The first component to putting together a building retrofit system is a set of strategies for driving demand — that is, educating and encouraging building owners to retrofit their properties through marketing, mandates and simplified user-friendly programs people can trust.
The next requirement is a financing vehicle, preferably more than one to accommodate different building types. These financing vehicles provide capital for retrofits that can be paid back, at least in part, from energy savings. Then there is a need for a reliable system to ensure that qualified contractors are available to meet the demand, and that they provide high-quality job, career and business development opportunities for low-income people.
Finally, and perhaps most important, is the need for an operating model to put these and other complementary pieces together. Whether housed in city government, a local nonprofit utility, or as a newly created public-private enterprise, a central aggregator of resources and expertise is required to scale up and sustain large-scale building energy retrofit systems.
These four primary “pieces of the puzzle” were each the focus of panel discussions with national experts and small group breakout meetings of city-state teams at the Green Boot Camp. They are also the core of the Green Boot Camp resource guide, “Scaling Up Building Energy Retrofitting in U.S. Cities: A Resource Guide for Local Leaders, Version 1.0.” Visit the Green Boot Camp website to download the guide.