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In this newsletter:


  • Input Needed: NREL Residential Contractor Survey
  • Registration Closing Soon: SPEER's Building Operator Certification Summer 2025 Course
  • New SPEER member!
  • Upcoming Events & Webinars
  • Noteworthy Announcements
  • What We're Reading

Input Needed: NREL Residential Contractor Survey

Please help support a new data collection effort by completing this survey!


The National Renewable Energy Laboratory is conducting a national survey of residential trade allies to understand how they view hiring, training, and workforce development opportunities. SPEER is helping support these efforts with the goal of better understanding ways that federal and state programs can support companies and their workforce through training, education, and other resources. 

 

The survey is intended for contractors involved in improving the energy performance of residential buildings, including single family, manufactured housing, and multi-family dwellings. This can include business owners, individual workers, managers, hiring managers, and other personnel involved with or receiving hiring and training that perform work in the following skilled labor professions:   


  • HVAC/R mechanics, installers, or technicians 
  • Electricians
  • Insulation workers (floor, ceiling, and walls) 
  • Plumbers
  • Building performance specialists 
  • Siding installers 
  • Window installers 
  • Weatherization technicians 
  • Energy auditors, HERS raters and energy consultants 
  • Residential remodelers 
  • New home construction and building constructions 

 

If you or someone you know falls into one of the categories above, we would appreciate it if you could complete the survey or share it within your network. The survey should take about 10 minutes to complete, and can be found here.


We appreciate your support, thank you!

Time's Almost Up: Register for SPEER's Building Operator Certification Summer 2025 Course!

SPEER is offering FREE energy efficiency and building operator training as a subrecipient of the DOE’s Building Training and Assessment Center (BTAC) Grant. The Building Operator Certification (BOC) is a professional credential in energy efficiency that employers across the country recognize.  Building operators reduce their annual utility costs by instituting energy conservation practices they learned through BOC training and certification.


Participants will become experts in the following subject matter:


  • Energy Efficient Operation of Building HVAC Systems [May 13th & 15th & May 27th & 29th]
  • Measuring and Benchmarking Energy Performance [June 10th & 12th]
  • Efficient Lighting Fundamentals [June 24th & 26th]
  • HVAC Controls Fundamentals [July 8th & 10th]
  • Indoor Environmental Quality [July 22nd & 24th]
  • Common Opportunities for Low-Cost Operational Improvement [August 5th & 7th]
  • Smart Building Fundamentals [August 19th & 21st]


This course will be taught live, in a virtual format through Zoom with our qualified instructors. Registration for BOC closes Wednesday, 5/7 - register here.


BOC training is for building professionals with two or more years’ experience who wish to broaden their knowledge of the total building system. Learn more about eligibility here.

New SPEER Member!

SPEER is excited to welcome our newest member, HVAC U!


We are very happy to have them on board as we continue our mission to advance energy efficiency in Texas and Oklahoma. Learn more about SPEER membership here.

Upcoming Events & Webinars

CELC Virtual Coffee Hour: Energizing Connections

Join SPEER’s Senior Manager of Government and Community Engagement as she leads monthly open discussions with members of the local government and higher education community focused on sharing insights and exploring ways to expand exciting energy efficiency in our communities.


The next Community Efficiency Leadership Coalition (CELC) virtual coffee hour is this

morning (May 6th) at 9:30 AM CST. Don’t miss this opportunity to connect, learn, and contribute to the shared goal of creating sustainable and energy-efficient environments. Learn more on our event page and see our current CELC members.

OUBCC Residential Building Technical Code Review Committee Meeting

Join SPEER's Senior Manager of Building Performance, Randy Plumlee, on Wednesday, May 7th at 9:00 AM for the Oklahoma Uniform Building Code Commission (OUBCC) Residential Building Technical Code Review Committee meeting. This important session will focus on reviewing and discussing energy code proposals and amendments.


For more details and to view the full agenda, please follow this link.


We look forward to your participation!

Empower Efficiency: SPEER's 2025 Industry + Policy Workshop

Empower efficiency and show your support! Registration is open – save your spot now and consider becoming a sponsor of SPEER’s 2025 Industry + Policy Workshop.


While last year’s record-setting event will be hard to top, we’re excited to set the bar even higher this year in a larger venue. We'll have a stacked schedule this year, with session topics including:


  • Unlocking the Power of Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) and Aggregation for a Resilient Energy Future
  • Powering forward with AI: Integrating Policy, Smart Data Analytics, and Decarbonization for Energy Savings Strategies 
  • The Future of the Texas Energy Grid: Modernization & Resilience
  • The Business of Energy Efficiency: ROI & Market Opportunities
  • And much more


Full agenda coming soon!


Huge shout out to Mitsubishi Electric for joining us as a Sustainability Sponsor. Multiple sponsorship packages are available. Head here to find the best fit for your organization!

Noteworthy

Recap: Recent SPEER Heat Pump Contractor Training Workshops

Following last year's successful event, SPEER held two more well-attended Heat Pump Contractor Training Workshops in April. First stop was in Austin with our sponsor Austin Energy, followed by a workshop in Houston with CenterPoint Energy.


Experts from Daikin Comfort and Mitsubishi Electric covered new and future heat pump technologies, the long-term effects of market transformation opportunities, benefits and barriers of heat pump installation, incentives, and much more. 


Huge thanks to our partners and everyone who attended!

Member Highlight: Texas PACE Authority Releases 2024 Annual Report

Huge congrats to SPEER member Texas PACE Authority for releasing their 2024 Annual Report, highlighting the organization's many successes from last year.


Dive into the full report here!

Air Quality Awareness Week

Every May Air Central Texas, in coordination with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), promotes Air Quality Awareness Week (AQAW) to educate people about air quality, how it affects their health, and encouraging everyone to incorporate the Air Quality Index (AQI) into their daily lives. This week is significant because it coincides with the start of Wildfire Awareness Month and National Bike Month (May 2025), as well as World Asthma Day (Tuesday, May 6, 2025).


ACT’s theme for this year is, “Stay Air Aware” and the topics for AQAW are:


  • Monday, May 5 – Wildland Fires & Smoke
  • Tuesday, May 6 – Air Quality & Sensitive Groups
  • Wednesday, May 7 – Knowing Your Air
  • Thursday, May 8 – Air Quality & Urban Heat Resilience
  • Friday, May 9 – Air Quality & Community Science


Air Central Texas, in collaboration with Travis County, will be sharing an Air Quality Checklist and Air Quality Pledge sheet to help Central Texans “Stay Air Aware."


For more context on the relationship between air quality and public health, check out our recent SPEER blog, "Air Quality and Public Health in Energy Policy."

Need to Catch Up?



Missed our latest policy newsletter or recent Local Government, Oklahoma, or Energy Code newsletters? Browse past issues of our newsletters and subscribe to other distribution lists here

What We're Reading

Chart: Top 15 states where IRA repeal could raise energy bills - Canary Media


These charts reveal the daunting challenge facing the ERCOT power grid in the next five years - Houston Chronicle


Future-Proof AI Data Centers, Grid Reliability, and Affordable Energy: Recommendations for States - ACEEE


Renew Home to roll out new VPP features this summer - Utility Dive

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