Energy Efficiency 

  • Card.installation.matters
    Installation is the Innovation: Unlocking Heat Pump Performance

    Case Studies

    By integrating customer insights and system performance data, ILLUME helped Georgia Power uncover how installation practices determine whether inverter-driven heat pumps…

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  • 1200x900.website.card.energy.star
    A Future Without ENERGY STAR: What’s at Risk and How We Can Respond

    Articles

    At ILLUME, many of us have built our careers around energy efficiency. For some, like our Co-Founder Sara Conzemius, that journey…

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    Energy Changemakers

    Webinars

    Regional Energy Efficiency Organizations (REEOs) play a pivotal role in enabling energy efficiency initiatives across the United States. In this webinar,…

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    The Intersection of Food Deserts and Energy Efficiency

    Case Studies

    The ILLUME team led a research study to support the launch of SoCalREN’s new Food Desert Energy Efficiency Equity (FDEEE) program.

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  • Hpwh.adoption
    Addressing Challenges in Heat Pump Water Heater Adoption

    Case Studies

    ILLUME conducted an ethnographic research study to explore the magnitude of installation challenges for heat pump water heaters (HPWHs) in cold-climate…

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  • Cooking electrification
    Rethinking Energy Efficiency Programs for Cooking Electrification

    Articles

    ILLUME’s recent participation at the 2023 Behavior, Energy, and Climate Change (BECC) conference showcased Director Dr. Liz Kelley’s presentation on induction…

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  • Neea.logo
    Cold Climate Installation & Water Heater Installers

    Reports

    NEEA hired ILLUME Advising to pursue two concurrent studies around water heater installers. The first was intended to focus on observational…

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  • Heat.pump.and.integrated.controls
    Heat Pump and Integrated Controls Performance Review

    Case Studies

    Heat pumps are on the rise in the Northeast, with Massachusetts offering incentives for electrifying home heating and reducing reliance on…

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  • Georgians Transforming Interview Eric Arnold
    Georgians Transforming the Lives of Neighbors: An Interview with Eric Arnold

    Magazine Articles

    Georgia Power’s approach to energy efficiency is redefining how to engage, one neighborhood at a time.

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  • Heat.pumps.take.center
    Heat Pumps Take Center Stage

    Magazine Articles

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  • Covid.is.making.us.sick
    COVID-19 is Making Us Sick, Energy Efficiency is Part of the Cure

    Magazine Articles

    Energy efficiency has many benefits. Air quality is one of them. In a new era of pandemics, our old resource gets…

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  • Cooking with gas sara blog banner
    Cooking With Gas (Or Not)

    Articles

    In this blog by ILLUME Founder, Sara Conzemius, she talks about how became an induction cooktop convert after loving a gas…

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  • Eliminating energy program participation barriers
    Eliminating Energy Program Participation Barriers

    Case Studies

    An ILLUME study reveals that homeowners are nearly 20% more likely than renters to be aware of their utility’s energy efficiency…

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  • Paper Airplane
    Beyond Awareness

    White Papers

    Engaging nonparticipants can be challenging, and in some cases can seem nearly impossible. Yet doing so is increasingly important as we…

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  • Oracle case study banner
    Testing the Efficacy of Home Energy Reports

    Case Studies

    Drawing on statistical methods from biomedical research, ILLUME applied meta-analysis techniques to measure savings from home energy report (HER) programs to…

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    Addressing Multifamily Hesitance to Participation in Energy Efficiency Programs

    White Papers

    This paper will build from the research and experience in three northeastern states to identify barriers to participation related to housing…

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  • Behavioral Programs Come Of Age
    Behavioral Programs Come of Age: A Final Report

    Reports

    This report first describes the research methods used, then summarizes the results, and finally concludes with a brief discussion of reporting…

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  • 05.17.2022 time well spent blog 1080x1080
    Time Well Spent: Empowering Contractors As Trusted Messengers Of Innovation

    Articles

    At ILLUME, we are researchers and experts on how to save energy through programs. We are also homeowners and utility customers,…

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  • Hero.image.1500x500.v2
    Translation or Transcreation?

    Articles

    As the energy efficiency industry continues to emphasize equitable program engagement, we’re learning what utilities can do to better serve customers…

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  • From Energy Efficiency to Demand Impacts:
    From Energy Efficiency to Demand Impacts

    Case Studies

    As the need for demand mitigation increases, how can utilities and program administrators extend energy efficiency portfolios to increase demand impacts?

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  • 05.11.2021 Blog Id.3.image .1000x500.website
    Workforce Development as Economic Agency

    Articles

    Much of our recent research has explored how vulnerable communities lag behind affluent communities in receiving benefits from distributed energy resources,…

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  • Centerpoint
    CenterPoint Doubles Down on Data to Deliver Smarter Programs

    Magazine Articles

    How does a utility, operating across multiple verticals, create an intelligence platform for decision making?

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  • Current Podcast 4 3
    Interview with Terrilyn Simmons

    Podcasts

    Sara Conzemius talks with Georgia Power’s Terrilyn Simmons about the utility’s efforts to promote energy efficiency, diversity, and the importance of…

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  • Barriers Study
    Residential Nonparticipant Market Characterization and Barriers Study

    Case Studies

    ILLUME conducted primary research for the Massachusetts Program Administrators and EEAC to characterize Mass Save residential nonparticipants, investigate barriers to participation,…

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