Efficiency First

The network of community colleges that provide training leading to the knowledge and skills required for the energy efficiency, retrofit, and other green industries extends across the U.S. and is growing fast. Community colleges in 41 states offer building efficiency analyst and other professional training that are BPI Affiliates and 90 more community colleges are [...]

Over the past two months, Efficiency First’s Finance and Incentives working group, along with other member companies has been working on developing a position paper outlining our recommendations to the recent HUD financing pilot program known as PowerSaver. This program comes at a time when energy bills are rising and the ability of homeowners to [...]

Efficiency First Chapters are looking to 2011 as a year to build on this past years efforts and continue to work hard for Home Performance industry growth. Here is the latest from some of the Efficiency First’s network of state and local chapters. For more information, visit www.efficiencyfirst.org/chapters. Arizona The Arizona chapter launched in late [...]

The tax credits known as 25C are extended through 2011, but at a significantly reduced value and with changes made to some of the qualifying equipment standards. The new tax credits begin on January 1, 2011 and last through December 31, 2011. The main difference is an eligible homeowner can claim 10% of the costs [...]

For Immediate Release: Contact:  Guillermo Meneses/ICLEI USA    (202) 445-1570- guillermo.meneses[at]iclei.org Nine Leading Cities and Counties Selected to Help Design Revolutionary Sustainability Performance Management Online Platform for STAR Atlanta, Boulder, Chattanooga, New York City, the District of Columbia, King County, Saint Louis, Des Moines, and Cranberry Township to Play Crucial Role in Developing the Online Platform for [...]

The Lawrence Berkley National Lab (LBNL) has just released a financing Policy brief on the creation of a pilot loan program for home energy improvements put together by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), planned for introduction in early 2011.The PowerSaver loan program is a new, energy-focused variant of the Title I [...]

California’s Green Economy: Summary of Survey Results- prepared by State of California Employment Development Department Labor Market Information Division. This survey has been completed in response to the 2008 enactment of the federal Green Jobs Act of 2007.   It was used primarily to understand the nature of the green economy, the number of green [...]

H.R.4853 Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 (Engrossed Amendment Senate – EAS) SEC. 710. CREDIT FOR NONBUSINESS ENERGY PROPERTY. (a) Extension- Section 25C(g)(2) is amended by striking `2010′ and inserting `2011′. (b) Return to Pre-ARRA Limitations and Standards- (1) IN GENERAL- Subsections (a) and (b) of section 25C are amended [...]

About 15 years ago, The Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (DOE) started an air leakage database to characterize energy use and other aspects of the US housing stock. Since then there has been a few revisions, and they are currently undergoing a major effort of the database to update blower door tests data, as well as [...]

Guest post from Christian Asdal of Get Green Remodeling. Christian is Chair of the San Diego Efficiency First Chapter. Very exciting things are happening with Efficiency First and Home Performance in San Diego. We launched the San Diego Chapter this past summer. A new Home Performance rebate program called Energy Upgrade California is getting going across [...]