How-To Guide
Training and Recruiting Staff:
An experienced supervisor or a team of experienced staff are required to organize the program and recruit interns or volunteers. They train and prepare the interns and/or volunteers for their specific role in the process: home energy assessments, compiling reports and recommendations, and meeting with the leaders to explain recommendations and educational materials. For more information, please refer to our Energy Corps Training Outline.
Nominating Leaders and Scheduling Energy Tests
Community leaders are nominated due to the prominent social, political, and economic roles they hold within their communities-they have the power and resources to initiate community-level change. Leaders are evaluated based on their potential to: 1) Generate resident demand by distributing educational materials and organizing public awareness efforts, 2) Create financing mechanisms to overcome the barrier of high upfront costs, and 3) Develop a skilled workforce through development programs that train workers to enter the energy efficiency field.
Nominated leaders are invited to participate in the program through an e-mail that explains the program and suggests times in the next two weeks to schedule the visit. It is often necessary to follow-up with another e-mail or phone call a week after the initial contact due to leaders's busy schedules. After the energy test is scheduled a confirmation letter is sent with more information about the visit.
Materials: Sample scheduling e-mail, Confirmation Letter
Home Energy Tests and Report Creation
Teams of 2-3 interns conduct energy tests on the homes of community leaders. Test components include a blower door test, infrared analysis, and an evaluation of appliances, lighting, and heating systems. After the test, interns develop a detailed report with recommendations for improvements and an analysis of how the house's current energy consumption compares with other similar homes. To streamline report creation, interns use a quick guide of possible recommendations that are inserted into the report template.
Materials: Data Collection Form, Blower Door Data Collection Form, Insulation Cheat Sheet
Follow Up Visits & Feedback:
During the follow-up visit interns share the report of recommended home energy improvements, the path to energy efficiency, energy program guide cards, and a list of local contractors. Next, interns use the leadership education talking points to talk about the economic benefits for community scale retrofitting, what's needed, and how leaders can help. During the visit interns ask leaders for their feedback on the process and how they personally can help advance energy efficiency in their community.
Materials: Leader Feedback Form
Follow-Up & Ongoing Support:
After the follow-up visit, the organization provides continued support and assistance for future energy initiatives--on an individual or a community level--and peer networks are developed to foster an even larger network of support, ideas, and innovation. For example, after a year of performing energy tests, over 50 leaders who went through the energy test process gathered together to brainstorm next steps to advance energy efficiency efforts in Tompkins County.
