Energy Circle : News & Trends

ReCircle: Passive Houses, Energy Audits, White Roofs, Google’s Energy Quest, and more!

Will — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 19:49:56 +0000

From Energy Circle:

Staying Positive, Taking Action.

In a guest post at Remodeling Magazine, Energy Circle founder and CEO Peter Troast discusses some of the internal troubles within the energy efficiency industry, and explains why, above all, we need to stay positive and keep up the good work.

Curated Links from the Web:

Don’t Forget About Home Star!

While much of the national energy discussion revolves around the disappointment about a comprehensive climate bill, let’s not forget about the small and impactful steps we can take now. Case in point: Home Star, the little bill that could. (From Treehugger)

Google Energy’s Big Green Power Purchase.

Google has officially entered the energy market, and will begin purchasing 114 megawatts from an Iowa wind farm later this month. (From Grist)

More on GE’s Home Energy Management Ventures.

GE has been ramping up its home energy management projects lately. Earth2Tech takes a look at its Nucleus energy management device, slated to be the brains behind GE’s energy smart home. (From Earth2Tech)

The South’s First Passive House.

The first Passive House in the American South demonstrates that real serious energy efficiency progress can be made even in the most difficult of climates. (Treehugger)

Global Energy Efficiency Challenge Launches.

Representatives from 24 governments met in Washington this week to come up with a comprehensive strategy for increasing energy efficiency around the globe. (From Mother Nature Network)

Energy Efficiency Could Save $41 Billion Per Year.

A new report from Pike Research suggests that upgrading our existing buildings could save, yes, $41 billion annually. Imaging what it could do for your home. (From CNET)

Curious About Home Energy Audits? Check Out This Video.

A new video on the Department of Energy website explains the what’s, why’s and how’s of the much celebrated home energy audit. (From DOE)

Around the Web: Energy Circle's Hand-Picked Links, Chosen Especially for Energy Efficiency Pros.

Will — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 19:14:41 +0000

From Energy Circle:

Staying Positive, Taking Action.

Curated Links from the Web:

How to Make Energy Programs Work Better.

Grist's David Roberts on the importance of marketing in the deployment of energy efficiency incentive programs. (From Grist)

Becoming a RESNET Certified Rater.

The folks at SLS Construction discuss the process and the rationale behind RESNET certification, and provide a slew of good resources for anyone interested in pursuing it. (From SLS Construction Blog)

One Air Barrier or Two?

As always, Martin Holladay of Green Building Advisor’s “Musings of an Energy Nerd” post is as reasoned and insightful as his conclusion, that “American homes don’t yet have a single air barrier; two barriers are a far off dream,” is sad. (From Green Building Advisor)

Top Ten Green Building Products of 2010.

Sustainable Industries Magazine’s 2010 list is big on energy efficiency, energy management and monitoring systems making a strong showing, along with a heat recovery ventilator that installs in-line with existing duct work. (From Green Building Elements)

Turn Off That Dehumidifier?

A dehumidifier can be a wonderful tool for removing unhealthy moisture from the home, as well as increasing the comfort of a hot and muggy house. Allison Bailes reports on a set of circumstances in which it does neither. (From Energy Vanguard)

Energy Retrofits Could Save $41 Billion Annually.

According to a new report from Pike Research, the need to retrofit our existing buildings is becoming increasingly clear. (From CNET)

First Passive House Retrofit in the Country!

This 1960’s California home is the first Passive House in the state, and the first Passive House retrofit in the country: a remarkable achievement that demonstrates how much can be done with what we’ve got. (From Jetson Green)

Purchases of U.S. Existing Homes On the Decline.

As tax incentives for first time home buyers run out, the housing market slouched for the second month in a row in June. The upside: the money-saving benefits of energy efficient homes will likely be an increasingly important factor in the troubled market. (From Bloomberg)

Featured Home Performance Blogger of the Week:

Sustainable Building Performance Inc.

This Sacramento based home performance company has a steady stream of high quality content, useful for pros and consumers alike. A sample of blog topics includes everything from ruminations on the future of PACE Financing, window screens for people who suffer from allergies, and ideas about how to retrofit suburbia.

Around the Web: Energy Circle's Hand-Picked Links, Chosen Especially for Energy Efficiency Pros.

Will — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 19:22:41 +0000

From Energy Circle:

On the Language of Saving Energy: In Defense of Energy Efficiency.

David Fenton recently gave a speech at the invitation of the DOE in which he lambasted the progressive energy community for poor marketing. While his intentions are all good; and, indeed, some of his claims very well-founded, we think the arc of his argument is counterproductive and, well, maybe just wrong.

4 Fresh Offline Marketing Ideas for Home Performance Professionals.

In our increasingly ‘word of mouth’ world, it’s important for home performance contractors to look beyond traditional forms of advertising. Here are 4 simple ideas for building trust, spreading your message, and increasing business in your community.

Curated Links from the Web:

The PACE Battle from a Different Perspective.

Will Clark, a multi-family real estate finance expert, and passionate renewable energy advocate, gives an even-handed view of the Fannie Freddie PACE issue.

PACE Problems Strangling Startups.

Holdups in PACE financing are bouncing off the backs of the larger home performance companies; but are proving to be an insufferable burden for the small businesses struggling to get off the ground. (From Earth2Tech)

Why We Need to Get it Right This Time.

Chris Cheatham, always insightful at Green Building Law Update, points out lessons we need to heed from the last great green building cycle in the 70’s, and why we mustn’t repeat the mistakes we made back then. (From Green Building Law Update)

“Our Ineptitude” in the Building Profession.

Michael Anschel is once again beside himself with frustration, wondering how we can successfully retrofit millions of homes for increased comfort, health and energy efficiency, when many “builders” can’t even get a window installation right. (From Remodeling Mag)

The PACE Struggle: Is it About States’ Rights?

Leah Edwards at Ecopreneurist discusses PACE’s life and death struggle, points out some further problems with the programs, and suggests that maybe the private sector could pick up where local and state governments are being forced by the Feds to leave off. (From Ecopreneurist)

Event: Why is the Low Hanging Fruit so High?

We all know that energy efficiency is the low hanging fruit of any energy strategy, yet it’s not being implemented at the scale it should be. This July 22nd event in Boston features a panel of experts including our own Peter Troast as well as Martin Flusberg, CEO of PowerHouse Dynamics, and will be well worth your time if you're in the area. (From Energy Saving Weekly)

Not Yet BPI Certified? Here’s What It’s All About.

Everblue, one of the nation’s largest training providers for BPI Certification, explains in this short video what the certification is all about, and how it can help your business. (From Everblue)

Featured Home Performance Blogger of the Week:

Allison A. Bailes III, PhD. at Energy Vanguard.

Allison is the kind of guy that everyone remembers from their PhD. program (yeah, right) who couldn't possibly be sleeping more than two hours a night with the amount of work he gets done. In addition to providing HERS training, he publishes a steady stream of high-level, insightful blog posts on everything from the technical (HVAC filter horror stories) to the philosophical (Is the HERS rater test too difficult?), and maintains an active presence on Twitter (@EnergyVanguard).

ReCircle: Avoiding Foreclosure with Energy Efficiency, GE's New Home Energy Monitor, Maine Leading in Weatherization Efforts, and more!

Will — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 18:43:09 +0000

From Energy Circle:

On the Language of Saving Energy: How About... Some.

Curated Links from the Web:

How Energy Efficiency is Helping Homeowners Avoid Foreclosure.

Yet another reason why the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac blockage of PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) financing programs across the country is so frustrating. (From Environmental News Network)

Maine Takes Weatherization Quantum Leap.

Energy Circle’s home state is becoming the first to tap into global carbon markets as a finance mechanism for weatherization and home energy efficiency retrofits. Yes, we’re proud of our state. (From Treehugger)

“The Energy Efficiency Cubicle.”

Jeremy Dommu, a business student and Climate Corps Fellow at PHH Arval, discusses the thrill of working in a thriving new industry, and why energy efficiency is “easy money and good business.” (From Reuters)

GE Ramping Up Efforts in Home Energy Monitoring.

The electronics giant announced two new products on Tuesday - a home energy monitoring system for smart metered homes and an electric car charging station - in tandem with an announcement of a $200 million award competition for smart grid ideas. (From CNET)

California’s Buildings Waste up to 80% of their Energy.

Commercial buildings in California account for 37% of the state’s energy consumption, and a new report suggests that as much as 80% of that energy is being wasted. The bright side? A huge opportunity for savings. (From Greener Buildings)

GigaOm’s Summer Reading List.

Summer reading recommendations from the folks at GigaOm, one of the web’s most vibrant blogs for everything clean tech and energy related. Some business stuff, some fun stuff. (From GigaOm)

Offbeat Energy Related Blogs We Love

For this week, two alternative energy related blogs that have an investment focus. Neither of these is "offbeat" within the energy investing community, but we thought they'd be interesting finds for Energy Circle readers. Don't consider these just for investors--there is much to learn from those whose primary view of energy is oriented towards the financial markets.

John Petersen's Blog on Seeking Alpha

John is an energy storage expert and focuses almost exclusively on the battery market. This is of particular interest in the home energy space given that our sector plays second fiddle in the storage category to electric vehicles. John's perspective is fascinating, and this week's post on resource constraints for key battery raw materials takes some of the luster off of electric car mania.

Chris Nelder's Get Real List

Chris is author of Profit from the Peak and Investing in Renewable Energy, and has been writing about energy and peak oil from a financial perspective for a decade. He also likes the Grateful Dead and has been known to hit the road with Phish.

ReCircle: Lighting Facts, PACE Problems, Energy Audits from an Airplane, and more!

Will — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 20:25:36 +0000

From Energy Circle:

How the Lighting Facts Label Will Change How We Shop for Light Bulbs.

A guest post from Cree Lighting’s Ginny Skalski, about the new lighting facts label that will make it easier to pick out the best energy efficient lighting.

Curated Links from the Web:

Arnold Schwarzenegger Not Happy about Feds’ Decision on PACE.

This week the Federal Housing Finance Agency declined support of the Property Assessed Clean Energy Financing (PACE) program; Arnold is not pleased. (From ARRA Track CA Blog)

Energy Efficiency: Twice the Impact of Renewables, Nuclear, and Clean Coal, Combined.

By 2020, 65% of worldwide carbon cuts in the energy sector will come from energy efficiency, according to the International Energy Agency. (From Treehugger)

Infrared Home Inspections, from an Airplane.

A new project in Belgium allows homeowners to check out their homes’ thermal performance online, by accessing a database of infrared images taken from a low-flying airplane. (From Infosthetics)

Energy Efficient Lighting Soon to Dominate Market.

By 2020, LEDs alone will represent 42% of the residential market for lighting, according to new research from Lux. (From Earth2Tech)

Joke: How Many DOE Workers Does it Take to Change a Lightbulb?

A recent audit found that DOE buildings continue to be illuminated by obsolete fluorescent tube lamps and incandescent bulbs. According to the New York Times, “The department does not have a clear explanation for why it is not following the money- and energy-saving advice that it urges others to take.” (From the New York Times)

DOE Completes Largest Zero Energy Building in U.S.

Although it may be having lightbulb troubles, the Department is leading by example in another area, having just completed the largest net-zero energy building in the country. (From Inhabitat)

ReCircle: Choosing Insulation, Air Conditioning Alternatives, PowerMeter Update, Castles, and more!

Will — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 20:35:44 +0000

From Energy Circle:

Is Saving Energy Good or Bad? And Why That's the Wrong Question to Ask.

Energy Circle's CTO Tom Harrison discusses some of the contentious issues in energy efficiency today, and concludes that, to resolve them, we need to stop thinking in qualitative absolutes.

Curated Links from the Web:

Why the Choice of Insulation Matters.

Turns out, it's not just about R-value. Embedded energy, GHG's, and potentially hazardous chemicals may be worth looking at when choosing which type of insulation to use. (From Treehugger)

The Full, Gory Truth about Insulation and Global Warming Impact.

If the prior article wasn't quite enough, this definitive piece on by Alex Wilson is excellent. (from Green Building Advisor.)

Heat Your Home With... Facebook Photos?

Susan Kraemer at CleanTechnica discusses the energy-producing potential of "cloud computing" data centers, and the long term potential of transforming waste heat into energy. (From CleanTechnica)

Five Effective DIY Alternatives to Running Your Air Conditioner.

Air conditioners are the Hummer of the summer. Here are 5 effective ways to cut back on the amount of time you need to use yours. (From LifeHacker)

Google PowerMeter to Pick Up Gas, Water?

PowerMeter is one of the most promising platforms for simple home energy monitoring; increasing its capabilities to include gas and water is yet another step on the road to a truly effective, affordable, whole-house monitoring system. (From CNET)

What We Can Learn from Building the (Really) Old Fashioned Way.

Builders in France construct a medieval castle, emphasizing the fact that, at one time, we were creating high performance, sustainable, durable buildings as a matter of process; and suggesting that we may have a thing or two to learn from doing things the old fashioned way. (From Treehugger)

Offbeat Energy Related Blogs We Love

We've been talking internally about our approach to the weekly Recircle, and realizing that many of the stories we feature tend to come from the same few high frequency publishing blogs. Some of the favorite blogs in our feed readers may not serve up the "perfect newsworthy post" for the curated links style of this feature but they're still wonderful, serial stories to follow, or are written by fascinating people. So, herewith, a new section in which we'll highlight a favorite blog or two each week. Let us know if you like this, and we're all ears for good suggestions.

GreenEarthEquities.

While the rest of us yap about the value of energy efficiency, Dave Robinson is quietly proving it in the private market. His Energy Wise House Flippers company buys foreclosed properties, installs complete energy retrofits, and sells them to first time home buyers. He open sources his plans and approaches and hopes to teach an "army of a thousand" how to make money the we he does. That's cool in and of itself, but what's better is that Dave is a dedicated blogger. (We met pounding away on our laptops in the lobby at the ACI conference.) I highly recommend reading him, as well as staying in touch with his Facebook page.

Big Green Loud Mouth.

BGLM is the serial story of a deep energy retrofit in progress in Western Massachusetts. The nameless (as far as we can tell) woman who writes it tells the story of how a young, working family without a ton of money is achieving a 70% plus energy use reduction. She occasionally veers into politics and outrage at BP, which is some of her best writing. There's also a companion blog at HERS30orBUST!.

Around the Web: Energy Circle's Hand-Picked Links, Chosen Especially for Energy Efficiency Pros.

Will — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 20:25:31 +0000

From Energy Circle:

Interpreting the Lowe's Investment in Recurve.

Lowe's substantial investment in CA-based startup Recurve signals good things for the scalability of home performance, but raises the question of whether commoditization of the industry will do more harm than good.

How to Get Up to Speed on Home Star (Cash for Caulkers) Before it Becomes Law.

Resources for studying up on the Home Star program making its way through Congress, which you can get a jump on by learning the details now. (The webinar discussed in this post has passed by, but we'll have a post up shortly highlighting some of the key points.)

Is Saving Energy Good or Bad? And Why That's the Wrong Question to Ask.

Energy Circle's CTO Tom Harrison discusses some of the contentious issues in energy efficiency today, and concludes that, to resolve them, we need to stop thinking in qualitative absolutes.

Curated Links from the Web:

The Majority of Americans are Ready to Change Their Energy Habits.

In a sign for the better, a new survey suggests that American are increasingly aware of the benefits of greater energy efficiency. (From Consumer Energy Report)

Business is Great in Green Home Building and Remodeling (and if not, it will be soon).

Michael Strong makes the case that business for green building and remodeling is up, and makes the case that contractors should get up to speed on their green credentials now if they don't want to miss the boat. (From Green Building Advisor)

Green Building Webinars for July 2010.

Mother Nature Network's Melissa Hincha-Ownby points the way to some of the month's coolest webinars—cool roofs, the LEED Green Associate certification and tax incentives among the topics. (From Mother Nature Network)

Nobelist Burton Richter on Why We Need a New Energy Strategy.

The Nobel Prize winning physicist pitches a new energy strategy to President Obama. Among his key points: "Energy saved is free, emits no greenhouse gases and does not pollute the Gulf of Mexico." (From the New York Times)

Should LEED be Renamed FEED?

Sarah Jazmine Fugate of the Green Light Distrikt makes the case that LEED is, by definition, something of an oxymoron, and suggests that real innovation will require real leadership. (From the Green Light Distrikt)

Why Current Green Building Certifications Are Too Complicated.

LEED, Energy Star, EarthCraft: each of the green building standards out there is beyond complex on its own, and each one is different. Is there a better option? (From Green Building Advisor)

4 Pitfalls of Spray Foam Insulation.

One of the more contentious building materials for energy efficiency, spray foam is highly effective in insulating and providing a tight air seal. But what are the downsides? (From Energy Vanguard)

Google PowerMeter to Pick Up Gas, Water?

Terrified about Energy Efficiency

Green Building guy Michael Anschel thinks we're all a bunch of lemmings, pushing energy efficiency without considering the impact of insulation on greenhouse gas emissions. In a tweet debate with Peter, he said "my point is that inaction might be the best thing for the bioshphere." (from Remodeling)

Interpreting the Lowe’s Investment in Recurve.

Peter Troast — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 17:54:00 +0000

Recurve, the San Francisco Bay Area Home Performance retrofit contractor (formerly called Sustainable Spaces), took in a new $8 million slug of venture investment last week, and the big news was that round was led by big box home improvement retailer, Lowe’s. (Prior investors RockPort Capital Partners and Shasta Ventures, who already have $6 million in the deal, were also in the round.) Lowe’s is not known for early stage investing and the official Recurve press release was decidedly shy of details, so many in the home performance industry are wondering: what does this mean?

Quick background. Recurve went to the VC markets to transform itself from a regional contractor to a national software supplier. Their promising tablet-based software package is intended to take some of the human factor and complexity out of energy auditing, expedite report delivery, and help close retrofit jobs on the day of the audit. The software was formally unveiled at the ACI National Conference in April, and has 10 beta customers according to Forbes, but isn’t expected to be fully released until year end. Other than saying that it will be sold on a Software as a Service (SaaS) basis, there is scant information on cost.

Because Recurve has a standing lead generation program within Lowe’s stores in select CA locations, many writing about the investment have assumed that this means Recurve will expand it’s contracting business nationally to be able to serve all 1700 Lowe’s locations.

We have a different take on why Lowe’s would be interested in Recurve and, frankly, some concerns about the implications of this bold move by a big box retailer into the home performance arena:

A national expansion of Recurve’s contracting business is highly unlikely.

The GreenBeat blog speculates that this means that the in store marketing program that Recurve has had in Lowe’s San Francisco Bay Area stores will now be expanded to 1700 big box locations nationwide. We think this is off the mark. Though Lowe’s is different, the VC’s driving the Recurve ship are not especially interested in the fee for service contracting business, except to the extent that it gives the company brand credibility as they roll out their software. There is no sign of any hiring outside the Bay Area. And though $8 million isn’t chump change, it’s nowhere near enough to expand a home performance business on a national scale, even if they were going to do so with a more leveraged approach such as franchising.

Good news for the Recurve software.

Like most ambitious software development efforts, Recurve’s has taken much longer than anticipated and has experienced substantial cost overruns. There was significant disappointment at the the big launch at ACI in April when the marketplace learned they couldn’t buy the product until year end. Rumors spread that Recurve had run through their first round of investment capital, and with a substantial new overhead was at risk of running out of money. The new slug of dough from Lowe’s and the others relieves some of this worry.

It validates the product opportunity in Home Performance.

Research reports, such as Pike’s Energy Efficient Homes study, have predicted substantial growth in energy efficient equipment, and now one of the two big dogs of home improvement retail has validated that research. In the end, one particular objective of Lowe’s trumps all others--to sell products. And their interest is primarily in big tickets such as appliances (their #1 selling category), windows and the like. We think it is a fair bet that you can expect new product purchase recommendations to become part of the Recurve software package. This could be a great thing for encouraging upgrades to Energy Star appliances, but raises questions about whether users of the Recurve software will share in the upside of these purchases, and also whether the algorithms can remain unbiased to the low material/high labor cost actions that are most often the more cost effective solutions to a home’s energy efficiency. A brand challenge for Recurve will be making the thousands of independent home performance contractors that will be critical to that product’s success feel comfortable that the software isn’t a trojan horse for Lowe’s appliance sales or whatever other referral monetization schemes may be next.

Reselling the Recurve Software.

Beyond customized recommendations that favor Lowe’s products, what else does Lowe see in the software? The claim Recurve makes about their product is that it enables a one stop, simplified energy audit--all the data collection, analysis, cost estimating and delivery to the homeowner can be done on site a just a few hours. In theory, this lessens the need for individual expertise by the auditor so that the audit process becomes more of a data collection exercise, leaving the software to determine the specific retrofit requirements. This fits perfectly with the Lowe’s approved installer base. Lowe’s installers are all independent contractors, and most who participate recognize that it’s a deal with the devil. The big boxes generate lots of jobs, but with the store generating the lead taking upwards of a 40% margin on the project, it is most often very unprofitable work for the contractor. As a result, big box installers tend not to be the highest quality contractors in the market. We expect that Lowe’s will mandate use of Recurve software by their installers, take a share in the licensing margin, and use the tool to start expanding the auditing and home performance offerings within their store. The big question, of course, will be whether a quality experience can be maintained as home performance rolls out to the category of hungry (some say desperate), low margin contractors that have been forced by the economy to align with big boxes. The level of customer interaction required to install a dishwasher is a far cry from what's required during an energy audit.

The commoditization of Home Performance marches on.

While big box involvement in home performance is probably inevitable, the oversimplification of the field is a worrisome trend. In the name of speed and scale (both laudable and critical objectives for residential energy efficiency), the Lowes/Recurve relationship is latest attempt to bring home performance to the masses. Inherent in that simplification, however, is the inevitable commoditization of these services. Big box retailers are the masters of this universe--their shear scale mandates that they can only sell those products that have achieved mass market volume and price maturity (which very often means they are not the best products available). The tragic CFL price race to the bottom, with Home Despot and Lowes at the fore, led to the ubiquity of poorly performing lighting, and a tarnish on energy efficient lighting that we can only hope they won’t screw up twice with LED’s. Let’s hope we don’t make similar mistakes pushing weak insulation materials (big boxes inherently orient towards productized batt styles), low cost but hard to program thermostats, and showerheads that are as low comfort as they are low flow.

Big boxes as lead generation sources.

Setting aside for a second exactly how a job might flow and to whom, aren’t the big boxes the perfect place to be exposing homeowners to the efficiency opportunity? With knowledge of the field so low now, cost of customer acquisition remains the biggest challenge in the home performance business. All the majors--GreenHomes America, MASCO’s WellHome division and Recurve--have been public about the challenge of getting COA down from current levels of $250 to $500. On its surface, it makes sense to expose the opportunity within home improvement stores. But the economics are harder to comprehend. If the goal is to reduce COA below $250 to $500, and even a good home performance contract is typically only $7500 to $10,000, a commission in the 5% range is not very attractive revenue. This, we think, exposes the fact that the big boxes only approach is to control the leads and guide them to their installer networks.

Lowe’s is Betting on HomeStar.

The other factor looming in all this is Home Star, and specifically the rebate aggregator part of the legislation, which sets up a system of private middlemen that process the rebates so homeowners aren’t out of pocket prior to reimbursement. This is an inherently complicated system, requires sophisticated backend processing capability as well as financial resources, and has been widely critiqued as favoring the big boxes. Clearly the ability to buy your Silver Star products or services directly from a store that processes the rebates on site is a big advantage.

All told, while Lowe's interest in the home performance industry demonstrates the economic feasibility of scaling the industry to the point where it needs to be, there's a danger that the big-box-style commoditization of home performance may, by definition, jeopardize the industry's primary objective - which is to improve the quality of our country's buildings. What do YOU think?

How to Get Up to Speed on Home Star (Cash for Caulkers) Before it Becomes Law.

Will — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 16:18:02 +0000

The proposed Home Star "Cash for Caulkers" program is making its way through the Senate. It's recently gained support from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, and has up to 20 co-sponsors (Jim Webb jumped on board last week), with enthusiastic supporters on both sides of the aisle and champions both on Wall Street and Main Street.

We're thrilled to see this sort of enthusiasm. The program promises to be an enormous boon for the construction and manufacturing industries, for homeowners on tight budgets, and for the cause of energy efficiency - Home Star may be just what EE needs to break its way into the mainstream.

With that in mind, it's important for home performance contractors and energy efficiency professionals to start wrapping their heads around the complexities of the program NOW, in order to be well prepared for a potential boom in business when the program becomes law.

Two sources recently became available to help you do so, now. First of all, Houston Neal's Definitive Guide to the Home Star Energy Retrofit Act of 2010 is a plain language, easily comprehensible guide complete with all the information you'll need to know. Eye-friendly tables break down the rebate amounts available for each eligible home upgrade and the specific requirements for each upgrade, additional financing resources are listed as well, and additional questions have been answered by Houston in a comment stream about a mile long. Check it out.

Furthermore, Efficiency First has a webinar called "Financing Resources for Home Performance Contractors: Getting Ready for the HOME STAR Gold Rush" that will take place on Wednesday, June 30 (that's tomorrow) at 2pm Eastern time, that will undoubtedly be worth your time. Unfortunately, the webinar does require that you become a member of Efficiency First; but for an energy efficiency business getting off the ground, that may not be a terrible idea: the Efficiency First team is informed, helpful, dedicated to the cause, and they spend a good amount of time in D.C., so they're always up to speed on the latest legislative gossip.

We highly recommend both resources. Remember, the best way to give your business a leg up when Home Star becomes law is to start studying up now.

ReCircle: Echo Boomers, Energy Retrofits, Light Bulb Labels, Tony Hayward, and more!

Will — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 17:52:29 +0000

From Energy Circle:

What the Oil Spill Might Mean for Echo Boomers and Energy Efficiency.

Energy Circle's newest team member, 19 year old intern Margaret Myers, looks at her (and my) generation's attitude toward resource consumption and energy efficiency in light of the Great Gulf Oil Disaster.

Curated Links from the Web:

Retrofit, Baby, Retrofit!

Efficiency First looks at the relative cost of cleaning up the disastrous BP spill vs. the cost to retrofit homes for energy efficiency, using a stunning infographic from EnergySavvy.com. The winner? You guessed it. (From Efficiency First)

New Mandate for Light Bulb Labels.

Ever wonder how efficient that light bulb you're looking at is, compared to, say, the one next to it? With the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's announcement of a new mandatory label, now you'll be able to tell. (From EcoGeek)

Energy Monitoring: Why the PowerHouse Dynamics eMonitor Stands Out.

GreenTech Media takes a look at the PowerHouse Dynamics eMonitor, the home energy management product we use, and carry in the Energy Circle Store, and takes a look at how circuit by circuit monitoring will change the home energy monitor market. (From Greentech Media)

More Good Coverage and Commentary on the Oil Spill.

Shea Gunther at Mother Nature Network lists his favorite recent BP commentary. A standout is a spin on the old WWII-Era poster: "When you ride alone, you ride with Tony Hayward." (From Mother Nature Network)

Turn Off Those Ceiling Fans?

While ceiling fans are often touted as a low cost, energy saving alternative to air conditioners (by us, too), it's important to remember that, if not used properly, they can still waste energy. The solution, thankfully, is simple: turn them off when you're not around.(From Energy Vanguard)

Does a High Performance Energy Efficient Home Have to Look Weird?

Short answer: Nope. Energy Vanguard's Allison Bailes takes a look at how modern, high performance building concepts can be applied to traditional architectural design, debunking a widespread (and, let's face it, ridiculous) myth. (From Energy Vanguard)