Energize New York -- Residential Energy Efficiency Market Transformation in New York
Energize New York (ENY) is focused on addressing known barriers to widespread energy efficiency (EE) adoption by property owners. In simple terms ENY works to; 1) increase homeowner trust by using known and trusted community leaders to communicate their own positive experiences with EE and ENY, 2) reduce friction points by integrating support staff and creative use of technology that ease a homeowner’s way forward through the EE upgrade process, 3) increase homeowner knowledge and trust of specific EE benefits through access to the ENY energy coach, 4) provide information on available financing options that show benefits (e.g. positive cash flow), and 5) provide tools and mechanisms that give homeowners greater comfort in evaluating and selecting the right contractor. These five fundamental program aspects are supported by a hyper-local communications and outreach model and a “lead by example” philosophy that requires community leaders to step forward and model energy efficiency behavior by example. In the communities where the program has successfully engaged local leadership and “trusted community sources” there has been a significant increase in the uptake of energy efficiency work. Quantitatively this growth translated into an increase of 240% in completed Home Performance projects from the two year pre-pilot period (2009-10) to the two year post-pilot period (2012-13). Additionally, the program has seen measureable increases in the output and performance of contractors who are members of the Energize Comfort Corps, a program innovation which included a subset of the NYSERDA approved and Building Performance Institute accredited home performance contractors. This innovation, launched in the later stages of the pilot, is paired with the Energize Contractor Ratings Index (CRI) and helps frame the provider market by giving homeowners a mechanism to provide and receive feedback on their contractor experience. The data incorporated into the CRI along with the ECC selection process, has measurably reduced a key decision barrier (“which contractor should I use”) for homeowners engaged in the EE decision making process.
- Research Organization:
- Town of Bedford, MA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
- DOE Contract Number:
- EE0003800
- OSTI ID:
- 1116730
- Report Number(s):
- DOE-BEDFORD-0003800-1
- Resource Relation:
- Related Information: Team members: Mark Thielking, Mary Beth Kass, Lee Roberts, Leo Wiegman, Mike Gordon, Herb Oringel, Olivia Farr, Kathryn Hoenig, Ellen Conrad, Heather Flournoy, Elyssa Rothe, Lynn Rosoff, Kerry O’Neil, Patrice Hauptman, John Schott, Mark Wyman, Joe Del Sindaco, Lauren Brois, Bobby Veit, Robert Fischman, Kim Kowalski, Dan Killourhy, Heather Rae, Tyler Davis, Zach Gioia, Ethan Fuirst, Nancy Barletta, Ed Ritter, Flo Brodley, Frank Maricic, Victoria Gearity, Suzie Ross, Brian Kaminer, Andrew Weidmann, David Matsil, Dan Welsh, Janet Harckham, Dani Glaser, John Maddocks, Andrew Fischer, Nial Kelleher, Chris Roberts, Amy Rosmarin, Jeff Friesen, Ben Mailian, Simon Gruber, Northern Westchester Energy Action Consortium, Bedford 2020 Coalition, Town of Bedford
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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