The NEWS: DOE to Provide $7mil to 24 States to Update Energy Codes

If you've not seen this article from The NEWS, you need to. ARRA (the stimulus bill) provided the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) with funds to use as a carrot and stick to states to adopt and enforce more stringent building energy codes (IECC for residential, ASHRAE 90.1 for commercial). For many states, and now 24 more, the time to debate whether the more stringent energy codes are reasonable, attainable, or justified has passed, and now it's up to our industry to figure out how to live with them (and not allow another California Title 24-ish disaster to occur). If you're not closely tied into your state(s)' energy offices, code officials, etc., you had better find a way to do so quickly...especially in these 24 states.

22 Building Trades Leaders Make Late Push for 25c Extension

HARDI and 21 other leading organizations representing manufacturers, distributors, contractors, small businessess, state officials, and energy efficiency interests sent a letter today to Senate leadership urging the full extension of the "25c" tax credit set to expire at the end of the month. 25c provides homeowners with access to a credit up to $1,500 for qualifying energy efficiency improvements, and has been essential to HARDI distributors' modest growth in 2010.

Currently the Senate is debating a tax bill which includes only a one-year extension after a slashing of the credit amount, and HARDI has concerns that the severely paired down extension will provide just extremely limited sales and employment benefit to the HVAC industry. We have little time left to try to get a full extension passed by the Senate. Go to www.savehvacjobs.com today to do your part to help!

Is PA the New Model for Financing Energy Efficiency?

We hope so. This market-based consumer finance program based on a concept HARDI has been promoting to states and utilities over the last year is not only sustainable, but also a highly efficient use of energy efficiency program dollars. Other states should follow PA's lead and address the real barrier to residential energy efficiency deep retrofits: today's lack of affordable consumer financing.

HARDI Calls on House to Pass Improved Home Star Bill

HARDI sent this letter to all House of Representatives’ offices last night urging passage of an amended H.R. 5019, The Home Star Retrofit Act of 2010. Earlier this week HARDI had circulated throughout the House two significant concerns with the legislation which the association believe unnecessarily restricted contractor access to Home Star’s $6 billion in residential energy efficiency retrofit funding. HARDI was able to work with key members of Congress to get an amendment to the bill included in a package of amendments that will be voted on today along with the bill in its entirety. The primary amendment presented by Congresswoman Herseth-Sandlin of South Dakota will require the U.S. Department of Energy to review and approve alternative proposals to BPI Accreditation to enable qualified contractors to offer Gold Star, home performance retrofits. Should this important legislation pass the House today, the bill would move to the Senate where HARDI is confident it can continue to work with key stakeholders and legislators to iron out minor remaining concerns.

More From SC's Appliance Rebate Program: Over 2,000 Heat Pumps Sold!!

Here's the official announcement from South Carolina outlining how the HVAC industry was able to exhaust the program's funds in just 30 hours by selling over 4,000 HVAC and water heating products...and all this while there's still over $1 mil available for white goods. Once again our industry proves how fast we can mobilize to save energy.

Told You States: HVAC Was the Way to Go

Thanks to ACCA's Kevin Holland for finding this article outlining how HVAC contractors have been far more successful than white good retailers so far in implementing South Carolina's Appliance Rebate Program. Many states told HARDI they really wanted to focus their programs on high-efficiency HVAC systems but they didn't know how they'd administer the program and were unsure how quickly professionally-installed products could be deployed. We were able to convince a few states to give it a shot and those states that listened look to be reaping the benefits!

Alabama Votes to Update State Energy Code

The Alabama House has unanimously passed a bill that would upgrade the state’s residential energy codes to comply with federal energy and building guidelines. The bill requires the Alabama Energy and Residential Codes to adhere to the 2006 edition of the International Energy Conservation Code, replacing the 1993 energy policy that the codes follow currently. The bill awaits the signature of Governor Bob Riley to become law.
Source: Birmingham Weekly

Texas Announces $6mil for Energy Sector Training Centers

The State Energy Conservation Office (SECO) Stimulus Program will provide up to $6 million dollars in federal funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) to ensure that Texas has the skilled workforce needed to obtain employment and meet the growing demands in the energy efficiency and renewable energy industries. Click here for Request for Applications information.

Free Webinar on Building Energy Code Adoption and Enforcement

The National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) is hosting a free webinar on building energy code adoption and enforcement, Friday, February 26 from 1:00 - 3:30 p.m. ET. Here are complete details and access information. There are significant financial and policy incentives for states to adopt and enforce much more stringent building energy codes that must affect HVACR systems so a free program delivered by a major driver of these code advancements is a rare and important opportunity.

State Appliance Rebate Programs Moving Quickly

In response to a letter sent to all state energy offices yesterday offering to help drive and promote HVAC product rebates as part of State Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Programs (SEEARPs), HARDI has received a lot of information from various states about rebate programs about to launch, and some that have already launched. HARDI members are encouraged to visit and track www.hardinet.org/seearp for the latest news and your state's program details and effective dates. Many states are planning advanced webinars to rollout the details of their programs to stakeholders so HARDI will be issuing state-specific alerts as we get more information. In the meantime, track www.hardinet.org/seearp for realtime updates on each state program.

HARDI to Provide SEEARP Guide and Resource for Members

Over 40 U.S. states have had their State Energy Efficiency Appliance Rebate Programs approved and the rest are expected to follow suit by the end of January. SEEARPs are funded by a $300 mil Department of Energy ARRA appropriation with which states can offer rebates to residents who purchase Energy Star or better appliances. HARDI is isolating those states that have chosen to include HVAC products in their rebate programs, and will be providing updates on those and other states as more plans are approved or details are released. This resource will be made available to HARDI distributor members in early January because the HVAC industry will need to be ready to quickly mobilize to effectively compete with retail products for these first-come, first-served rebate funds in most states.

NY Approves Property Assessments for Solar and Energy Efficiency

The New York legislature passed a law authorizing municipal loan programs for renewable and energy efficiency improvements to homes and businesses. The measure allows municipalities to use Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing. Under PACE, cities or counties set up special clean energy finance districts capable of issuing low-interest bonds to participants. The bonds are used to cover the costs of renewable energy and efficiency improvements on private property, and participants pay the loans back through a 20-year assessment on their property taxes.

PACE programs are entirely voluntary. There are no requirements for municipalities to set them up for homeowners to take out loans from the programs. They are now allowed by state law in California, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, Maryland, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin

Recently, DOE announced $454 million in Recovery Act funds to help set up programs such as PACE. For more information, read the New York governor's press release (http://www.ny.gov/governor/press/press_1116091.html), and the DOE Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program application (http://www.eecbg.energy.gov/about/competitive_grants.html).

State Appliance Rebate Programs Approved

The DOE recently awarded $300 mil to each state for an Energy Star Appliance Rebate Program distributed on a population-weighted basis. State plans for this program, which HARDI helped several states with for HVAC products, were due in October then DOE was scheduled to start distributing funds on November 30. As of December 7th, 36 states' plans had been approved and the rest are expected to be completed soon. Courtesy of this ACCA Hot Air blog post, equipment distributors can find a current list of all approved state plans on DOE's website here. Not all states included HVAC products in their plans, but hopefully this program will increase the number of states that maintain annual appliance rebate programs that could include HVAC products. For those states that do include HVAC products, the money is first-come, first-served so it will be extremely important for HARDI distributors to know their state plans quickly, and immediately begin educating contractor customers on selling and obtaining the rebates for their residential customers.

And Here is Why Home Performance w/ Energy Star Will be Discussed in Orlando

The US EPA released a report detailing the importance of home retrofits for reducing energy consumption, utility costs, and greeenhouse gas emissions, largely focused around the Home Performance with Energy Star program. Recognizing this whole-home trend, HARDI's HVAC Systems & Equipment Council and the Sustainable Building Committee are both slated to discuss different aspects of the Home Performance program during their upcoming meetings at the Annual Conference next week in Orlando.

HARDI Hosts Ohio Energy Official

The lead staffer for the Ohio Energy Office's State Energy Efficiency Appliance Rebate Program (SEEARP) came to HARDI's headquarters yesterday to meet with staff and two HARDI distributors to discuss the state's anticipated Energy Star appliance rebate program. The state had decided not to include HVAC products in their $11 mil. program, but agreed to reconsider that decision as a result of our meeting. Ohio will include Energy Star water heaters and fielded a variety of suggestions for maximizing that program. The rebate program will be finalize by the end of the year and launched President's Day Weekend 2010. Ohio agreed to send any finalized details of the program to HARDI as soon as possible so we can begin immediate education and awareness among Ohio distributor members, so look for more information possibly as early as late November, early December. It will be essential for our industry to be ready to hit the ground running on the first day the program is open since we'll be directly competing with major retailers and the white goods industry for these finite rebate dollars.

And This is Why We Talk So Much About State Energy Offices and Utility Relations

This article will be everywhere at the upcoming Annual Conference in Orlando, and by the end of it, HARDI members will be able to able to recite these words in their sleep: "HVACR is the key to energy efficiency and state energy offices and utilities are the keys to paying for it"

Squarely in the Center of Energy Efficiency

After two recent weeks spent at three conferences devoted to energy efficiency (the annual meeting for state energy officials in mid-September, the Consortium for Energy Efficiency's Industry Partners Summit and the AHRI/ACEEE Energy Efficiency Summit last week), a few brief observations will help set the state for more thorough summaries to come later:

• HVACR cannot help but be a major focus for any energy efficiency discussion
• Industry input to efficiency officials- government, utilities, consultants- continues to be lacking but is extremely appreciated
• HVACR distributors are absolutely essential for the success of utility efficiency programs which are growing rapidly and experiencing ever-increasing pressure to achieve greater energy savings
• HVACR distributors have a role with state energy offices, but exactly what that is remains uncertain much like the prospects for their robust, long-term energy efficiency funding at the state level
• Big changes are inevitable for any industry tied to the built environment and energy efficiency because the whole-building approach isn't going away
• HVACR distributors will be needed/expected to fill the competency and quality gaps (in terms of infrastructure, administration, and support) as the bar raises ever-so-slowly for HVACR contractors

HARDI Urges States to Encourage HVAC Replacements

HARDI sent letters to each state's energy office today urging HVAC equipment to be a high priority as states finalize their plans for the $300 mil State Energy Efficiency Appliance Rebate Program. HARDI also offered to connect state energy offices with distributor members in their state to help design and implement the most effective and efficient HVAC rebate program.

Perhaps the Most Important Thing Heard at NASEO So Far is...

....about an effort to leverage ARRA and various state financing programs to negotiate down terms from private lenders for energy efficiency loans. Specifically citing consumer finance programs (that used to be) in the HVAC industry, this NASEO initiative may present an excellent opportunity for more reliable, affordable, and sustainable consumer (and commercial) financing market for energy efficiency upgrades (and for our industry to assist in the tailoring of these lending programs).

HVAC Getting a lot of Interest in Energy Star Rebate Program

Several state energy officials said today that they would prefer HVAC products be the focus of the Energy Star Appliance Rebate Program that they have until October 15 for which to file plans with the DOE. While it still seems most easily tailored to white goods retail purchases, energy officials believe they'll get more "bang for their efficiency buck" by prioritizing HVAC products. Look for much more on this before I leave the NASEO Annual Meeting on Wednesday.