By Ken Wu |
In the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic region, multifamily buildings account for up to 39 percent of total housing, almost 10 percent above the national average. Multifamily buildings are more likely to house low-income residents, with over 19 million low-income households residing in them. Multifamily buildings are unique because they possess characteristics of both residential and commercial…
By Tara McElhinney |
You’ve heard all about heat pumps – they're in the news more than ever lately and are being installed in more homes than ever. In fact, nine states (including six states in NEEP’s region) recently set ambitious goals for 90 percent of all residential heating, air conditioning and water heating sales to be heat pumps by 2040. To meet these goals, states must make…
By Michael Anderson |
Monumental. Seismic. A once- in-a-lifetime opportunity.The list of metaphors to describe the anticipated outcomes of recent federal investments in the multifamily housing sector has grown ever longer over the past two years. Provisions within the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) aimed at modernizing apartment dwellings in the United States constitute an…
By Kelly O'Connell |
Who doesn't like winning a prize? Recently, 45 communities across the country were the lucky winners of a prize through the Buildings UP program by the US Department of Energy (DOE). The Buildings Upgrade Prize (Buildings UP), through DOE’s Building Technologies Office (BTO), supports the adoption of community-based retrofit programs through cash prizes. The program is administered by the…
By Jeff Luoma |
States in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic have established ambitious goals to reduce carbon emissions. A large slice of the reduction pie is to heat buildings and provide hot water efficiently with limited to no use of fossil fuels. Heat pumps have the capacity to do this – even in Northeast winters. There are now hundreds of options for cold climate heat pumps. Heat pump units have outsold gas…
By Yiran He |
When designing long-running energy efficiency programs, state energy offices have an opportunity to meaningfully engage communities and labor groups early in the process. Meaningful engagement is beneficial for all stakeholders: programs will increase their reach towards all population segments, more households and businesses will benefit from upgraded buildings, and the work will be executed…
By Kelly O'Connell |
In the last few days of 2023, the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) published the state’s Climate Pollution Reduction Plan, the product of months of collaboration and public input.The plan builds on the Climate Solutions Now Act of 2022, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 60 percent from 2006 levels by 2031 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2040, by proposing over…
By Christopher McSween |
This blog was co-authored by NEEP fall intern Jimena Muzio.The need for a more energy efficient building sector has led to the adoption of increasingly stringent building codes. With this, the relevance of professions such as Code Enforcement Officials or Licenses and Inspection Officials will soar. However, there is skepticism regarding the availability of inspectors prepared to meet the…
By Maggie Molina |
Over the past two months, I have prioritized listening to our partners from Maine down to Maryland. I am energized by our talented staff and committed partners who are rising to the demands of this incredibly busy time in the energy efficiency field. Here are a few takeaways of what I have heard so far:
We Must Maximize Federal Funding for Long-Term Efficiency Gains
Major new federal funding…
By David Lis |
The landscape around heat pump performance specifications and data has evolved in recent years and in the process has raised new questions as to where specifications and performance reporting for heat pumps should go in the future. Let’s break down where we’ve been and look at where and how we can forge new frontiers.
NEEP’s regional market transformation initiative for heat pumps was launched…