Blogs

By Aditi Dalal With some states seeing the first hint of snow, residents and homeowners are bracing themselves for the seasonal increase of heating fuel and electricity usage during the winter. Northeast consumers use more oil and gas for heat than anywhere else in the country. Over the past five years, residents in Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Rhode Island alone have paid more to heat and power their homes than the rest of the nation. This year, residents can expect to see higher rates for utility bills across the board. The National Energy Assistance Directors’ Association expects the average cost of heating a ...

By Emily Silverman The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has introduced new rebate programs that make home performance upgrades accessible to low and moderate-income homeowners. There’s a lot of potential for contractors to grow their customer base by targeting these homeowners, but for many, it will require a shift in marketing strategy. Today, we’re going to talk about some actionable tips contractors can use to target low and middle-income homeowners. We covered this topic in depth in our webinar, Marketing to Low-to-Moderate Income Homeowners: Leveraging the Inflation Reduction Act , so make sure you check that out for the full picture. Reviewing ...

by Robert Keough Thanks to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the advanced energy industry is about to take off. With the stage set for rapid industry expansion, it’s vital to know what jobs will become available an d who will ha ve access to them. Thanks to a new analysis of jobs advertised and filled in the past year and a half, we now know, at a granular level, that advan ced energy growth offers job opportunities for workers with many different backgrounds – but could pose a challenge in filling the jobs needed to fulfill that growth. AEE partnered with The Burning Glass Institute, a nonprofit ...

by Carolyn Fortuna The state of Washington is taking heat pumps seriously. The state building code council has mandated that, starting in July of 2023, new home construction must use heat pumps for space and water heating. That means heat pumps will soon warm and cool every new house and apartment built in Washington state. That heat pump requirement for new construction is among the nation’s strongest. In 2021, Washington state legislated that emissions reductions of 45% must take place by 2030 and then of 95% by 2050, as compared with 1990 levels. To that end, the state has set goals to increase energy efficiency in its buildings by 70% by 2031. ...

The Residential Energy Network, Inc. ( RESNET ) and the Building Talent Foundation (BTF) announced a new collaboration to promote Home Energy Ratings System (HERS) careers, connect job-seekers with employers in the sector, and improve engagement and retention. A key component of the collaboration will be a RESNET-branded landing page on JobsToBuild.com , BTF’s career platfor m. Through this branded landing page, RESNET providers and rating companies will have no-cost access and priority job listings on the platform, allowing them to promote HERS careers and connect with qualified candidates. BTF’s team of experienced Engagement Managers will ...

by John Bohlmann Better indoor air quality means greater customer satisfaction. We breathe in approximately 2,000 gallons of air a day, and spend, on average, 90 percent of our time indoors. Given those two striking statistics, the quality of the air we breathe should be front and center when it comes to our health. A myriad of innovative solutions exists for improving indoor air quality (IAQ), however, and the federal government is squarely behind these new changes. Customers consider air filtration units and other clean air practices to be key reasons for visiting a business. The impact of indoor air quality on our health ...