Whitepapers
Energy Resilience Return on Investment
How do you put a price on energy resilience? This paper proposes formulas and variables necessary to do that, helping customer determine the best return on their investment in energy resilience assets.
Research & Development 2019-2020 Final Report for PowerShift
Efficiency Vermont has investigated the practical strategies for achieving grid benefits from flexible load management, through its Project PowerShift.
Embodied Carbon in Vermont Residential Retrofits
This paper fills the gap in the data on the embodied-carbon (lifecycle carbon footprint) contribution of weatherization materials in Vermont retrofit projects, helping residents and trade professionals better understand the climate change impacts of the building materials they select when weatherizing existing homes.
Interim Report for PowerShift
This paper reports on interim findings and progress of a two-year partnership between Efficiency Vermont and Washington Electric Co-op to demonstrate the potential for water heaters to function as “virtual batteries” in a residentially-focused utility service territory with low population density.
2019 Greenhouse Gas Taskforce
An expert assessment of six new greenhouse gas reduction strategies related to energy efficiency.
Healthy Homes Vermont 2019
This paper reports on three pilots designed to test how a collaboration among health care providers, weatherization programs, community service providers, and Efficiency Vermont can deliver an energy-plus-health service approach to improve housing quality, indoor air quality, and customer health.
Peak Response Program: 2018-2019 Demand Response Capability Initiative
This study examines the extent to which a single, medium-sized customer could shed and shift load during the summer peak season, using the Efficiency Vermont office space and staff as the test customer on the Burlington Electric Department system.
Vermont’s 2019 Total Energy Burden by Town
Understanding energy burden, the ratio of energy spending expressed as a percentage of household income, is a powerful way to gauge the impact of energy costs on Vermonters. Energy costs are a significant burden on many Vermont households, competing with other priorities such as housing, healthcare, and food. Energy burden data can inform state energy programs to ensure households with high energy burdens have access to programs that can reduce energy costs and burden.
Keep It Cool: Real-time Monitoring of Convenience Store Refrigeration Systems
Energy efficiency programs’ commercial customers frequently follow a business model of responding to needs, especially operational needs, as they arise. But what happens when those customers’ business objectives could shift from a responsive—or more accurately, reactive—service model to a proactive one? This study shows the benefits to customers when they adopt this approach.
Healthy Homes Vermont 2018
The nexus between building energy efficiency and better health is now becoming the target for improving housing conditions for vulnerable populations. This report offers a story of pilot projects under the new Vermont Healthy Homes Program.
Assessment of Demand Response Capability and Effectiveness
This study investigates where existing efficiency program activities might complement existing distribution utility-led demand-response services.
What Are the Limits of AMI in Supporting Load Management?
This study applies AMI interval data to better understand the effects of energy efficiency on regional grid operations across long periods of time.
The Value of Efficiency: Renewable Ramp Challenge
As the electricity grid increasingly accommodates solar electricity, a problem is emerging: At sunset, non-solar sources of electricity must quickly ramp up. This limits choices for power plants providing the post-sunset electricity and is difficult for traditional power grids to accommodate. In this study, Efficiency Vermont analyzed the effectiveness of specific energy-efficient equipment upgrades in flattening the loads of Vermont businesses and residences.
Electric transit bus demonstration project
Efficiency Vermont analyzed the costs and fuel use resulting from the deployment of an electric public-transit vehicle to determine the impact of this technology in Vermont. Efficiency Vermont worked with a transit-vehicle manufacturer to deploy an electric model through a local transit authority for seven weeks. Data was collected on operating costs, electricity use, fossil fuel displacement, energy efficiency gains (expressed in Btu) and cost savings.
The Benefits of Home Performance w/ ENERGY STAR
Anecdotal evidence suggested that many participants in energy efficiency programs value the non-energy benefits more than the energy savings associated with their efficiency retrofits. These benefits can include greater comfort, safety, noise reduction, and healthcare savings. Currently, Efficiency Vermont’s program cost-effectiveness calculation does not count some non-energy benefits because these benefits are difficult to quantify and monetize.
Paying energy arrearages through savings
This study focused on the concept of using energy savings to pay overdue energy bills, to prevent utility shut-offs, and to lower the energy burden for low-income households.
Electric bikes: survey and energy efficiency analysis
Electric bikes, or e-bikes, are gaining in popularity as the technology improves and prices fall. In partnership with local bicycle organizations, retailers, and Burlington Electric, Efficiency Vermont conducted a survey of e-bike owners to evaluate opportunities for improved energy efficiency in this market.
Breathe Well, Sleep Well: Cold-Climate Ventilation
Indoor air quality in homes affects human health in profound ways. When that quality is compromised, building occupants can experience health effects that range from immediate to long term. Both airborne pollutants and carbon dioxide contribute to those effects. Although the science is still uncertain about the effects of various levels of exposure to these substances, there is general agreement that improving indoor air quality is an important objective for home improvements.
Mapping total energy burden in Vermont
The primary components of total household energy use are thermal energy (heating), electricity, and transportation energy. Taken together, these “total energy” costs present a sizable financial burden to households in Vermont. The cold winter weather and the rural character of the state contribute significantly to this expense. High total energy costs are driven, in part, by building inefficiencies, automobile-dependent development patterns, and vehicle inefficiencies. In Vermont and nationwide, total energy costs can be especially burdensome for low-income households.
Smart lighting & smart hub DIY install: does it yield?
The whole-home automation market is in many ways the Wild West, with industry heavyweights jumping in and small innovators getting noticed. This market is still new, with a vast diversity of products, controlled devices, and levels of service. Although utilities might conclude from the frenetic market pace that it’s better to wait until the market settles down before they get involved, a statewide energy efficiency utility, Efficiency Vermont, saw the benefit to jumping in early.