By Michael Sciascia |
Energy storage technology is ready to transform the way we use, manage, and view electric energy. However, the question remains: are we prepared for it? Last year, the U.S. market saw an unprecedented expansion of 221 MW of deployed storage, up 243 percent from 2014. The first fiscal quarter of 2016 saw 18.3 MW of deployment, a 146 percent increase from Q1 2015, indicating that energy storage…
By Natalie Hildt Treat |
Electric air-source heat pumps (ASHPs/heat pumps) are an increasingly popular mode of delivering heating and cooling to buildings. Heat pumps are typically much more energy-efficient than older technologies such as hydronic boilers or resistance heating. They give users a great deal of control over their indoor comfort with zoned heating and cooling and have none of the health and safety…
By Brian Buckley |
With summer in full swing and the mercury rising almost as high as system loads, now is the perfect time for a brief review of the latest in energy efficiency policies and proceedings throughout the region. We’re closely monitoring New York’s CEAC processes, while also keeping an eye on key regulatory proceedings in Massachusetts, Maine, and Vermont with the potential for major…
By Claire Miziolek |
Energy efficiency is changing. For years, if not decades, lighting has been a reliable and relatively easy source of energy savings across sectors. The extremely cost-effective savings, coupled with the commodity nature of lighting, has rightfully earned its reputation as a “bread and butter” measure.
NEEP’s role as a market transformation organization is to move markets. Within the definition…
By Natalie Hildt Treat |
When my husband Tom and I decided to build our home in Salisbury, Massachusetts, we knew that a super-efficient, even “zero energy” home was the goal. We worked with Brightbuilt Home to design a modular, all-electric home that was modeled to use about as much energy as the 8.83 kW solar array generates over the course of a year. This November, it will have been two years since we moved into the…
By Elizabeth Titus |
The nutrition label for a banana that’s pictured below is a familiar example of standardization; these labels provide transparent reporting based on established testing. Our society trusts this information, and uses it routinely for cooking and comparison shopping.
If we look at energy efficiency as a virtual fruit salad –made up of various technologies and practices (“fruits”)…
By Claire Miziolek |
In the home automation space, innovations are abundant. Cool new gadgets and gizmos that simplify your life, provide an increased sense of security, and - as if an afterthought - help you save energy are popping up everywhere. While NEEP and other efficiency stakeholders have used the phrase Home Energy Management System (HEMS) to talk about products that can save energy within these ecosystems…
By John Balfe |
In the past four years, have states in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic region become more supportive of zerio energy policies and construction? What have those states done since NEEP first released it's Roadmap to Zero Net Energy Public Buildings report?
To answer these questions, NEEP recently released the Roadmap to Zero Energy Public Buildings: Progress Report (The Progress Report).
Back in…
By Natalie Hildt Treat |
Now that we’ve recovered from the Northeast Energy Efficiency Summit and 20th Anniversary Celebration held a few weeks back, NEEP staff have been taking stock of the big ideas and takeaways that percolated during our June 13-14 gathering at the Omni Mount Washington Resort in New Hampshire.
The Summit is always a fantastic opportunity to bring together policymakers, efficiency program…
By John Balfe |
With the lights dimmed and the stage set, CHPS was ready to make its return to the Bay State after a brief hiatus. With a recent training in Maynard, NE-CHPS took back its place at center stage.
Setting the Stage
Prior to 2014, Massachusetts had long been a pioneer and national leader in the construction of CHPS Verified schools. In fact, as of 2015 there were over 60 completed CHPS…