Market transformation, with respect to energy efficiency in products or buildings, involves continually advancing product baselines as new, more efficient products and technologies become available. The quicker we can advance this cycle, the better.
How do we, as a community of efficiency stakeholders, most effectively influence the shape and pace of this evolution? Is “market push” — such as regulation with mandatory minimum appliance standards — the best path to accelerated market transformation? Or is “market pull” — meaning more voluntary mechanisms such as efficiency program incentives — more appropriate? At NEEP, we believe the answer is usually a mixture of several strategies. Transforming markets involves utilizing several of the tools in the toolbox, and each specific technology may call on a different combination of tools.
NEEP’s Market Strategies team has been working to identify technology areas with significant amounts of potential energy savings through efficiency. Together with our partners in government, efficiency program administrators, peer organizations and other stakeholders, the team is currently working on:
- Residential Lighting
- Business and Consumer Electronics (BCE)
- Emerging Technologies — currently heat pump water heaters (HPWH) and ductless heating and cooling products
For each of these areas, the team is at varying stages of development of Regional Strategy Reports. These reports will ultimately lay out a series of recommended activities that, with coordinated execution, will foster accelerated market transformations. Reports have already been completed for
Residential Lighting and
Heat Pump Water Heaters, and we have begun work on reports for Business and Consumer Electronics and ductless heating and cooling.
Because the Strategy Reports involve a range of policy and programmatic approaches, a broad group of stakeholders must be involved and engaged. We believe policymakers can and should play an active role in moving products and buildings towards increasingly levels of efficiency. As such, NEEP will place an increased emphasis on engaging state policymakers as we develop and implement regional strategies across the technology areas. As a community of efficiency stakeholders, we all have a role to play in making that evolution happen as quickly as possible.
In order to keep the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic region a leader of energy efficiency, we must work together to effectively influence markets. The Market Strategies team will be, among other outreach activities, delivering a series of webinars this year to communicate the recommended strategy activities to the various efficiency stakeholders including policy makers.
In the following weeks, webinars will be held on Residential Lighting and HPWHs. Click on the dates to register for these upcoming opportunities to learn more about your potential role.
May 17 - Residential Lighting Strategy Webinar
May 23 - Heat Pump Water Heater Strategy Webinar
June 18 - Business and Consumer Electronics Workshop (in conjunction with NEEP’s Annual Summit)
Please contact
Claire Miziolek with questions regarding Lighting or BCE and
Dave Lis regarding HPWH efforts.
Appliance Standards Project Manager