Can We Afford to Ignore Embodied Carbon in our Buildings?

As we wrap up the year, it’s a perfect time to pause, reflect, and look ahead. This year, our community faced incredible uncertainty, with abrupt federal policy shifts and funding changes that left many programs and customer benefits hanging in the balance. Yet, despite these challenges, our region made strong commitments to energy efficiency as a critical resource for our region at a time of…

Before Thanksgiving, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) released the Straw Proposal for Triennium 3 of the State’s Energy Efficiency and Demand Response Programs. The Straw Proposal outlines a proposed plan for 2027-2029 energy efficiency programs. Here, we unpack a few highlights, including changes to the framework for program delivery, customer-centered program design, and a focus…

October in the Northeast often conjures up images of fall foliage, apple orchards, and, of course, a gathering of 200 heat pump enthusiasts at NEEP’s annual Heating Electrification Workshop (HEW2025).The theme of this year’s HEW2025 in Princeton, New Jersey – Collaborate to Scale – was woven into every learning session, sidebar conversation, and Dinner Club. As the energy industry navigates…

One-on-one energy coaching is an increasingly popular, low-cost way for municipalities to support community members with resources on purchasing a heat pump or heat pump water heater and finding a qualified contractor.  Heat pumps have numerous benefits, including lower energy usage and utility bills for many households, improved resident comfort, and indoor air quality.  Recent…

To retrofit millions of large buildings for improved energy performance, lower energy costs, and lower emissions, a growing list of coastal states and cities like DC, Boston, New York City, and Seattle are adopting building performance standards. At the same time, municipalities are weaving climate risk reduction strategies into their local zoning codes, bracing for a future of increasingly…

NEEP, together with the Rutgers Center for Urban Policy Research, is working with the NJ Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to support the NJ Zero Energy Buildings Roadmap (ZEB Roadmap) and facilitate the New Jersey Energy Code Collaborative (NJ ECC). The goal is to leverage codes as a key strategy to help affordably reach the state’s energy efficiency and GHG emission reduction goals.Energy codes…

We are reporting back on an initiative that we shared with you last fall, our Equitable Rental Property Electrification Learning Group. We just wrapped up its last session, bringing new connections to municipalities in New England and insights into how best to reach rental units with programs that deliver energy efficiency, heat pumps, and other strategies to lower bills and greenhouse gas…

New Hampshire residents and businesses face some of the highest energy costs in the nation. Many customers, including rural, remote, and low- to moderate-income customers, face uniquely high costs and persistent market barriers to energy efficiency upgrades that would help lower costs. The need in the state for additional and expanded ways of addressing energy affordability is significant,…

The cold climate air source heat pump (ccASHP) market continues to grow and evolve with major advances in both technology and adoption. But challenges persist, especially when it comes to ensuring systems are designed, sized, and operated for maximum performance.  Overcoming these hurdles to drive successful market transformation will require continued and strong collaboration across the…

What is the National Rural Codes Collaborative?   The National Rural Codes Collaborative (NRCC) is a group of Regional Energy Efficiency Organizations (REEOs), states, tribal communities and others who are working together to overcome geographic, financial, and outreach barriers to implementing and enforcing building energy codes and energy efficiency programs in rural areas. Participating states…