At the last Home Performance with ENERGY STAR (HPwES) stakeholders meeting (see my earlier post here), the issue of what will happen to the program’s name when it transitions from the EPA to DOE came up. Ok, “came up” may be an understatement. It was hands down the most contentious issue discussed at the meeting. The DOE explained that the EPA has committed to a one-year memorandum of understanding (MOU) that allows the DOE to keep ENERGY STAR in the HPwES name. The EPA ultimately owns the ENERGY STAR brand, though the program receives support from the DOE, and they want to be control of how it is used.  It is no secret that many believe that the name is cumbersome, too long, and confusing to consumers.  The strength of the name is that it incorporates “ENERGY STAR” and most consumers recognize that program.  But is that enough reason to keep the name?

Say it aint so- I’d hate to see HPwES go!
The word is officially out that the DOE views nothing as sacrosanct and that all aspects of the program are eligible for updates/improvements/fiddling including the name.  Yesterday Efficiency First started circulating a petition to keep the name the same. The argument goes that over the last ten years, home performance companies and local/state programs have invested millions of dollars in building the brand. While I understand this argument, when you look at the nation as a whole most people have simply never heard of the program. Today there are programs in roughly 35 states and over 110,000 homes have participated in the program. Some of these programs are statewide, but most are limited to specific metro-regions. By comparison, ENERGY STAR for Homes is a national program that has certified over 1 million homes. Sadly, I would suspect most homeowners haven’t even heard of the program let alone would they mind a name change.

Through my work with utilities around the country I am well aware of the time and money invested in existing programs. Utilities typically have to file any plans for demand side management (DSM) and energy efficiency (EE) programs with the state years in advance of actually launching a program. Once launched, programs usually run 3-5 years. Changing the name of an existing program will be costly and potentially disastrous for the program. The alternative is grandfathering in existing programs, but that might lead to further confusion in the market.

So what’s the alternative?
As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA or “stimulus” program), the DOE developed the Better Buildings program. The Better Buildings program is “helping over 40 competitively selected state and local governments develop sustainable programs to upgrade the energy efficiency of more than 150,000 buildings.” At the HPwES stakeholders meeting some members of the DOE seemed to imply that this is the name they want to use for HPwES. While “Better Buildings” does roll of the tongue easier, it doesn’t clearly scream home performance or existing homes.

What does the future hold?
HPwES is a national program, though only where there is a local sponsor. For this reason, any changes to the program must take into account what is in the best interest for the sponsors. Right now I think the DOE has a long road ahead to convince stakeholders that a name change is good a move.