Nova Analysis Final Technical Report

As the adoption of solar plus storage technology is rapidly increasing, there is a need for a more wholistic view of homes adopting them. In homes, both energy efficiency (EE) upgrades and DERs provide value not just to the homeowner, but to utilities and even society at large through emissions. Traditionally, EE and DERs are separate sectors, which makes it difficult to understand the co-benefits of their adoption. To address this, we created a novel workflow of tools that allows for a complete analysis of both efficiency and DERs. We also looked at a suite of metrics designed to capture …

Accelerating Residential Building Decarbonization

With growing concerns about climate change, resilience, and housing affordability, the urgency to decarbonize US residential buildings is more pressing than ever. This challenge also presents an unparalleled opportunity for innovation and market expansion in the construction industry.
This report is targeted towards product manufacturers, fabricators, contractors, installers, design professionals, owners, and real estate developers. It provides essential technical insights and cost guidance for scalable zero-carbon-aligned (ZCA) new construction methods and retrofit solutions across various US climate regions.…

Savings in Action: Lessons Learned from a Vermont Community with Solar Plus Storage

As the U.S. works to meet emissions reduction goals and modernize power sector operations, residential buildings – which account for 21% of the total U.S. electricity consumption – will play a key role. Residential buildings with energy efficiency and distributed energy resources are able to provide value to multiple stakeholders, including the occupant, utility, and society at large. To account for this, multiple metrics that capture the value each stakeholder gets are required. This report contains analysis of a unique solar plus storage community in Vermont, including the calculation of multiple metrics and a unique “score card” that succinctly captures …

Federal Aviation Administration Case Study: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

The Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center (MMAC) in Oklahoma City is a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) facility that has been the home of the Administration’s medical and human factors research and training operations for more than 75 years. Encompassing more than 1,000 acres and over 130 buildings, the MMAC is home to the FAA Academy for technical training, the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute, the FAA Logistics Center, the aircraft pilot and drone registries, and the Enterprise Services Center. The MMAC campus hosts more than 6,300 federal and contract employees, with an annual operating budget of over $1 billion.
The U.S. Department …

Air Quality and Health Impacts of Public Service’s Clean Heat Plan

Regulatory decision-making around residential and commercial energy use holds implications for the indoor and outdoor environment, climate, air quality, and public health. Gas appliances directly emit health-damaging air pollutants, such as nitrogen oxides (NOx), fine particulate matter (PM2.5), and benzene, that have the potential to impact air quality indoors, particularly if they are vented inside (e.g., stoves, space heaters).
Public Service, a natural gas and electric utility company in Colorado, submitted its Clean Heat Plan to the Colorado Public Utility Commission (CPUC) in August 2023 in response to Senate Bill (SB) 21-264. This bill requires that gas distribution utilities submit …

Space Heating with Heat Pumps: The Need for Alternative Rate Designs in Massachusetts

This white paper was prepared on behalf of the Green Energy Consumers Alliance (GECA). It presents a preliminary assessment of costs to customers heating with air-source heat pumps (ASHPs), and discusses the need for alternative electric rate designs to make heating electrification cost effective in Massachusetts. An “operating cost gap” is a measure that can be used to determine whether switching from one heating system to another would be a cost-effective choice for a given household. The “cost gap” is the difference between current and expected future operating costs and can be used to compare different heating systems. A household …

Impacts of Non-Residential Solar on Residential Adoption Decisions

Household decisions to adopt rooftop solar photovoltaics are partly driven by social influence. Previous research on solar adoption influence has focused on influence among residential peers. Here, they expand the framework of solar adoption influence by exploring the influence of non-residential installations on residential adoption decisions. This report uses staggered differences-in-differences to estimate non-residential influence effects using a large data sample of residential adoptions. It also critically evaluate prevailing frameworks for solar adoption influence. It find that non-residential installations are associated with accelerated residential adoption rates, on the order of 0.4 additional residential adoptions per quarter per non-residential installation. The …

Partnering to Share Pathways and Solutions

Through the Better Buildings Initiative, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) works with leaders across the nation to develop and deploy solutions that benefit our communities and our planet while strengthening our economy and increasing our competitiveness. Better Buildings partners are pursuing ambitious greenhouse gas (GHG), energy, water, and waste reduction goals, and sharing their proven solutions with the marketplace.

Since the start of the program, partners have collectively saved more than 3 quadrillion British thermal units (QBtu) of energy. This amounts to a savings of more than $18.5 billion. Partners have also reduced their carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) by …

Congressional Policy Priorities to Decarbonize U.S. Industry and Enhance Competitiveness

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) made some significant investments in industrial decarbonization, particularly for clean hydrogen and carbon capture, storage, and utilization. However, analyses show that the IRA does not adequately incentivize the full range of renewable thermal solutions. To accelerate the decarbonization of thermal energy for industry and buildings, the RTC has developed a set of recommendations for our advocacy efforts that build on the IRA and IIJA while addressing some critical policy gaps.…

Building Leaders at HBCUS and Minority-Serving Institutions

From 2020 to 2023, SEI participated as a partner in the Better Buildings Workforce Accelerator. The BBWA is a Department of Energy (DOE) initiative seeking to raise the level of building science and energy efficiency knowledge in the nation’s building-related workforce. Through the BBWA, DOE engaged industry partners in activities that build interest and awareness, streamline pathways, and improve skills for people pursuing green building careers.…