Advanced Energy Presenting at ACEEE Energy Efficiency as a Resource Conference

Advanced Energy will be sharing a variety of its projects at the upcoming 2017 American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy National Conference on Energy Efficiency as a Resource. Two employees will be either presenting or co-presenting a total of three sessions, and other staff members are attending as well.

Jonathan Coulter, building science consultant, will be presenting with Mike Smith of the Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina. With 73 million existing homes across the United States, public and private organizations are looking for ways to improve energy efficiency in the residential market. This presentation will outline successful steps organizations can take to maximize customer satisfaction, energy savings and program participation in such efforts. The presenters will highlight the South Carolina Help My House program, a successful community whole-house residential energy efficiency program started in 2010, to discuss certain attributes that have made this program work. The session will specifically focus on the importance of appropriately characterizing homes to ensure they are high energy users, streamlining energy assessments, incorporating high-quality installations, and offering an appropriate cost to participation through methods like on-bill financing. With on-bill financing, the upfront cost of energy efficiency measures is deferred and paid back over time through residents’ electric bills.

Maria Mauceri, program specialist, will co-present with Lorrie Maggio of Duke Energy about the Helping Home Fund. The Helping Home Fund was a Duke Energy-sponsored program that launched in January 2015 and assisted low-income customers with managing their energy costs and promoting their health and safety. Specifically, it provided income-qualified homes with appliance replacement, weatherization, health and safety measures, and heating and cooling replacement and repair. The program then assessed a variety of non-energy-related outcomes, including comfort, well-being, economic benefits and safety. The presentation will walk through the Helping Home Fund, review its goals and success metrics, and summarize its results.

Maria will also be presenting a poster about Advanced Energy’s suite of affordable housing programs, including SystemVision, a new-construction program supporting low-income homeowners across North Carolina. Through key partnerships, clear program standards and quality processes, SystemVision has been able to certify nearly 5,000 new homes over the past 15 years, ensuring that they are healthy, safe, durable, comfortable and energy efficient. SystemVision also provides energy use and comfort guarantees to homeowners. More recently, the program has expanded to provide comprehensive retrofits to existing homes. During her poster session, Maria will provide more detail about how and why SystemVision and related programs have been so successful.

The ACEEE Energy Efficiency as a Resource conference runs from Oct. 30 through Nov. 1 in Litchfield Park, Arizona. Every other year, it brings together industry leaders to share ideas, discuss new developments, and learn from one another to explore ways to effectively design and deliver energy efficiency programs.

Both Jonathan’s and Maria’s presentations will be on Wednesday, Nov. 1. Jonathan’s can be heard in Session 3E: Public Power from 10:15-11:45 a.m., and Maria’s will be part of Session 4B: Low Income Energy Efficiency Programs from 1:30-3:15 p.m. Maria’s poster will be displayed on Tuesday, Oct. 31, from 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m.

See you in Arizona!