Vice President Biden Launches Home Energy Scoring Program

Vice President Biden joined U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Steven Chu to announce the launch of the Home Energy Score pilot program. The Home Energy Score will offer homeowners straightforward, reliable information about their homes' energy efficiency. A report provides consumers with a home energy score between 1 and 10, and shows them how their home compares to others in their region. The report also includes customized, cost-effective recommendations that will help to reduce their energy costs and improve the comfort of their homes.

DOE also released the Workforce Guidelines for Home Energy Upgrades, a comprehensive set of guidelines for workers in the residential energy efficiency industry. The guidelines will help develop and expand the skills of the workforce, ensuring the quality of the work performed, while laying the foundation for a more robust worker certification and training program nationwide. Vice President Biden made the announcements on November 9 at a Middle Class Task Force event, highlighting the progress that has been made on implementing the recommendations of last year's Recovery through Retrofit report.

A score of "10" represents a home with excellent energy performance, while a "1" represents a home that will benefit from major energy upgrades. Along with the score, the homeowner will receive a list of recommendations for home energy upgrades and other useful tips. For each specific improvement, the estimated utility bill savings, payback period, and greenhouse gas emission reductions are included. To see a sample copy of the Home Energy Score and get more information on how it is calculated, visit the Home Energy Score Web site.

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DOE Announces Report on Encouraging Homeowners to Invest in Energy Efficiency Improvements

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory recently released a report on how governments and industry can spark homeowners to seek out home energy improvements, or retrofits, which save energy and money for consumers.

Energy efficiency upgrades include energy saving improvements such as adding insulation, sealing air ducts, installing high-efficiency lighting, enhancing or replacing windows and doors, and replacing furnaces, heat pumps, water heaters, and air conditioners. Called "Driving Demand for Home Energy Improvements," this study will help ensure that the Department's investments in energy efficiency provide taxpayers with a high rate of return on their investments, deliver the maximum impact in local communities, and support a self-sustaining industry for residential energy efficiency improvements that will help grow America's economy and create new jobs.

The report concludes that success will require multifaceted approaches that acknowledge a deeper understanding of what motivates homeowners and what contractors are concerned about. Effective programs will tend to be tailored to the location, thoughtfully researched and piloted, personalized to the target audience, and more labor-intensive than simple incentive programs.

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Progress Energy Awarded $200 Million Grant for Smart Grid Projects

Progress Energy has accepted a $200 million U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) grant awarded as part of the 2009 federal stimulus package. The funds will be used by the company's two utilities for investments in equipment, systems, technologies and communication infrastructure that will add "intelligence" to the systems used to deliver electricity to more than 3.1 million households and businesses in the Carolinas and Florida.

In addition to providing the utilities real-time information about the state of their electric grids, the smart grid transition will enable customers to better understand and manage their energy use, and will provide for more efficient integration of renewable energy resources.

Supplementing the DOE grant, Progress Energy's two utilities will invest more than $300 million in smart grid projects.

SMART Energy Summit - Speakers & Advisory Board Announced

Smart Energy Summit: Engaging the Consumer, hosted by Parks Associates has announced the preliminary list of speakers and Advisory Board members.

Confirmed speakers:

Susan Cashen, VP, Marketing, Control4
Steve Cashman, Chief Strategy Officer, Exceptional Innovation
David Dollihite, VP, Direct Energy
David Friedman, Senior Director, Strategic Marketing, ZeroG Wireless, Inc.
Dan Gittleman, Chairman & CEO, OpenPeak
Vince Groff, Executive Director, Cox Communications
Jim Johnson, President & CEO, uControl
Thomas Pickral, Business Development, HAI

Current Smart Energy Summit Advisory Board participants:

Andres Carvallo, Chief Information Officer, Austin Energy
Steve Cashman, Chief Strategy Officer, Exceptional Innovation
Ken Wacks, Member, GridWise Architecture Council, U.S. Department of Energy
Brian Woods, CMO, OpenPeak

The event, January 25-27, 2010, in Austin, Tex., features a unique combination of market research, featuring results from Parks Associates' landmark Residential Energy Management service, and real-world expertise derived from Austin Energy's Smart Grid, the largest working Smart Grid in the U.S.

For more information, visit www.smartenergysummit2010.com.

Smart grid announcements signal next stage in smart energy projects and smart appliances

The recent lull in smart meter deployments and smart grid projects has come to an end with last Tuesday’s announcement from the Obama administration. The Department of Energy (DOE) announced over $3 billion in funding for smart grid projects, which will be matched by private-sector funding to push the total amount of investment in smart grid project over $8 billion.

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