens including policies and programs to increase the impact of energy efficiency initiatives in these communities.
Author(s)
Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance,
Southwest Energy Efficiency Project,
Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance,
South-central Partnership for Energy Efficiency as a Resource,
Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships, Inc.
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
Michigan Saves,
ConEdison’s Brooklyn Queens Demand Management Program,
Florida's Multifamily Energy Retrofit Program,
Set the PACE St. Louis,
City of Chicago,
Energy Outreach Colorado,
Massachusetts Low-Income Multifamily Energy Retrofit Program

This report was developed to help inform national stakeholders about the strategies that have been used to achieve deep energy savings in the multifamily housing sector through energy efficiency upgrades. These strategies could be used as models in areas where utility program administrators and policymakers seek to achieve deep energy savings in the multifamily building stock for the purposes of reducing energy costs, creating comfortable and healthy homes, meeting regulatory requirements, or reducing the environmental impacts of energy consumption. This report includes a national multifamily market characterization, barriers and opportunities for program and policy efforts, and eight exemplary case studies from across the country.

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

The research described in this report holds great potential to significantly improve the process for including energy efficiency in developing and implementing federally funded multifamily rehabilitation projects through the USDA, the U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Low Income Housing Tax Credit, and other programs.

Author(s)
Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships, Inc.
Publication Date

Residential air-source heat pumps (ASHP) are a heating and air-conditioning technology that use electricity to provide a combination of space heating and cooling to homes. A new generation of ASHPs has come to market over the past five years. This report evaluates the key market barriers as well as potential opportunities to leverage. Based on an assessment of the regional ASHP market, it is clear that while ASHPs have established a viable and growing market, there remains a significant opportunity to further accelerate adoption of the technology and in the process achieve energy and cost savings to the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic region.

REEO Multifamily Energy Efficiency Retrofits: Barriers and Opportunities Webinar

Author(s)
Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance,
Southwest Energy Efficiency Project,
Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance,
South-central Partnership for Energy Efficiency as a Resource,
Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships, Inc.
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
Michigan Saves,
ConEdison’s Brooklyn Queens Demand Management Program,
Florida's Multifamily Energy Retrofit Program,
Set the PACE St. Louis,
City of Chicago,
Energy Outreach Colorado,
Massachusetts Low-Income Multifamily Energy Retrofit Program

This webinar covers the Multifamily Energy Efficiency Retrofits: Barriers and Opportunities for Deep Energy Savings report published in 2016.n

Author(s)
Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships, Inc.
Publication Date

The Regional Roundup of Energy Efficiency Policy is intended to give policymakers, regulators, efficiency proponents, program administrators and other stakeholders a comparative view of the progress of energy efficiency policies and programs across the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic region. Along with state-level highlights, the report examines regional trends and shared challenges in harnessing the potential of energy efficiency to meet today’s pressing energy and environmental challenges.

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

This guide for states highlights energy efficiency as a least-cost strategy to meet air pollution reduction and other policy objectives, including energy affordability and reliability. It presents established policy and program “pathways” to advance demand-side energy efficiency.

Author(s)
Interstate Renewable Energy Council, Inc.
Publication Date

This report provides information and tools for policymakers, regulators, utilities, shared renewable energy developers, program administrators and others to support the adoption and implementation of shared renewables programs specifically designed to provide tangible benefits to low income and moderate income individuals and households.

Author(s)
Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
Multifamily Energy Efficiency Program,
Energy Advantage Apartments Program

The Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance (SEEA) has prepared this assessment of the Southeast’s multifamily sector to better understand the current stock of multifamily units; regional and state multifamily construction trends; utility multifamily energy efficiency programs; and state and local policies and programs focused on the multifamily sector.

Author(s)
Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance,
North Carolina Justice Center
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance (SEEA)
Improving energy efficiency can make energy more affordable, transform unhealthy buildings into comfortable homes, and create thousands of jobs. While there are opportunities across the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors, some of the greatest need and most profound gains can be made in low- and moderate-income housing. This report outlines why focusing on energy efficiency programs to serve North Carolinians of modest means can return benefits to everyone across the state, and discusses many of the steps that can be taken to increase the adoption of energy efficiency in North Carolina.
Author(s)
Optimal Energy
Publication Date
This study calculates the potential energy savings from the implementation of energy efficiency measures in MissouriÕs affordable multifamily sector. This research identifies the maximum achievable potential savings and benefits that can be captured over the 20-year period from 2015-2034 through the deployment of affordable multifamily energy efficiency programs. The study found that there is significant as yet untapped energy savings potential in MissouriÕs affordable multifamily housing.
Author(s)
Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships, Inc.
Publication Date

NEEP has been tracking the residential lighting market for several years and has provided analysis in many reports. As the transformation of this complex market gains traction, we find the conversation and need for new information narrowing to one key topic: LEDs. While CFLs continue to play a role in residences and amongst Northeast and Mid-Atlantic program administrators, the LED has transitioned into the starring role of the residential lighting show.

Author(s)
Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships, Inc.
Publication Date

This report represents NEEP’s annual assessment of the major policy developments of 2014, as well as its look into the immediate future, where NEEP gauge states’ progress toward capturing cost-effective energy efficiency as a first-order resource. While looking at the region as a whole, NEEP also provides summary and analysis of some of the biggest building energy efficiency successes and setbacks from Maine to Maryland — including significant energy efficiency legislation and regulations and changes in funding levels for energy efficiency programs.

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

This report is targeted at both policymakers and program administrators who are less familiar with secondary markets and their significance in the energy efficiency context, as well as those that are more familiar with these concepts and may be actively considering secondary market strategies. It covers how efficient access to capital from secondary markets -- reselling energy loans to investors to replenish program funds -- is being advanced as an important enabler of the energy efficiency industry “at scale.”

Author(s)
Colorado Energy Office
Publication Date

This study was conducted on behalf of the Colorado Energy Office to provide an analysis of the impact of energy efficiency on the home buying process. It highlights the appraisers’ dependence on Realtor‐supplied data and clearly illustrates the need for appraisers to be competent on items related to energy efficiency; in as far as these items are relevant to the appraiser’s specific assignment, scope of work and market area.

Bringing Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy to Low-Income Households

Author(s)
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Publication Date

This webcast highlights effective efforts by state and local agencies, non-profits, and utilities to bring energy efficiency and renewable energy to low-income households. It explores the topic of linking and leveraging energy efficiency and renewable energy programs for limited-income households, including the need to coordinate with other energy assistance programs. It also presents case studies of organizations that have successfully advanced connections among available programs and funding sources.

Capturing Energy Efficiency in Residential Real Estate Transactions Webcast

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

This webcast covers DOE's new white paper, Capturing Energy Efficiency in Residential Real Estate Transactions, which highlights how residential energy efficiency programs can help make homes' energy efficiency visible to appraisers, real estate agents, mortgage lenders, homebuyers and sellers. The webcast provides examples of programs around the U.S. that are successfully engaging the real estate community and overcoming barriers to valuing energy efficiency in the home resale process.

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

Real estate professionals are increasingly aware that today’s homebuyers consider heating and cooling costs, efficient appliances, and efficient lighting to be important factors in home purchase decisions. Residential energy efficiency and real estate stakeholders, however, agree that the home resale process frequently fails to account for the value of high-performance home features. If investments in energy efficiency were more accurately reflected in home resale prices, homeowners could have greater confidence that these investments would be recouped at resale, and they might make more investments in efficiency.

Energy Efficiency and Conservation Loan Program Webinar Series: #6 Solar

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

This webinar is the sixth (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 Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Opportunities and the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Loan Program. It features the New Hampshire Electric Co-op's Solar PV Program and SunShot Solar Outreach Partnership (SolarOPs). SolarOPs is a U.S. Department of Energy program designed to increase the use and integration of solar energy in communities across the US.

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

Energy efficiency collaboratives vary greatly and are typically designed for a specific jurisdiction, making them hard to compare side by side. This guide seeks to highlight a few common elements and draw conclusions on the overall effectiveness of specific characteristics of collaboratives. This guide defines and examines four different types of collaboratives in terms of their origin, scope, decision-making method, membership, duration, available resources, and how they interact with and influence their respective commissions.

Author(s)
Institute for Market Transformation
Publication Date

This case study includes a baseline assessment of "green fields" that highlight the green and energy-efficient aspects of homes in the MLS and the market for high-performance homes (HPHs) in the District of Columbia. The report also sets the stage for the upcoming release of additional green fields in the Metropolitan Regional Information System (MRIS), the local MLS in the Washington metropolitan region.

Author(s)
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Publication Date

This online guide provides step-by-step guidance and resources for local governments to plan, implement, and evaluate climate, energy, and sustainability projects and programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change impacts. It captures lessons learned and effective strategies used by local governments, breaks down program implementation into concrete steps, and curates resources to help local governments find the information they need. The framework was developed with extensive input from local government stakeholders, including EPA’s Climate Showcase Communities.

Author(s)
Energy Efficiency For All (EEFA)
Publication Date
This factsheet highlights the benefits of increasing the energy efficiency of multifamily housing, which saves energy, improves residents' health and comfort. and maintains reasonable rents. This helps families, communities, and affordable building owners.
Author(s)
Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships, Inc.
Publication Date

The purpose of this report is to demonstrate the potential for HEMS as an evolving avenue to deeper residential energy savings, and it explains, in detail, the variations and characteristics of HEMS; what the market is and who the major market players are; what the major barriers to implementation look like; and finally, it attempts to outline potential program solutions with HEMS at the core of the strategy.

Author(s)
Optimal Energy
Publication Date
This report documents the significant economic and energy savings potential from making multifamily affordable housing more energy-efficient. The study identifies the maximum achievable potential savings and benefits that can be captured over the 20-year period from 2015-2034 in the multifamily affordable housing sector. Based on the data gathered from a sample of states across the country, the report estimates that energy efficiency programs in multifamily affordable housing could cut electricity usage by as much as 32 percent and natural gas by 24 percent. The study includes specific findings for Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

Residential High Energy Users: Causes and Opportunities

Author(s)
Energy Center of Wisconsin (now Seventhwave)
Publication Date

High energy users in single-family homes present the greatest opportunities for energy and cost savings, yet relatively little is known about what is happening in these homes or how energy efficiency and utility programs can engage these consumers. In this on-demand webcast, hear the results of a groundbreaking field study of 100 high-consumption homes in Minnesota. The webcast will discuss possible causes and the technical and behavioral opportunities to reduce usage. Also, it will introduce the households studied to provide a holistic introduction to this utility customer group.

Author(s)
Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships, Inc.
Publication Date
Residential multi-family properties represent not only a significant share of the housing stock in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic region, but a significant opportunity to capture energy efficiency savings through cost-effective retrofit measures. The nature of the multi-family housing stock Ð and, in particular, the small multi-family sector Ð creates a unique set of challenges. This overview page outlines the market barriers and challenges faced by small multi-family properties and offers recommendations for policymakers and other stakeholders to make the multi-family sector a key outreach sector target, both in terms of policies and program strategies.
Author(s)
Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
Built Green Washington,
Energy Trust of Oregon

This study documents the market valuation associated with the predominant green and energy efficiency home certifications used in the Northwest. Regional markets with a track record of including green building and energy efficiency information in MLS databases have lacked a recent, thorough, locally relevant analysis of the potential value of “higher performing” homes in current market conditions. Real property appraisers require a reliable, localized, granular analysis they can use in their home valuation calculations. The analysis contained in this report addresses this identified market need.

The Value of Energy Efficiency in the Real Estate Market

Author(s)
Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships, Inc.
Publication Date

This webcast discusses the value of energy efficiency in the real estate market.

A Field Guide to Utility-Run Behavior Programs: Making Sense of Variety

Author(s)
State and Local Energy Efficiency Action Network
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
Efficiency Vermont

This webcast covers a report that is a comparative analysis of utility-run behavior programs, which lays the groundwork for further program development by developing a classification scheme, or taxonomy, that sorts programs into discrete categories.

Author(s)
Natural Resources Defense Council
Publication Date
This fact sheet outlines the opportunities and challenges to be considered in expanding energy efficiency in the affordable multifamily housing sector. Making affordable rental housing more energy efficient is a cost-effective way to reduce energy consumption, maintain housing affordability, create healthier and more comfortable living environments for moderate- and low income families, and reduce pollution.
Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date

This Better Buildings Residential Network Partnerships Toolkit includes templates, tools, guides, and examples to help energy efficiency organizations engage in partnerships that leverage resources and strengthen their programs.

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

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.

Author(s)
Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance (SEEA)

SEEA created this document to inform the planning, design and delivery of early-stage energy efficiency programs in the Southeast. This document captures general concepts essential to the successful development and implementation of robust program portfolios, as well as lessons learned from prior experience on the regional and national levels.

Author(s)
RePower Bainbridge,
Conservation Services Group,
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
RePower Kitsap,
RePower Bainbridge,
RePower Bremerton
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(s)
Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships, Inc.
Publication Date
Residential multifamily properties represent not only a significant share of the housing stock in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic region, but a significant opportunity to capture energy efficiency savings through cost-effective retrofit measures. The nature of the multifamily housing stock Ð and, in particular, the small multifamily sector Ð creates a unique set of challenges that have until now largely stymied the retrofit market. Yet some successful models for reaching the small multifamily sector have begun to emerge. This paper is meant to inform energy efficiency stakeholders and policymakers about best practices gleaned from examining existing programs and policies addressing energy efficiency in the small multifamily housing market; to identify continuing gaps in the ability to penetrate that market to an even greater extent; and to present recommendations for programs and policies that may hold the promise of additional energy savings.
Author(s)
Natural Resources Defense Council
Publication Date
Multifamily affordable housing is full of untapped energy efficiency potential. This overview provides context and best practices for creating effective programs to capture this potential. With a better understanding of these considerations, stakeholders can start to build a more robust network of leaders and practitioners in affordable multifamily housing and realize the vast environmental, economic, and social potential of delivering energy efficiency for all.

Overview and Preliminary Results of ARRA-Funded SGIG Consumer Behavior Studies

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

This webcast discusses the background for U.S. Department of Energy’s Smart Grid Investment Grant (SGIG) consumer behavior study effort; the various utilities who are participating and what they each plan to include their respective studies; the quantitative results and qualitative lessons learned thus far from these studies; and the types of research will be undertaken by LBNL over the next several years.

Author(s)
Elevate Energy
Publication Date
Multifamily housing retrofits provide a rich opportunity to reap energy efficiency (EE) savings. Despite this opportunity, the multifamily market has not captured investment needed to realize the energy savings, and the affordable housing sector faces additional investment barriers. This paper makes the case for the implementation of energy retrofits in affordable multifamily buildings by presenting the non-energy benefits (NEBs) associated with such upgrades.
Author(s)
American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
NM
This guide/toolkit provides step-by-step recommendations on how policymakers can go about devising successful energy disclosure policies. It discusses the who, what, where, when, why, and, most importantly, how, for creating disclosure policies for the residential sector.
Author(s)
The Demand Institute
Publication Date

Research reveals a whole range of unmet housing-related desires in America -- gaps between what Americans have and what they say they need or want. The Demand Institute surveyed more than 10,000 households about their current living situation and what’s important to them in a home. The survey represents all U.S. households: renters and owners; movers and non-movers; young and old and finds that unsatisfied needs and desires cut across the entire population.

Analyzing and Managing Bill Impacts on Energy Efficiency Programs

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

This webcast reviews the SEE Action report which provides policymakers with principles and recommendations to understand and manage concerns about bill and rate impacts resulting from requiring utilities to provide efficiency programs.

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
This guide introduces the Community Energy Strategic Plan (CESP) approach, a step-by-step process for creating a robust strategic energyÊ plan. The guide offers tools and tips to complete each step and highlights examples from successful planning efforts around the country.
Author(s)
Energy Center of Wisconsin (now Seventhwave)
Publication Date

The study was completed on behalf of the Minnesota Department of Commerce to characterize energy use in the state's multifamily sector and to identify untapped energy efficiency opportunities. Working with Franklin Energy, the field study gathered characteristic data for 120 representative buildings across the state as well as survey data of both building owners and tenants. Using this data as well as a utility billing analysis, the Energy Center of Wisconsin (now Seventhwave) developed an in-depth characterization for a hard-to-reach sector in Minnesota that had not been, up until this point, studied to this degree.

Author(s)
Energy Programs Consortium (EPC)
Publication Date
This Energy Programs Consortium report identifies barriers that have been found to increase investment in low income multi-family housing as well as current efforts to address those barriers and increase building owner investment. This report also identifies strategies for deploying public and provide sector resources that can be used to increase the effectiveness of current efforts to address energy efficiency barriers in the low income multi-family housing sector.
Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
Colorado ENERGY STAR Homes,
Connecticut Neighbor to Neighbor Energy Challenge,
Silicon Valley Energy Watch Program,
The Home Energy Rebate Option,
New Jersey Home Performance with ENERGY STAR,
Efficiency Vermont,
Energy Trust of Oregon,
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA)
The objective of this document is to help state and local governments understand the role of program administrators (PAs) and assist them in developing successful partnerships with utility and other energy efficiency PAs. The majority of this paper presents information on partnering and leveraging current energy efficiency activities. However, it also includes information for governments in areas without active PAs, as well as an appendix with a case study describing how state and local governments can fill gaps and administer programs in the absence of a PA.
Author(s)
American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
Publication Date

This report provides an assessment of the current landscape of multifamily energy efficiency programs in the 50 metropolitan areas with the largest multifamily housing markets. The authors describe spending on utility customer-funded programs for the primary utilities in each metropolitan area. Additionally, they identify the specific opportunity in each metropolitan area to scale up multifamily programs based on a three-part analysis of: (1) local housing market characteristics; (2) the scope of current utility customer-funded energy efficiency programs; and (3) the statewide policy environment and potential for local partnerships with non-utility-funded energy efficiency programs.

State, Regional and National Energy Efficiency Forecasting

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

This webcast provides approaches for projecting, analyzing and representing end-use energy efficiency potential and its impacts on state, regional and national energy use.

Author(s)
CNT Energy,
National Home Performance Council
Publication Date

This white paper provides energy efficiency program sponsors and other stakeholders in the home performance industry with methods to document efficiency improvements and incorporate them into the real estate value chain. Making information about energy efficiency improvements visible to home buyers and others involved in a home sale transaction will play a crucial role in ensuring that improvements are fairly valued at the time an existing home is sold.

Using Integrated Resource Planning to Encourage Investment in Cost-Effective Energy Efficiency Measures

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

This webcast reviews the SEE Action report that describes how utility planning processes that allow demand-side resources to compete with supply-side resources can promote cost-effective energy efficiency.

Author(s)
Southwest Energy Efficiency Project
Publication Date

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(s)
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Publication Date

This report contains information on the market for home performance upgrades and the opportunities that exist for new home performance contractors; start-up needs and costs for firms entering the home performance contracting industry; home performance business approaches; and how established home performance contractors attract customers. It also contains detailed profiles of eight successful home performance firms across the United States.

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

This report serves as a resource for program administrators and building contractors who are or may be interested in starting or expanding their services into the residential energy efficiency market.

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
ShopSmart with JEA

In this video interview segment, Bruce Doeuck of JEA ShopSmart in Jacksonville, Florida, discusses the importance of building relationships with financial institutions.

Clean Energy Program Funding: EPA Local Climate and Webcast Series

Author(s)
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
Green Works Orlando,
Community Energy Challenge,
Home Energy Affordability Loan (HEAL)

Three-part webinar series. Part I discusses how to design and implement funding programs, line up partners, and gain support for clean energy programs through both conventional and non-conventional methods. Part II discusses how to locate available sources of funding. Part III explains how to leverage existing funds and make clean energy investments more affordable for clean energy program audiences.

Author(s)
California Center for Sustainable Energy,
Home Performance Resource Center
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
Energy Upgrade California

This guide shows HVAC contractors how to get started in the home improvement market. It explains the approach of treating a house like a system and provides step-by-step instructions on setting up a home performance contracting business.

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

In this video interview segment, Emily Levin of Vermont Energy Investment Corporation talks about how there is no silver bullet and its about creating a new industry, which takes time.

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance (GCEA)

In this video interview segment, Andy Holzhauser of Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance discusses the importance of making early investments in infrastructure (i.e., staff and technology).

Exploring Opportunities for Energy Efficiency as a Revenue Stream in the Forward Capacity Markets

Author(s)
Terri Esterly, PJM Capacity Market Operations,
Doug Hurley, Synapse Energy Economics Inc.
Publication Date
Webcast on utility forward capacity markets and how energy efficiency programs may access these markets as a potential source of revenues.

Keeping Up With Your Audience, So They Keep Up With Your Program

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
Efficiency Maine,
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) PowerSaver
This webcast discussed how market research can help spur demand for home energy efficiency programs.
Author(s)
Mass Save
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
Mass Save
This plan was jointly developed by gas and electric companies in the state of Massachusetts to set aggressive goals for 2013-2015 through a sustained and integrated statewide energy efficiency effort in accordance with Green Communities Act.

Part I: Getting Started: Answering Big Picture Funding Questions

Author(s)
Neelam Patel, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Pat McGuckin, The Cadmus Group, Inc.,
Richard Dooley, Arlington County, Virginia,
Shawn Collins, Opportunity Council,
Alex Ramel, Sustainable Connections
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
Community Energy Challenge,
Green Works Orlando

This webcast (Part I of a three-part series) covers the big picture questions that local governments should consider for funding clean energy programs. What resources are available? What are the program priorities? How can these programs pay for themselves? What funding is available? The webinar guides local governments through these and other questions in the context of their own unique circumstances and illustrates the concepts through case studies that explore how local governments have used both conventional and unconventional methods to gain support, line up partners, and design and implement their funding programs.

Part II: Getting it Funded: Finding Funding for your Clean Energy Programs

Author(s)
Neelam Patel, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Pat McGuckin, The Cadmus Group, Inc.,
Marvin Lee, School District of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
Nate Boyd, City of Orlando, Florida
Publication Date

This webcast (Part II of a three-part series) discusses how climate and clean energy programs can find funding.

Part III: Keeping it Going: Financing Options for your Clean Energy Programs

Author(s)
Neelam Patel, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Pat McGuckin, The Cadmus Group, Inc.,
Niko Dietsch, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Keith Canfield, Clinton Climate Initiative,
James Christensen and Yvette Rincon, City of Sacramento, California
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD),
Home Energy Affordability Loan (HEAL)
This webcast (Part III of a three-part series) covers how to choose and implement financing options that meet local needs.
Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
Organizations or Programs
RePower Kitsap,
RePower Bainbridge,
RePower Bremerton

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

Author(s)
Climate Solutions
Publication Date

This report profiles the early results of a diverse range of small- to medium-sized American cities with different economic and energy profiles that are pioneering the clean energy economy. Many communities used federal grants to jumpstart long-term strategies to test and refine various clean energy and energy efficiency solutions. Others developed innovative financing strategies in the absence of grant money. These city-led efforts to catalyze local clean energy economic development are important to watch as federal grants sunset, especially in the absence of a comprehensive national energy or climate policy.

Author(s)
Research Into Action, Inc.,
NMR Group Inc.
Publication Date

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(s)
Deutsche Bank
Publication Date
This publication outlines the various benefits of supporting investments in energy efficiency in multifamily affordable housing. Multifamily home energy retrofits ensure the long-term viability of existing affordable housing, support job creation with broad economic impacts, unlock a range of benefits for building residents, and can lead to significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

Tracking Household Perceptions and Actions

Author(s)
Energy Center of Wisconsin (now Seventhwave)
Publication Date

This on-demand webinar discusses what residential customers in Wisconsin, the Midwest, and the nation have to say about energy topics.  Learn about the Energy Center of Wisconsin's (now Seventhwave's) research on consumer perceptions and actions concerning their energy use at home based on the 2011 Midwest Energy Survey.