Buildings
Report Release: Electrifying Buildings for Decarbonization
Download RMI’s new report, The Economics of Electrifying Buildings Seventy million American homes and businesses burn natural gas, oil, or propane on-site to heat their space and water, generating 560 million tons of carbon dioxide each year—one-tenth of total US emissions. But now, we have the opportunity to meet…
Energy and Affordability in Housing Finance
Utility costs place a significant financial burden on the 35 million very low- to moderate-income (LMI) single-family households in the United States. On average, low-income households spend three times as much to heat and cool their homes as the average household—from 20 percent to 50 percent of their…
A Resilience Strategy Based on Energy Efficiency Delivers Five Core Values
Resilience is perhaps the hottest energy-related topic discussed today among private-sector and government leaders worldwide. Extreme weather events, physical and cybersecurity threats, and utility grid failures are among the myriad reasons leaders are looking for more resilient and reliable energy solutions. However, most resilience efforts today are missing the mark.
Looking Beyond California: Zero Energy Housing in the United States
In only a year and a half, if you buy a house that’s just been built in California, you will be buying a house designed for the future: highly energy efficient, and a producer of clean, solar energy. Also, chances are good that it will be all-electric and have energy…
Is There a Trade-off with Transparency? A Deep Dive into Automated Home Energy Estimates
In the battle of human versus machine, is there a clean winner? No, we’re not talking about a future dystopian society—we’re talking about home energy estimates. Rocky Mountain Institute’s new report, An MPG for Homes: Accuracy and Application of Automated Home Energy Estimates, builds on earlier research to…