Step 6: Focus on High Impact & High Value Efficiency

One of the major challenges to implementing energy efficiency is deciding where to focus limited capital and human resources to prioritize initiatives. As a result, organizations end up installing quick low cost/fast payback projects, replacing equipment only when it...

Step 5: Retrofit Street Lighting

The benefits of upgrading conventional, high-pressure sodium, metal halide, and mercury vapor street lights with LED technology offers an array of cost, maintenance, and social benefits, yet cities face ownership, regulatory, tariff, funding, and internal capacity...

Step 3: Track Energy Data and Benchmark Performance

When it comes to building energy use, a commonly repeated adage is: You can’t manage what you don’t measure. Building energy benchmarking is the process of measuring a building’s energy use and comparing performance to similar buildings. Benchmarking provides local...

Step 2: Breakdown Silos

Managing municipal energy use often requires coordination of a variety of departments within the city government including finance, accounting, procurement, facilities, and sustainability departments. Communicating and coordinating energy management goals and plans...

Step 1: Have a Plan

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” ― Benjamin Franklin As we discussed in the introduction, there are many reasons why a local government may want to pursue energy efficiency internally and support community energy efficiency goals. Having a plan to...