Turning Policy into Performance: Measuring Equity to Achieve Restorative Justice

The time is now to voice support for strong minimum efficiency standards for residential gas furnaces and boilers (both gas and oil). With gas pipeline constraints and the need to meet future natural gas supply needs on the minds of many policy makers, the Department of Energy is in the late stages of rulemaking processes to update minimum efficiency standards for residential gas furnaces and…

NEEP’s 2015 Regional Roundup confirms that we’re seeing a changing landscape in the world of energy efficiency. Make no mistake about it—the ground is shifting nationally and the Northeast-Mid-Atlantic region is not invulnerable to these shifts in energy efficiency focus and practice. On one hand, the region is home to a remarkable number of states that are very much leaders in the field of…

In the world of energy efficiency, clothes dryers were the kids picked last during recess basketball games, overlooked for more promising appliances. As refrigerators, clothes washers, and dishwashers became incrementally more efficient over time, clothes dryers were left to their energy squandering ways. Clothes dryers hadn’t received an upgrade to their appliance efficiency standard for over…

This post originally appeared on the ACEEE Blog. Now that one energy efficiency bill is before the president, the real legislative work on energy efficiency begins. The Energy Efficiency Improvement Act of 2015 (S. 535) is three steps forward, a collection of three useful but relatively modest provisions on residential water heaters and commercial buildings. But there is a long way to go.…

Last we left Home Energy Management Systems (HEMS), they were overseas playing a major role as Energy Continuity Systems (ECS) in Japan after the devastating Fukushima disaster disabled forty-eight of Japan’s fifty nuclear reactors. Rolling blackouts and sporadic outages plagued the Land of the Rising Sun years after the monstrous earthquake rocked the world, instilling a heightened awareness of…

What ingredients are propelling Delaware, and what could ensure progress in New Hampshire? The following 2015 Regional Roundup case study takes a closer look at the paths these states are taking to capture all cost-effective energy efficiency. In our 2013 Regional Roundup, we rated the state of Delaware as "Still in the Starting Blocks," noting that "the clock [ran] out before legislation aimed…

While the oil bills from heating your home are still fresh in your mind.  While you still seethe from the snow and slush, I want to offer a suggestion. Air-Source Heat Pumps. Air-Source Heat Pumps (ASHPs) warm our houses by extracting heat from the outside air and pumping it indoors. But, if you live in a climate that regularly dips below freezing temperatures, it becomes increasingly…

CLICK HERE to access a March 2015 webinar recording featuring LED Street Lighting Conversion Strategies, feauturing a case study of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Certain elements of our community’s infrastructure often go unnoticed, residing in the background of our increasingly busy lives. Think about it. How much time do you take out of your day to dwell on the importance of paved…

Originally posted on Switchboard (NRDC's blog), and authored by Jackson Morris, this post takes a magnifying glass to New York's REV Track 1 Order and lays out all of the juicy details for your reading pleasure. Big thanks to NRDC and Jackson Morris for this illuminating contribution. There are big goings-on in the Empire State these days related to how to move to a 21stcentury electric…

In the Amazing Spiderman, Peter Parker’s uncle, Uncle Ben, leaves him with some words of wisdom that Parker carries with him throughout the Spiderman series: With great power, comes great responsibility. As someone who’s been tracking investment in energy efficiency in our region, a similar thought, which is the title of this post, comes to mind. Investment in energy efficiency in…