A day-long Home Performance workshop will be presented on January 28 just before AESP's National Energy Services Conference (NESC) in Clearwater Beach, Florida.  "Getting Beyond Home Energy Audits: Strategies that Motivate Homeowners to Embrace Energy Efficiency and Demand Response Programs" will be co-presented by Katherine Johnson and Ed Thomas of Market Development Group. 

 

Homeowners are a critical target market whose actions can generate long-term savings for energy efficiency and demand response programs. This workshop will describe the ways in which utilities and energy organizations have been able to reach this market through a comprehensive program approach.  The session will open with remarks by Lani Macrae of the U.S Department of Energy and conclude with insight from Chandler Von Schrader of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 

Home Performance is a prominent topic elsewhere on the Conference agenda as well.  A panel presentation entitled

"Home Performance with Energy Star® - A Comparison of Implementation Strategies" will be presented on January 30.  Panel presenters will be:

-- Chandler Von Schrader, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

-- James Quirk, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority

-- Phillip A. Austen, Long Island Power Authority (invited)

The moderator will be Ed Thomas, Market Development Group.

 

Home Performance with ENERGY STAR®  is an existing home energy efficiency service program initiative developed through the coordination of three  government  agencies: EPA, DOE and HUD.  Rather  than  labeling  a particular product or building, the  program focuses  on  a  comprehensive  "home  performance contracting" service. The effort emphasizes consumer education, value, and one-stop problem solving.

While  the  broad  program goal is saving energy, its market-based approach and  message  emphasizes  a  variety  of  customer needs including comfort, durability,  health,  and  safety.  It also encourages the development of a skilled  contractor  infrastructure  that  has an economic self-interest in providing  and  promoting  comprehensive,  building  science-based retrofit services.

Both the workshop and panel presentation are modeled after a highly successful 2007 AESP Brown Bag Seminar and a workshop presented adjacent to the 2007 AESP Technology Symposium in Long Island.  All 2008 workshop and session attendees will receive a CD of a Home Performance Industry Compendium published by Market Development Group in 2007 and available online at www.hpwes.org.  This Compendium includes:  Program Overview; National Sponsor profiles; 20 Program Partner Profiles; 8 Industry Ally Profiles; and Bibliography of published papers, presentations and research studies.

AESP Conference Agenda

Two papers will be presented at the upcoming AESP Conference that explore how best to develop marketing communication materials for energy efficiency.  "Developing Marketing Communications Strategies that Motivate Homeowners To Embrace Energy Efficiency Programs" is a paper authored by Ed Thomas of Market Development Group with Chandler Von Schrader, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Andrew Fisk, New York State Research and Development Authority; Greg Thomas, Performance Systems Development,; and Katherine Johnson of Market Development Group.

The paper explores marketing communications tactics that innovative program designers are implementing to: leverage the latest program evaluation research findings on non-energy benefits; leverage channel partners such as remodelers, HVAC installers, plumbers and realtors; and, integrate "carbon footprint" and other community value messages in non-traditional ways.

Katherine Johnson is also a co-author on a paper authored  by Kevin Cooney of Summit Blue Consulting with Bill LeBlanc, Boulder Energy Group entitled: "Why No One Signed Up After You Sent out Your Brochure: Insights into Exemplary Marketing Practices to Increase Energy Efficiency Program Participation."  The paper provides insights into effective energy efficiency program marketing strategies that could be deployed by a regional power provider to increase the uptake of program offerings. Key questions to be covered include: how well were program goals defined; was the target audience well defined; is it an appropriate target for the goals of the program; and much more. 

Both papers will be presented by the authors in a panel presentation on January 31 moderated by Tom DuBos of Good Cents at AESP's National Energy Services Conference in Clearwater Beach.

(by Mark P. Mills)  Live in an average-sized house? Took a vacation at a typical resort? Attending college in one of the newer dorms? Got lucky and bought a vacation home? In energy terms, some people would have just one word for any of the above: Oink.  Modern buildings are energy hogs. The function of modern homes, hotels, dorms--even some offices--has ballooned beyond the basic utility of shelter, to providing plenty of sporty features. America embraces the "sport utility building."

The result? The buildings where we live, work and vacation consume almost 40% of the nation's energy--about twice that of all the cars on the road. Consequently, this should be happy hunting grounds to find ways to save energy and money and collaterally invest in the technologies and companies that do both. It also presents some targets of political interest.

In the now ever-present debates over energy policies, pressure for tougher automotive fuel efficiency standards has elicited an intriguing response from the creative Rep. Dingell, D-Mich., Detroit-rooted chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The Congressman has proposed to give equitable legislative treatment to the energy consumed by McMansions. To get everyone's attention, he floated the idea of eliminating the mortgage tax deduction on bigger, energy-hogging homes.

Think of it as a Sport Utility Building tax. Clever. Setting aside the political maneuverings here, Dingell is on to something in the calculus of energy. To reveal the Congressman's insight, it's not especially useful to talk in billions of barrels and BTUs, none of which has much meaning to most of us. The much-maligned SUV may serve as a better unit of measure to frame the energy and political dynamic here. Let's define the annual energy used by a Schwarzenegger-class SUV as equal to, "one SUV."

Click the link below for the full article text on forbes.com.  Excerpted with permission from the author.