Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been tagged as “Energy Savings”
By Kristen Cheriegate: Senior Policy Analyst | Ms. Cheriegate navigates ICAST through the policy world to obtain real-world solutions, funding resources, and networks with potential partners to provide more services to low- and moderate-income households. ICAST’s mission never falters, and we continue to scale the delivery of green solutions to positively impact vulnerable households in low-income and disadvantaged communities (LIDACs). In …
Rapid market, regulatory, and policy evolutions are creating opportunities for utilities to coordinate with key stakeholders to identify and harness untapped methods of achieving their program goals. The U.S. is beginning to see a slow transition away from natural gas-based efficiency measures as electrification has emerged as a leading decarbonization strategy and a growing pathway for utility energy efficiency programs. …
Originally published in AESP’s Energy Intel Magazine – Q4 2023 Issue “Beneficial electrification” involves transitioning customers away from energy-inefficient and harmful appliances such as gas- and propane-based HVAC, water heaters, cook stoves, and clothes dryers (and even resistance electric systems), to better, high-efficiency, solutions such as heat pump HVAC and Water heaters and induction cook stoves. While this can reduce …
By Ravi Malhotra, Originally published in NH&RA Tax Credit Advisor, January 2024 The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) are providing the best business case ever, for “greening” multifamily affordable housing (MFAH). Between the massive amounts of new funding and the growing pressure to decarbonize your MFAH properties, “business as usual” designs or retrofit solutions are rapidly …
ICAST is pleased to announce that in September, it processed over 1,000 multifamily heat pump rebates for Rocky Mountain Power (RMP), thus setting a new monthly record. ICAST has managed RMP’s custom multifamily program in Utah since its launch in 2018, and this program is one of the nation’s most successful for electrification in multifamily properties. It covers the entire …
Heat pumps for space conditioning and water heating are an increasingly important part of ICAST’s efforts to deliver economic, environmental, and social benefits in the multifamily housing market. Heat pump HVAC systems provide heating and cooling, transferring heat from one area to another rather than generating heat. They can be several times more efficient than conventional space heating and cooling …
It is understandably challenging for cost-constrained multifamily affordable housing (MFAH) property owners and managers to spend their carefully budgeted dollars on unfamiliar green tech (e.g., heat pump-based HVAC) vs. familiar technologies with lower upfront costs. While “going green” can be expensive, traditional or “business as usual” retrofits have limited benefits. They may solve an immediate problem (e.g., addressing/replacing failed HVAC …
Case Study: Energy Retrofits in New Mexico By Mark Fogarty / NH&RA Issue: April 2023 Solar Panels Come with Home Improvements Residents at three public housing authority properties for Santa Fe County in New Mexico are happy to see solar panels installed on the roofs of their projects, as the arrays also come with 16 additional upgrades for the tenants. The …
By Ravi Malhotra / NH&RA Issue: April 2023 The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) provided the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) $3.2 billion for the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP). This is on top of the ongoing ~$1.6 billion allocation (the standard WAP allocation independent of the BIL money for WAP) over the next five years. The BIL funds allow for some …
Green Retrofits Signal the Future in Cities’ Push Towards Decarbonization By Abram Mamet / NH&RA April 2023 Green Retrofitting in Practice Well-considered and meaningfully executed retrofits have become increasingly important as communities across the country seek out effective climate resilience strategies. States like Massachusetts, New York, Illinois and Pennsylvania are at the forefront of that movement, having each enacted legislation or …