RESOURCE LIBRARY
APPRISE Projects
Commercial & Industrial Market Transformation Research & Evaluation
APPRISE conducted a process evaluation to understand the contributions of Avangrid’s marketing programs to residential and non-residential customer participation in Avangrid’s energy efficiency programs. The research included in-depth interviews and surveys with program participants to assess the success of various marketing approaches.
The Data Mining Research included analysis of the program database and the eligible customer database. This research assessed which market sectors are highly represented among the SBEA participants over the last five years, which sectors are underrepresented and which are missing; determined how the market sector distribution of program participants compares to those of nonparticipants; characterized the mix of measures installed in the program; and explored predicted savings by sector.
The Low-Income and Limited English Study explored how to increase participation by small business owners who are low-income or have limited English fluency. The study contacted organizations in the state who work with these types of small businesses, characterized the businesses and assessed eligibility for the program, and determined whether the organizations were willing to facilitate participation of these businesses in the SBEA.
Con Edison’s Commercial & Industrial program provides incentives to organizations that install qualifying energy-using equipment or who complete energy efficiency projects in their facility. As part of the program, Con Edison maintains a network of Trade Allies that have completed projects in the program, including installation contractors, engineering companies, equipment manufacturers, and energy consultants. APPRISE supported a process evaluation of the program by conducting in-depth interviews with these Trade Allies. The interviews collected detailed information about the types of work the companies do, their experience and satisfaction with each aspect of the program, perceived barriers, and recommended areas for improvement.
APPRISE worked with a team to assess the performance of thirteen residential and small business energy efficiency programs offered by the Consolidated Edison and Orange & Rockland utility companies. The evaluation assessed how each energy efficiency program is operating and made recommendations for improvements to the implementation process. Specific information gathered via program participant and non-participant surveys included participant satisfaction, effectiveness of program marketing and delivery, barriers to participation, satisfaction with measures offered, and satisfaction with trade ally training programs.
Consolidated Edison’s Commercial & Industrial program provides incentives to organizations that install qualifying energy-using equipment or who complete energy efficiency projects in their facility. The managers of the C&I programs were interested in learning more about the key market actors in the supply chain for C&I Ventilation and Air Conditioning Equipment to assist them in their program planning efforts. For this project, APPRISE worked as part of a team to develop a comprehensive inventory of the most important manufacturers, distributors, mechanical engineers, and VAC contractors in the Con Ed service territory. In addition, APPRISE is collected information from each market actor group through in-depth interviews to furnish Con Ed program managers with insights on how to engage each type of market actor in their programs.
Massachusetts Energy Efficiency Programs’ Commercial & Industrial Evaluation Code Compliance Project
NYSERDA’s Agriculture Energy Audit Program offers no-cost energy audits and technical assistance for eligible agricultural producers in New York, including farmers, greenhouse operators, dairy producers, and other agricultural businesses. Program participants receive a comprehensive or targeted energy audit that examines facility energy use and equipment and provides recommendations for specific energy efficiency measures. NYSERDA is conducting a study to understand the direct and indirect impacts of the program from 2017 to 2021. As part of this study, the research team is conducting surveys with program participants to learn about their experience with the program, to document the installation of recommended measures, and to understand changes to energy consumption over time. APPRISE conducted surveys in 2019 and 2021 and is conducting additional surveys with more recent program participants. APPRISE will conduct multiple forms of outreach, complete telephone interviews, and implement specialized outreach to producers with multiple locations.
APPRISE conducted survey research to support NYSERDA’s market characterization research for the New Construction Program (NCP) in 2008. This research gathered information from participating and non-participating building owners and participating and non-participating architecture and engineering firms to assess their views, experiences, and perceptions on a variety of topics related to program participation.
APPRISE conducted surveys in 2011 with non-participating building owners and design firms to assess awareness of NYSERDA’s program offerings and energy efficiency measures in the non-residential new construction sector in New York State, to develop baseline data for non-residential new construction in New York State, and to assess non-participant spillover effects of the New Construction Program.
NYSERDA’s Innovation and Research Product Development activities invest in emerging clean energy technologies. These investments support the development of commercially viable technologies that can have transformative impacts in the market. This study examined the products NYSERDA supported between 2016 and 2020 to estimate the actual and potential market impacts of each product, to understand the extent to which products can benefit disadvantaged communities, and to identify barriers or catalysts to scalability. APPRISE conducted interviews with the product developers to document each product’s uses, commercialization, and impacts.
NYSERDA is conducting a study to characterize industrial and greenhouse facility energy usage and energy savings potential in New York State. In Phase 1 of the study, APPRISE is conducting data matching and screening to help build a comprehensive dataset of active manufacturing facilities in New York. This includes extracting and summarizing data from prior NYSERDA industrial studies, manually matching data from a purchased database of manufacturing companies to facilities that were included in recent NYSERDA industrial studies, and conducting online research to determine if facilities were eligible locations where manufacturing occurred. In Phase 2 of the study, APPRISE is conducting a detailed mixed-mode survey with over 1,000 facilities to collect information on facility energy usage, industrial equipment processes, and energy management practices. The findings from the study will allow NYSERDA to analyze and compare key manufacturing sectors, to understand energy needs for industrial facilities, and to identify energy saving opportunities.