Turning Policy into Performance: Measuring Equity to Achieve Restorative Justice

Unless Massachusetts communities push to update the state’s Stretch Code before July 1, 2014, the 20% boost in building energy efficiency it provides will evaporate, creating market confusion and violate the very concept behind its inception. What is the Massachusetts Stretch Code? If the title and picture seem completely bizarre to you, I’d highly recommend watching Dr. Strangelove after you…

A big priority to emerge from NEEP’s Business and Consumer Electronics Strategy is capturing the significant energy efficiency gains from “smarter” energy use in the home. New all-in-one home energy management software is becoming increasingly available to those willing to change their energy consuming behaviors. So how do we change deeply entrenched behavioral patterns to align with more…

When you think back to your days spent in school what do you remember? Was it a favorite teacher? The countless trips to the vending machine between classes? A visceral rush of excitement after your crush unexpectedly sat next to you in biology?  I recently asked a colleague to recount her high school experience and received a surprising answer in return. “My school was like a prison!”…

It’s always interesting to witness a convergence of events that serve to highlight and illustrate an issue raised in the course of public debate. Such a convergence has occurred in recent weeks, in this case involving energy efficiency standards set by the states and the federal government, which date to the days when Ronald Reagan was governor of California and public consciousness began…

The Solid-State Lighting (SSL) industry is poised to take a leap forward in energy efficiency and performance as Northeast Energy Efficiency (NEEP) updated the DesignLights Consortium®’s (DLC) SSL Qualified Products List (QPL) at the turn of the year. Thanks to the 2013 specification revision to the DLC QPL, lighting manufacturers, energy efficiency program administrators, and…

We all know what the outdoors can do to revitalize our health.  We feel more connected, nourished, and energized after we venture out of our homes and take a deep, endless breath of fresh air, soak up vitamins from sunlight, or drop in on the crest of an interminable wave. What if I told you that the same raw nourishment from the outdoors can reduce your heating and cooling bill? Now, I’m…

I get it.  No really, I do.  You’re an environmentalist – well, so am I. You wanted to lessen your carbon footprint just like the rest of us – and I applaud that. So in a desperate attempt to decrease the environmental burden of doing laundry, you decided to hang your clothes out to dry. But this isn’t Little House on the Prairie! This is an urban area and countless people just got a…

Courtney Lane, Senior Analyst, National Grid Rhode Island At a time when states are still struggling to recover from the recession, investment in energy efficiency is providing a much needed boost. Investment in energy efficiency saves residents and businesses money on their energy bills, spurs investment in the local economy, and creates and maintains jobs. Rhode Island is experiencing…

As 2013 nears its end, important work on energy efficiency policy and programs is still on going. Below are the important proceedings that NEEP is keeping an eye on. And keep an eye out in January for the release of our 2013 Regional Roundup, which will contain our summation of the biggest state policy developments and trends from this past year. Additionally, we encourage you to attend the…

Cecily McChalicher, REED Manager The REED Program Year 2011 Annual Report (released this week) extracts the underlying stories and themes from REED's prodigious pool of energy efficiency program data. If you're new to REED, you might be asking, so what does this all mean? Well, remember that trite cliché that ever so wisely advises us to compare apples to apples? That saying…