Macie Melendez's Blog (18)

Dave Robinson, a principal of GreenEarthEquities, is a man in this industry that needs little introduction. If you didn’t see him at last year’s ACI event accepting the Tony Woods Award, you may have seen him teaching a class, serving as the former president of the California Building Performance Association, or performing deep energy retrofits on…

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ACI launched a new initiative in February of 2012 to address challenges, remove barriers, and promote opportunities for women in the traditionally male-dominated home performance and weatherization industry. It is called Women in Home Performance, and it presents a forum for business development, education, mentoring, and networking through webinars, ACI events, a LinkedIn discussion group, and online trainings. Both men…

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As I recently reviewed in my “Storytelling from BECC” blog, media provides a huge opportunity for the home performance industry to make it into the mainstream. That’s why I was pleased to see recently that HGTV’s show “Property Brothers” was dolling out advice that I’ve heard more than once at industry conferences.

For those of you unfamiliar, the “Property Brothers,” also known as Drew and Jonathan…

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When I attend a conference I can always tell which sessions I find most inspirational by the amount of notes I take. While attending the annual Behavior Energy and Climate Change (BECC) conference on Monday of this past week in Sacramento, the note test proved itself once again. Hands down, I found the most inspiration from the afternoon Spotlight Panel titled “Hollywood, Media and Messaging.”

To be fair, I was excited about…

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Last Friday I had the opportunity to attend a webinar put on by Energy Circle titled “Hurricane Sandy and the Home Performance Industry: How Do We Respond?” Peter Troast, CEO of Energy Circle, shared that when he woke up on Friday, he felt the need to start a bigger conversation—thus a webinar was born. For being a last-minute idea, the webinar was a huge success with a lot of response, which serves as yet another testament to the great people of this industry.…

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While attending the NASCSP conference last week in Atlanta, Georgia, the overall message was: How do we keep the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) relevant in the future? Also, how do we find more funding to keep our programs alive post-ARRA?

Along with a lot of brainstorming and industry conversation happening around the two questions posed above, NASCSP took one of the sessions to tell attendees about their initiatives for…

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Recently the California Energy Commission (CEC) put window film on the fast track to get it into the new building code—to be effective in 2014. As the first state in the nation to place window film in the next building code, California has officially recognized window film as a legitimate, cost-effective energy saver.

This change in thinking is due to recent reports and studies that show just how effective window film, a thin polymer adhered to the inside of glass, is. One such study…

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This past week, I had the opportunity to pick the brain of Cyro Boccuzzi, IEEE senior member and executive vice president at Brazil-based Enersul, as well as a smart grid technologies expert. Not only did he have insight into smart grid technology and trends, but he also says smart grids are the unavoidable wave of the future.  …

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By now you may have heard about drive-by energy audits. But have you heard of drive-by energy audits performed on entire cities at the same time? Say hello to the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company, Essess. Essess (pronounced like “recess” without the “r”) has recently entered the home performance scene, and they’re making a lot of noise. In just a couple of weeks, we here at Home Energy received multiple emails from friends and partners in the industry…

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Another winner of the 2011 Weatherization Assistance Program National Recognition Award, presented at the National Weatherization Training Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, was Terry Emelander. (You can view an entire list of winners here.)

Terry is the owner and president (along with being a licensed Michigan builder) of T & L…

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At the most recent National Weatherization Training Conference that took place in New Orleans, Louisiana, six people were presented with a 2011 Weatherization Assistance Program National Recognition Award.

The Recognition Awards acknowledge outstanding contributions that advance the goals of WAP through individual or group achievement, inspiration, or innovation. The Recognition Awards program is open…

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If the home performance industry had an online dating profile, it would likely be looking for someone with a great network of friends that he could get to know. Home performance would also be looking for someone with a rich history (like himself), good looks that go beyond the surface, and someone who may be able to get some of his friends a job (hey, not everything in a relationship is about romance). Someone like the real estate market, for example. Unfortunately for home performance’s…

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While listening to Peter Troast of Energy Circle and Allison Bailes of Energy Vanguard speak in front of a room about social media and Internet marketing for the home performance industry, it's easy for your head to feel like it may explode. In the best possible way, of course.

I was lucky enough to get this feeling last week as the duo tag-teamed a presentation…

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On Friday, The New York Times published an article titled "In Fuel Oil Country, Cold That Cuts to the Heart." The article, about the Hartford's, an elderly couple in Maine who can't afford to pay for the oil needed to heat their (rather leaky) home, is both heart-wrenching…

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Recently, Home Energy Publisher Tom White participated in an interview with "Replacement Windows for Dummies," the popular book series known for approachable information on nearly every topic. They discussed what's new in the world of windows, tips on hiring qualified window installers, and much more. Below is a snippet of their conversation.

RWFD: What are some of the most significant new developments in energy efficient windows that benefit…

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On April 15, 2011, Homes for Our Troops, a national nonprofit, nonpartisan organization founded in 2004 that's dedicated to helping veterans who have returned home from combat with serious disabilities and injuries since September 11, 2001, kicked off the build of its 101st home in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Homes for Our Troops is building this particular home (see photo) for U.S. Army Sergeant Jude Recendez who lost both of his… Continue

Although I was a first-timer at ACI a couple of weeks ago, there were so many more numbers that I found interesting. First off, attendees had 144 sessions to choose from in just 2.5 days, there was at least on person in attendance from all 50 states (and 7 Canadian provinces), there were 101 exhibitors (the largest to date), and ACI celebrated its 25^th anniversary. For all of this, I have one word: Wow!

 

And as attendees heard in the opening general session, all of this… Continue

Want your business to be better? Of course you do! Bring on the Business Performance Makeover Contest, a collaboration between EGIA, BPI, and Efficiency First—and sponsored by Home Energy.

 

Here are the details:

The contest will be conducted nationwide to find two contracting firms that want to dramatically grow their businesses in 2011. Owners of home improvement, home performance and home energy efficiency-related installation companies can enter to win online by… Continue