As stay-at-home orders are lifted, businesses reopen and programs restart, we remain optimistic about the future of our industry. While the development of new technology—like virtual energy audits and touchless installation support—has undoubtedly changed the landscape of energy efficiency, it's important to keep traditional programs in mind as well. Relying on a mix of brand-new offerings and proven reliable services is the key to success for the utility of the future.
My husband and I went to college together; we’re familiar with “working together alone.” It was how he wrote his thesis on McCarthyism and I wrote mine on Post-Soviet Russia, two feet apart on a hand-me-down couch in a cramped upstairs apartment in a sketchy part of Schenectady, NY. Headphones firmly planted in ears.
But until COVID-19 hit, we never really worked from home together, except for the occasional snow day. And on those days, he was more likely working from the couch with Sports Center on in the background, while I toiled along like usual in my home office.
Behavior change is difficult in any context. As the late English writer Samuel Johnson once said, “The chains of habit are too weak to be felt, until they are too strong to be broken.”
We all harbor some degree of resistance to changing habits. It is common to become so familiar with a routine that it becomes a source of comfort. That’s why becoming more energy efficient, though appealing on paper, is a much more strenuous effort than it initially seems.
Changing habits and behavior is best achieved through support, reminders, incentives, community pressure, goal setting, and more. Finding a successful strategy is critical to behavior change, but this process is often challenging. Enter the new ACEEE report “Reducing Energy Waste through Municipally Led Behavior Change Programs,” which established a sequence of seven steps for local governments to shape viable municipally led behavior change programs. Let’s break these steps down and explore how they work.
Solar is on fire, so to speak. According to a J. D. Power Utilities Industry Outlook report, “Solar megawatt capacity soared 24% in 2017 and grew another 8% in the first 9 months of 2018.” Since 2001, total solar generation worldwide has grown by 50% annually.
Utilities and energy efficiency practitioners can play an important role in helping businesses recover from natural disasters. After all, engaging with utility customers soon after natural disasters strike is good for all parties. In times of recovery, business owners are overwhelmed with making a lot of decisions and utilities want to serve their customers. Customers need to have resources they can trust, and often the utility is one of the most trusted resources in a community. Providing post-disaster energy assessments helps businesses determine what equipment may need to be replaced, explains the efficiency incentives available to them, and helps find a reputable contractor to do the work.
