EERE Network News Changing to EERE Weekly Digest of Clean Energy News, Thursday, November 10 A Note to Our Subscribers: Effective next week, we are changing EERE Network News to the "EERE Weekly Digest of Clean Energy News", and are switching delivery to Thursdays. The new weekly newsletter will spotlight some of the fresher content offered by EERE, including videos and blogs. We hope you enjoy the updated look and feel. Thanks—EERE Weekly Digest Editors. Energy Department Celebrates 40th Anniversary of National Weatherization Program On October 30, National Weatherization Day, the Energy Department joined 13 states—Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Rhode Island, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin—and several hundred local agencies in celebrating the 40th anniversary of the department's Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP). WAP has advanced energy efficiency in low-income households through grants to states, territories, and Native American tribes. The program has 59 grantees, including all 50 states, the District of Columbia, five U.S. territories, and three Native American tribes. The grantees contract to more than 700 community action agencies, nonprofits, and local governments to weatherize homes. Since its inception in 1976, WAP has facilitated energy efficiency improvements in more than 7 million homes. In a typical program year, WAP supports about 8,500 jobs while reducing carbon emissions by more than 2 million metric tons. For the complete story, see the Energy Department news release. Energy Department Recognizes University of California, Berkeley for Energy Innovations The Energy Department's Better Buildings Challenge program on October 25 recognized University of California, Berkeley for its leadership in energy efficiency. The University achieved 65% energy savings at its Jacobs Hall facility, the College of Engineering's interdisciplinary hub where students and teachers from across the university work at the intersection of design and technology. Through its Energy Management Initiative (EMI) —an innovative approach to linking energy costs to building occupants—UC Berkeley has achieved campus-wide energy savings of $6.5 million and now is benchmarking energy performance in its buildings. UC Berkeley joined the Better Buildings Challenge in 2016 as a way to improve efficiencies in its academic facilities, reduce energy consumption and associated environmental and community impacts by 20% in 10 years. UC Berkeley operates over 100 buildings, including wet and dry laboratories, offices, classroom, sports and recreational facilities. Twenty percent of campus buildings make up 75% of the school's energy profile. Through EMI, the campus has already achieved a significant drop in energy use intensity. See the Energy Department news release. |
EERE Success Story: Sun Number Partnership with Zillow Brings Solar Potential Scores to Millions of Americans Millions of Americans looking to buy a home have a new resource to help them go solar in the process. Thanks to a partnership between SunShot Initiative awardee Sun Number and real estate company Zillow, homeowners and prospective buyers across the country can now quickly and easily access detailed information about a property's solar energy potential. The Sun Number Score, developed through SunShot's successful Incubator program, instantly determines a home's suitability for solar by giving it a score from 1-100. The scores are an easy and intuitive way for consumers to understand their solar potential—the higher the Sun Number Score, the more ideal a home is for solar. The Sun Number Score technology uses a detailed roof analysis to determine how much roof area is suitable for solar based on the pitch, orientation, and size of each roof plane, as well as the amount of sunlight the roof receives based on surrounding obstructions like trees or taller buildings. Other factors that impact the score include the local cost of electricity, the local cost of solar, and local climate and weather conditions. In August 2016, Zillow began to list Sun Number Scores and the meaning of the score alongside other essential home facts such as the lot size, the year the home was built, and cost per square foot. There's a question mark icon next to the Sun Number so curious customers can learn more about the components of the home's score. Users can follow another link to a site that offers educational information about solar and a free preliminary solar system design for a home. See the EERE Blog. |
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