Home Performance with ENERGY STAR

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Sponsor a Program

Who can become a Sponsor?

Organizations that are typically eligible to sponsor a local Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program include utilities, states, municipalities, non-profit organizations that promote energy efficiency and renewable energy, and financial institutions. With the growth of the home performance market, additional organizations, such as manufacturers, are considering joining the Program.

What is the Role of a Sponsor?

A Home Performance with ENERGY STAR Sponsor is responsible for developing the foundational elements of a successful market for home performance services. Sponsors oversee local program implementation, including managing the performance of participating contractors to ensure that quality standards are met. To be effective in this role, a Sponsor must be legally and financially independent from participating contractors. Sponsoring a program is a significant commitment and will require an investment of financial resources. Therefore, organizations should establish a budget and identify a sustainable source of revenue before making a commitment.

Michael Hervey, LIPA Chief Operating Officer and Chandler Von Schrader, former National Program Manager for the EPA Home Performance with ENERGY STAR Program, at LIPA’s ENERGY STAR award ceremony.

Why Sponsor a Program?

Being a Sponsor will add value to your organization, including recognition, resources for educating homeowners about cost-effective energy efficiency, a means for advocating energy efficiency and renewable energy in your community, and access to a suite of ENERGY STAR marks and marketing resources.

For utilities, Home Performance with ENERGY STAR can also help meet Public Utility Commission energy efficiency and renewable energy mandates and deliver peak demand reductions, delay or avoid energy supply investments, and provide an opportunity to consolidate program delivery to residential customers. It is estimated that a mature local Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program can achieve a cost of conserved energy of $0.05/kWh.

The following are examples of local Home Performance with ENERGY STAR results. These Sponsors are also recognized for receiving ENERGY STAR’s 2011 Award for Sustained Excellence.

Arizona Public Service: Arizona Public Service partnered with the Foundation for Senior Living’s HPwES Program and exceeded Home Performance with ENERGY STAR’s 2011 program goals by conducting nearly 4,500 audits and over 1,600 home improvements, while maintaining a strong conversion rate of 38 percent. This represents savings of more than 111,000 MWh over the expected life of the measures.

Austin Energy: Austin Energy, the City of Austin’s municipal electric utility, surpassed its 2011 HPwES energy upgrade goals by completing more than 3,100 home improvements. Austin Energy achieved an average savings per participating household of more than 5,300 kWh, or $180, for a total savings of approximately 5.9 million kWh through its loan and rebate programs in 2011.

Focus on Energy: Focus on Energy is Wisconsin utilities’ statewide program for energy efficiency and renewable energy. Focus on Energy maintained an ally network of over 500 HPwES contractors, auditors, and installers, and continues to promote the program to Wisconsin residents through print, broadcast, and online placements. The program saved its customers nearly 1 million kWh in 2011.

New York State Energy Research and Development Authority: As a public benefit corporation, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) administers programs that are designed to help New York meet its energy goals. NYSERDA completed nearly 6,000 energy efficiency improvement projects under the HPwES Program in the past year, for a total of more than 42,000 projects to date and cumulative savings of 28 million kWh and 1.4 MMBtu.

Where do I start?

All Home Performance with ENERGY STAR Sponsors sign an ENERGY STAR Partnership Agreement and submit a Program Implementation Plan for DOE to review. The Program Implementation Plan documents how the local program's policies and procedures meet national Program requirements. Download a copy of our Program Implementation Plan Template PDF (800KB) to help you get started and submit your Partnership Agreement and Program Implementation Plan to DOE for review.

For additional information and support for developing a local Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program, email HomePerformance@EnergyStar.gov.