Q&A Have questions about renewable energy for your home? Submit them here and our expert will answer them next week! Ask Us Now Original link

EERE offers webinars to the public on a range of subjects, from adopting the latest energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies, to training for the clean energy workforce. Webinars are free; however, advanced registration is typically required. You can also watch archived webinars and browse previously aired videos, slides, and transcripts. Upcoming Webinars October 16: Live Webinar on Quality Management Economics and Applications for Zero Energy Ready Homes Webinar Sponsor:  Building Technologies Office The Energy Department will present a live webinar titled "Quality Management Economics and Applications for Zero Energy Ready Homes" on Thursday, October 16, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The session will provide background and guidance for how Zero Energy Ready Home builders can integrate a quality management program in their business. The focus will be on facilitating builders' transition to high performance homes and minimizing risk during that transition. Register to attend the webinar...

1000 Independence Ave. SW Washington DC 20585 202-586-5000 Original link

The Energy Department today announced approximately $5 million in funding to 13 states to advance innovative approaches for local clean energy development that will reduce energy bills for American families and businesses, protect the environment by reducing carbon emissions and increase our nation’s energy security. In support of the Administration’s all-of-the-above energy strategy, each state will design and deploy innovative programs to advance energy efficiency and renewable energy, ranging from programs targeting specific areas for advancement to more comprehensive plans that consider economic development along with resiliency and energy supply issues. State Energy Planning To assist the states of Idaho, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota and South Carolina with their state and regional energy planning, the Energy Department will invest approximately $2 million to facilitate stakeholder and interagency discussions concerning the future direction of electric power among other issues. States will explore and enhance economic development opportunities associated with promoting energy efficiency and...

Supporting the Obama Administration’s goal to reduce carbon emissions and protect the environment, the Energy Department is pursuing a suite of initiatives to strengthen federal energy management through increased focus on measurement of energy use in federal buildings and energy efficient building design.  Principal among the efforts is the Department’s issuance of a final rule that requires verified energy and water performance for new and retrofitted federal buildings that are certified by private sector green building certification systems.  The rule, which goes into effect Nov. 13, ensures that in cases where agencies choose to use green building certification systems to meet federal sustainability and energy standards, they must choose a system that verifies enhanced energy and water efficiency.  By requiring re-assessments at least every four years, the rule will ensure energy and water savings continue well beyond the initial building opening or retrofit.  System requirements for the verification of energy and...

The Energy Department today announced nearly $8 million to support research and development of the next generation of heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) technologies. The R&D will focus on developing regionally appropriate HVAC solutions that would offer significant potential energy savings for new and existing buildings, and on developing innovative approaches that could replace current vapor compression HVAC technologies and their use of refrigerants that harm the global environment.  Currently, HVAC systems account for the largest proportion of energy used in buildings, consuming almost 14 quadrillion British thermal units (quads) of primary energy annually—or nearly 30% of all energy used in commercial and residential buildings.  Developing non-vapor-compression HVAC systems could potentially lead to an estimated 40% primary energy savings over current technologies. In addition to focusing on improving the efficiency of technologies using established ratings as measured by the Energy Efficiency Rating (EER) and/or the Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating (SEER),...

Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy Forrestal Building 1000 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20585 Original link

The Energy Department announced the 2014 winners of the National Geothermal Student Competition and the Geothermal Case Study Challenge last week at an industry gathering in Portland, Oregon. These competitions challenged college and university students to develop professional business solutions for public outreach as well as case studies that could help industry more accurately pinpoint geothermal resources in subsurface areas across the United States. The winning student teams—from Truckee Meadows Community College in Reno, Nevada and Colorado School of Mines in Denver, Colorado—demonstrated exceptional rigor in their research and useful interpretation of technical geothermal concepts. Geothermal energy is an important part of the Obama Administration's all-of-the-above energy strategy, supplying American homes and businesses with clean, renewable power around the clock. National Geothermal Student Competition The theme of this year's National Geothermal Student Competition, GeoEnergy Is Beautiful, encouraged teams to focus on a non-technical deployment barrier: communicating the benefits of geothermal energy....

Energy Department Recognizes 11 Manufacturers for Energy Efficiency Achievements Better Plants Partners Rack Up Energy Savings as Partnership Continues to Grow Washington, D.C.—Building on the Administration’s efforts to double energy productivity and help American businesses save money by saving energy, the Energy Department today recognized 11 companies that have met ambitious energy-efficiency goals through the Better Buildings, Better Plants Program. Across the country, manufacturers spend more than $200 billion each year to power their plants. Through the Energy Department’s Better Plants Program, American manufacturers commit to improve their energy intensity by 25 percent over ten years, or an equally ambitious level for their sector. “Through cost-effective energy efficiency improvements in their factories, American manufacturers are boosting their energy productivity, saving money and protecting the environment by reducing carbon emissions,” said Secretary Ernest Moniz. “As a result, Better Plants Partners have avoided 18.5 million metric tons of carbon emissions to date, which...

EERE offers webinars to the public on a range of subjects, from adopting the latest energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies, to training for the clean energy workforce. Webinars are free; however, advanced registration is typically required. You can also watch archived webinars and browse previously aired videos, slides, and transcripts. Upcoming Webinars October 2: Live Webinar on High Performance Outdoor Lighting Accelerator Webinar Sponsors:  Weatherization and Intergovernmental Programs Office The Energy Department will present a live webinar titled “High Performance Outdoor Lighting Accelerator” on Thursday, October 2, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The Energy Department recently announced the expansion of the Better Buildings platform to include the newest initiative for the public sector, the High Performance Outdoor Lighting Accelerator (HPOLA), designed to accelerate the deployment of high performance street and outdoor lighting across at least 50 percent of a city's inventory over the next few years...