Resource Directory

The guidance documents and reports below have been used by Better Buildings Neighborhood Program partners to build their programs and guide them to early successes. The tools and calculators can be used by homeowners, business owners, and program designers to help determine energy savings and other benefits associated with energy efficiency upgrades.

Guidance Documents and Reports
Background
Program Evaluation
Program Updates and Lessons Learned
Program Design
Marketing and Driving Demand
Financing and Incentives
Workforce Development
Partnering with Utilities
Technical Resources

Tools and Calculators
For Homes
For Commercial Buildings
Emissions and Equivalency Calculators

Guidance Documents and Reports

Background

Recovery Through Retrofit Report
Released by Vice President Biden, the Middle Class Taskforce, and the Council on Environmental Quality in October 2009, this report identifies three key barriers (access to reliable information on home energy upgrades; access to affordable financing; and access to a skilled energy upgrade workforce) that have prevented a national market for home retrofits from growing, and presents recommendations to overcome these barriers.
Business Models Guide
The Better Buildings Neighborhood Program Business Models Guide serves as a resource for Better Buildings grant recipients, program administrators, and building contractors who are or may be interested in expanding their services into the residential energy efficiency market.

Program Evaluation

Preliminary Process and Market Evaluation: Better Buildings Neighborhood Program (December 2012)
The U.S. Department of Energy's Better Buildings Neighborhood Program's 41 grant partners are serving hundreds of communities across the country using a variety of program designs and innovative approaches to deliver energy efficiency upgrades. This report, prepared by Research Into Action and NMR Group Inc., presents the preliminary process and market evaluation of the Better Buildings Neighborhood Program. As part of the evaluation, the report identifies the factors most strongly correlated with the 10 most successful grantees' performance and offers recommendations to the Energy Department and grant recipients for the final program year.
See also: Report Appendices, Webcast Presentation.

Program Updates and Lessons Learned

An Update on the Better Buildings Neighborhood Program
Learn about the program's recent accomplishments, including lessons learned and best practices from program partners, in this Efficiency Cities Network webinar presentation from November 6, 2012.

Program Design

Residential Retrofit Program Design Guide
Developed by the Technical Assistance Program (TAP), this guide focuses on the key elements of building and maintaining a successful residential upgrade program. From assessing local opportunities and planning program goals to implementing a pilot and evaluating a program, Better Buildings Neighborhood Program partners can use this 43-page guide to explore the design characteristics of their new and existing energy efficiency upgrade programs.

Marketing and Driving Demand

Driving Demand for Home Energy Improvements
This groundbreaking report reveals how to motivate consumers to complete energy efficiency upgrades in their homes and businesses. The report explores the practical tips required to attract, engage, and motivate consumers to make energy efficiency improvements.
Why Bad Ads Happen to Good Causes—And How to Ensure They Won't Happen to Yours
Author Andy Goodman, a consultant helping foundations and progressive businesses reach people more effectively, outlines seven print advertising principles behind successful outreach campaigns, including new data from a 10-year Roper ASW study. From writing intriguing headlines to making emotional connections, learn how to increase public interest in your energy efficiency program.

Financing and Incentives

Clean Energy Finance Guide for Residential and Commercial Building Improvements (Third Edition)
The guide focuses on ways that state, local, and federal recipients of State Energy Program (SEP) and Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) awards can use funds received to create financing programs that support energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements.
DOE Solution Center: Financing for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
This website provides information about setting up energy efficiency financing programs and tools that can fund energy improvements for buildings. It also provides links to helpful resources, including financing overview content, webcasts, FAQs, case studies, and more.
Scaling Energy Efficiency in the Heart of the Residential Market: Increasing Middle America's Access to Capital for Energy Improvements
This policy brief discusses how energy efficiency programs are using credit enhancements, novel underwriting criteria, and innovative financing tools to increase the availability of financing for middle income households.
"Clean Energy Financing Programs: A Decision Resource for States and Communities" and Financing Program Decision Tool
These resources, developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), were designed for state and local governments interested in developing a financing program to support energy efficiency and clean energy improvements.

Workforce Development

DOE Workforce Guidelines for Home Energy Upgrades
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has developed voluntary national retrofit guidelines to foster the growth of a high-quality residential energy efficiency upgrade industry and a skilled and credentialed workforce.

Partnering with Utilities

These DOE Technical Assistance Program webcasts feature guidance on how to develop a reporting plan in collaboration with a utility, how to build and maintain successful utility-local government partnerships based on experience from programs across the country, and how to meet mutual needs to build and enhance energy efficiency programs:

Guidelines for Retrieving Customer Usage Data from Utilities, December 2010
(PDF 1.23 MB) (WMV 62 MB) (Text)
Partnering with Utilities Part 1 - Successful Partnerships and Lessons from the Field, September 2011
(PDF 500 KB) (WMV 68 MB) (Text)
Partnering with Utilities Part 2 - Advanced Topics for Local Governments in Creating Successful Partnerships with Utilities to Deliver Energy Efficiency Programs, November 2011
(PDF 2 MB) (WMV 65 MB) (Text)

Also see:

Collecting and Using Data To Improve the Program, May 2011
Dimitrios Laloudakis of Energize Phoenix presented information on how the program cultivated a strong relationship with the local utility company, at the What's Working in Residential Energy Efficiency Upgrade Programs workshop.

Technical Resources

Building America – Resources for Energy Efficient Homes
Library of resources on many energy performance techniques and technologies for a range of needs (e.g., historic homes, cold climates).
Energy Savers
Comprehensive website with information on saving energy and using renewable energy.
EPA's State and Local Climate and Energy Program
Provides technical assistance, analytical tools, and outreach support to state, local, and tribal governments related to clean energy policies and initiatives, including building energy efficiency. The program has developed several local strategy guides that provide an overview of project benefits, policy mechanisms, investments, key stakeholders, and other implementation considerations. Examples and case studies highlighting achievable results from programs implemented in communities across the United States are also incorporated. Local Strategy Guides related to building energy efficiency include:

Tools and Calculators

For Homes

Air Seal and Insulate with ENERGY STAR
Information, tools, and resource to help consumers seal and insulate their homes, including a DIY Guide to Sealing and Insulating with ENERGY STAR.
Assess Your Home with ENERGY STAR
Information, tools, and resources to help consumers assess their home's energy use, including the ENERGY STAR Home Advisor and the ENERGY STAR Home Energy Yardstick.
Building Energy Software
List of building energy software packages, some of which are available for free or a small fee.
ENERGY STAR Product Savings Calculators
These tools allow a consumer to determine energy savings and costs associated with replacing and/or installing various ENERGY STAR products.
Heat & Cool Efficiently with ENERGY STAR
Information, tools, and resources to help consumers increase the efficiency of their home's heating and cooling system.
Roof Savings Calculator
A tool developed as an industry-consensus roof savings calculator for residential and commercial buildings using whole-building energy simulations.

For Commercial Buildings

Building Energy Software
A list of building energy software packages, some of which are available for free or a small fee.
ENERGY STAR Building Upgrade Value Calculator
A tool to estimate the financial impact of proposed energy efficiency investments in office properties.
ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager
An interactive energy management tool that allows users to track and assess energy and water consumption across an entire portfolio of buildings.
ENERGY STAR Product Savings Calculators
These tools allow a business to determine energy savings and costs associated with replacing and/or installing various ENERGY STAR products.
Roof Savings Calculator
A tool developed as an industry-consensus roof savings calculator for commercial and residential buildings using whole-building energy simulations.

Emissions and Equivalency Calculators

Co-Benefits Risk Assessment (COBRA) Screening Model
A tool that estimates the air quality, human health, and related economic co-benefits (such as energy efficiency) of initiatives that reduce air emissions.
Emissions & Generation Resource Integrated Database (eGRID)
A tool that provides data on the environmental characteristics of almost all electric power generated in the United States, which can be used to estimate the emissions benefits of reducing energy consumption.
EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator
A calculator that converts greenhouse gas emissions into everyday equivalencies. It can be used to help clearly communicate information about energy savings initiatives aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
EPA Power Profiler
A tool that provides information on the air emissions attributable to the electricity used in a home or business during one year, along with a description of what these numbers mean in everyday terms and information on how to be more energy efficient or buy green power.