RMI Carbon-Free Buildings

📣 Calling all program administrators, utility regulators, policymakers, and energy efficiency advocates! Billions of dollars are invested in energy efficiency programs each year, yet overly complex and fluctuating rules prevent these programs from reaching their full potential... Join us on Tuesday, April 22 from 2-3 pm ET for a webinar exploring how to reform energy efficiency incentive programs to accelerate heat pump adoption. What we'll discuss: ✅ How to simplify and streamline incentive programs ✅ Best practices for improving market alignment and accessibility ✅ Strategies for making programs more durable, equitable, and effective Hear from industry experts: 🔹 Kevin DeMaster – Senior Business Development Manager, LG Air Conditioning Technologies USA 🔹 Maggie Molina – Executive Director, Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships 🔹 Sarah Moscatello – Owner & General Manager, The Heat Pump Store 🔹 Michael Stoddard – Executive Director, Efficiency Maine Trust 🔹 Jack Teener – RMI Carbon-Free Buildings 🔹 Lacey Tan – RMI Carbon-Free Buildings 🎤 Russell Unger (Moderator) - RMI Carbon-Free Buildings To learn more about reforming energy efficiency programs, check out our new report 👉 https://lnkd.in/gRx_yhSB To see more details and register for the event, click the link below👇

May 13th & 15th | 10 am - 12 pm | Building Energy Exchange The Empire Building Challenge Training Series, put forth by NYSERDA, Building Energy Exchange, Ember Strategies, and RMI is finally here!
🎉 Course 1, Strategic Decarbonization Planning: RED Framework and Technical Solutions (1.5 AIA LU), offers a deep dive into strategic decarbonization planning using the innovative Resource Efficient Decarbonization (RED) framework. This comprehensive approach allows real estate professionals to create cost-effective, long-term decarbonization roadmaps. ⚡🗺️ 🏙️💚 During this training, you'll learn to integrate RED into retrofit planning, drawing on case studies from the Empire Building Challenge cohort. RED is a strategy that can help alleviate space constraints, optimize peak thermal capacity, increase operational efficiencies, utilize waste heat, and reduce the need for oversized electric thermal energy systems, creating retrofit cost compression. Learn from industry expert, Phil Keuhn, Principal, RMI and leverage the tools and knowledge needed to make meaningful progress toward a net-zero future! 🌎 ✨ We have two upcoming offerings on May 13th & 15th - learn more and register here: https://lnkd.in/e8QggcKw ➡️ Explore the Retrofit Playbook for Large Buildings, a knowledge-sharing platform dedicated to supporting building owners, operators, and their design and engineering teams in creating cost-effective, long-term decarbonization strategies for large buildings: https://lnkd.in/gh3h2UUS

Energy efficiency upgrades to residential buildings can slash energy waste and save money for residents. Dollar incentives encourage this transformation by lowering up-front costs and making upgrades more accessible and appealing for households everywhere. And they can help drive wary contractors to recommend and install more energy efficient equipment such as heat pumps. However, the uptake of these kinds of incentives is happening too slowly to fix the millions of poorly sealed and insulated US homes that rely on outdated equipment — heating and cooling systems that waste energy and money every time they run. On top of that, many existing incentive programs are overly complex and confusing, leading to low adoption by the families who would benefit from them the most. RMI has developed resources for stakeholders to create energy efficiency incentive programs that are simple, durable, tailored to the local market, and accessible to low-income households — with a focus on energy efficient heat pumps: https://bit.ly/3FM1TOA

The money is there. The demand is there. So why are most energy efficiency incentives still so hard to use? Over the next decade, $97 billion will be available to help households with energy efficiency upgrades, including installing clean, efficient technologies like heat pumps. But complex, uncoordinated programs make it difficult for consumers to access incentives and discourage contractors from participating. As a result, these funds aren’t reaching the people who need them most, and the market isn’t transforming fast enough. RMI’s new report, Reforming Residential Energy Efficiency Incentive Programs, outlines best practices and legislative solutions to fix this problem. Authors Lacey Tan, Jack Teener, Olivia Prieto, and Russell Unger show how to make utility- and state-run energy efficiency incentive programs simple, market-aligned, durable, and equitable. By designing smarter, simpler incentives, state and local governments, program administrators, and industry leaders can scale energy efficiency while lowering costs for households. With so much at stake, we need programs that work for everyone. Read the full report to learn more 👉 https://lnkd.in/dC7KnfhJ

#DYK? Corporate greenhouse gas emissions fall into three categories: 🏦 🚘 Scope 1 (direct emissions from facilities and vehicles) 🏭 Scope 2 (indirect emissions from purchased energy) 🧱 Scope 3 (upstream and downstream activities such as purchased goods and product disposal). As one of the early adopters of Scope 3 reporting, Microsoft determined that their Scope 3 emissions surpass their Scope 1 and 2 emissions combined, in part due to the embodied carbon from building materials and construction. 🏗️ RMI and Microsoft’s 🆕 report aims to refine Scope 3 emissions to provide architects, engineers, and procurement teams with an actionable method and reporting system to guide cost-effective investments and drive significant emissions reductions. Click below to download the 🆓 report ⤵️ https://lnkd.in/gEGatRBc #EmbodiedCarbon #Scope3Emissions #CorporateSustainability

By 2030, 4 billion people will be impacted by extreme heat. By 2100, that number will more than double. For billions around the world, cooling isn’t just about comfort, it’s about health, safety, and survival. Yet, too many people still lack access to efficient and affordable cooling solutions that can reduce monthly costs and grid demand, such as super-efficient ACs, thermal insulation, and reflective roofs. At the #SEforALLForum, RMI CEO Jon Creyts noted that the smartest energy strategy starts with using less — highlighting how smarter cooling solutions can protect people from extreme heat while cutting waste and reducing emissions. 🔹 Through the Global Cooling Prize, RMI challenged innovators to design residential ACs with 5x lower climate impact. The response? Over 450 applications from 56 countries and breakthrough prototypes from two global manufacturers. 🔹 In Palava City, India, we field-tested these next-gen ACs in real-world conditions, gathering critical data on efficiency and performance in extreme heat. 🔹 With the Global Cooling Efficiency Accelerator, we’re now breaking down market barriers — improving performance standards, updating testing protocols, and working with buyers to scale adoption of super-efficient ACs. Cooling solutions must be accessible, efficient, and designed for a hotter world, prioritizing people’s well-being while slashing energy waste. Learn more about RMI’s Global Cooling Initiative and how we are leading this effort👇  https://lnkd.in/g56Sfr5x

With heat pumps gaining popularity, nearly all states now offer incentives to help homeowners make the switch. But electricity rates often unfairly overcharge heat pump users for their electricity use. RMI’s Ryan Shea, Joe Dammel, and Francie Fink suggest a solution that ensure everyone pays their fair share for electricity:⚡ Electrified Heating Rates ⚡ These rates better reflect the real cost of serving heat pump users, leading to ✅ Greater bill savings for heat pump users ✅ Wider adoption of energy-efficient heat pumps ✅ A quicker transition to a clean energy future Learn more about how how smarter electricity pricing can make heat pumps more affordable for everyone 👉 https://lnkd.in/g8x-mjZq

Solid-state cooling could revolutionize the cooling industry by eliminating harmful liquid refrigerants and significantly improving energy efficiency. Its potential is massive, and startups like mimic systems and MAGNOTHERM are already pushing the boundaries. In a new article, RMI’s Yulin Lou and Third Derivative’s Lindsay Rasmussen explore what’s next for this game-changing technology 👉 https://lnkd.in/g6VwxA6E

📣 Attention home builders, designers, energy raters, and housing policy makers! RESNET Standard 1550 is a game-changer — the first embodied carbon standard for the low-rise residential sector. But what does it mean for you? Join Green Builder Media, LLC and RMI's own Chris Magwood for a webinar on Wednesday, March 12 @ 2 pm ET to explore why this standard matters, what it covers, and how it works. Bonus: learn about the real impact of embodied carbon, which building materials have the biggest carbon footprint, and how to make smarter, greener choices. 📅 Save the date & register below! 👇

Conventional homes are increasingly built with flammable plastics. In response to the devastating LA wildfires that destroyed thousands of homes and businesses, many architects, engineers, designers, and builders are pushing harder for more fire-resistant natural building material alternatives to become mainstream. Cost-competitive materials like straw bale, adobe, and hemp offer better fire resistance, fewer toxic chemicals, and a lower carbon footprint. “Agricultural residues make really good building products,” said RMI's Chris Magwood. “When you look at all the criteria — good in fire, low in embodied carbon, low in toxicity — they really shine.” Want to learn more about the innovative bio-based building materials on the market today? Check out this Trellis Group article by Meg Wilcox: 🔗 https://lnkd.in/g85EcGjR s/o Hubbell & Hubbell Architects, Arkin Tilt Architects, California Straw Building Assn, Verdant Structural Engineers, New Frameworks, EcoCocon, Agriboard Green Building Systems, Western Fiber, Americhanvre, Loescher Meachem Architects, Hempitecture, HempStone, Renewal Revolution, US Hemp Building Association