Efficiency First

Efficiency First’s Best Practice Working Group

Monthly Digest – August 2010

What our nine Best Practice working groups have been working on:

• Business Models

1. Developing two white papers
   1. i.      In-home protocol on how to up-sell
   2. ii.      Guidelines for effective business practices – How to run a business 201/301

• Finance and Incentives

1. Submitted PACE memo for state’s reallocating PACE funds – write alternatives for PACE
2. Developing a second finance and incentives webinar 
3. Respond to FHFA’s move to increase energy efficiency loan rates
4. Track national PACE legislation, pending legal challenges, and FHFA negotiations

• Labor and Industry

1. Creating synopses of stakeholder processes of energy efficiency retrofit programs nationwide
2. Developing definition list of program design terms

• Low-Income Weatherization

1. First call in two weeks – join the committee

• Manufacturers Council

1. First call earlier this month; creating liaisons between manufacturers and local and state chapters

• Marketing

1. Finalizing tri-fold brochure to be distributed to contractors in order to help them sell whole-house retrofits
2. Ongoing efforts to create greater presence on Wikipedia

• Multi-Family Homes

1. Developing white paper recommendations on multi-family home retrofits

• Real Estate

1. Submitted response to DOE’s Labeling RFI
2. Created position paper on home labeling
3. Working in conjunction with Finance and Incentives group on webinar
4. Developing green MLS document and real estate retrofit network
5. Work with local chapters to develop a connection to local real estate professionals to build political alliances and business referals

• Software and Technology

1. Finalizing software standards matrix XML
2. Developing a list of software out in the market and provide description of each

• Workforce Development

1. Developing workforce development roadshow workshops – deliver the workforce presentation that has been completed to have an EF member panel present locally
2. Future plans for workforce development white paper
3. Job search database – a Monster.com for home performance

We are working hard to develop our two new working groups – Low Income Weatherization and Multi-Family Homes – if you would like to join these groups or any of the nine working groups that we support, we’d love to have you on board.

For more information on Efficiency First’s Best Practice working groups, check out http://www.efficiencyfirst.org/take-action/best-practices/.

If you’d like to contribute, in one of our working groups, send an e-mail to info {at} efficiencyfirst.org