Lights out for residential lighting programs? Not just yet

Sarina Soor
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“Do the upcoming standards mean residential lighting programs will no longer be cost-effective? Or can programs gain another year or two of savings by promoting efficient light bulbs, which have long been the mainstay of residential program portfolios? These questions are at the forefront of utility program planning and regulatory agendas in many states. We…

2017 Annual Energy Efficient, Green and High Performance Home and Building Inventory Report

Sarina Soor
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NCBPA’s 2017 Inventory Report identifies 34,152 high performance homes and buildings being built or retrofitted in the state in 2016 and finds a 9.5% price premium for high performance homes sold in three of North Carolina’s metro markets between 2015 and 2016. Since 2007, the report identifies 198,525 high performance homes and buildings in the…

How California builders are adapting to state’s super-strict energy mandates

Sarina Soor
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Weston is Pardee’s first master-planned community to offer solar for purchase or lease on every single home. This feature foreshadows a significant change in California’s building code, going into effect in 2020, that will make the state the first in the nation to mandate all new homes are net zero ready, meaning they’re built to…

500 home energy score assessors have now scored over 75,000 homes nationwide

Sarina Soor
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“The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s)  Home Energy Score program (the Score) is celebrating a milestone this month: Since the program launch in 2012, over 500 individuals are qualified to offer the Score, a miles-per-gallon energy rating system for homes. These individuals – known as Home Energy Score Assessors (Assessors) – spend about an hour walking through…

Residential Energy Efficiency is Largest Source of CO2 Reduction Potential

Sarina Soor
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“…residential efficiency can account for as much as 550 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent emissions reductions annually by 2050 (equal to the combined electric power emissions of California, Texas, New York,  Florida, Illinois, and Virginia in 2016). The next highest single intervention source is electrification of vehicles which would account for approximately 481 metric…

Homeowners: PACE finances green energy upgrades

Sarina Soor
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“A point of pride for the people of California is our state’s leadership in the clean energy economy. Over the past decade, Californians have had access to a great tool that puts homeowners front and center in the fight against climate change. This tool, Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE), enables homeowners to conveniently finance renewable…

ACEE: How to Talk about Home Energy Upgrades

Sarina Soor
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From ACEE: “How can home energy assessments lead to more energy efficiency upgrades? Using a behavioral science approach to answer this question, we conducted an online experiment with nearly 2,000 American homeowners and explored the latest research on motivators and barriers to investment. We learned that financial motivators are part of the equation, but not…

CEC Workshop on High Performance Envelope and Domestic Hot Water Measures for the 2019 Residential Standards

Sarina Soor
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California Energy Commission staff will conduct a workshop to gather stakeholder input on the development of the 2019 Building Energy Efficiency Standards (2019 Standards). The workshop will be held on: Thursday, June 1, 2017 9:00 a.m. CALIFORNIA ENERGY COMMISSION 1516 Ninth Street First Floor, Rosenfeld Hearing Room Sacramento, California (Wheelchair Accessible) Remote Access Available by…

Renewable Water Heating Promises Even Bigger Savings for CA

Sarina Soor
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Pierre Delforge, from the Natural Resources Defense Council, discusses the benefits that solar water heating can provide to California homes and offices. In the development of the 2019 Building Energy Efficiency Standards NRDC proposes a “menu of options…designed to give builders and new home buyers flexibility while guaranteeing energy, carbon, and bill savings.” NRDC proposes a…

From Greentech Media: Energy-Efficient Homes Are Worth More. So Let’s Create an Easy Metric for Buyers

Sarina Soor
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We’ve seen a lot of recent studies on how energy efficient homes are worth more; but, communicating this value has been a challenge, making the market slow to respond and leaving dollars and energy efficiency opportunities on the table in our communities. (This (more…)

From New Buildings Institute: California hits 100 ZNE verified and emerging buildings milestone

Sarina Soor
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The California Public Utilities Commission, California Energy Commission, and the New Buildings Institute (NBI) announced earlier this month California continues the march toward its zero net energy (ZNE) goals, with 108 new and renovated commercial (more…)

From Zero Energy Project: Energy Efficient Codes Make Financial Sense

Sarina Soor
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The following description and links are an excerpt from the Zero Energy Project’s recent newsletter. For more on the Zero Energy Project, click here. “Average homeowners are the biggest beneficiaries of more energy efficient building codes, says Daniel Bressett of the Alliance to Save Energy. Homeowners consistently state their preference for energy efficiency features, a point…
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