What do Americans want from their investments in energy efficiency? First of all, they want cost savings. Miles Meehan, a spokesman for HomeServeUSA, gives details of a new poll conducted by Harris of 2,100 Americans.

Why are National Grid's energy efficiency programs so successful in Rhode Island? Laura Rodormer and Matthew Ray, senior strategic business analysts at National Grid, describe the popular efficiency programs--plus the company's solar program. Customers who achieve high levels of energy efficiency are eligible for higher payments (approximately 40 cents/kWh) if they produce solar under National Grid's program, which does not involve net metering.

If you swap energy management teams with another business, just what will you learn? In this podcast, Maria Vargas, director of the Better Buildings Challenge, describes what Whole Foods and Hilton Worldwide learned when they swapped energy management teams in San Francisco.

NV Energy wants more efficiency--but regulators in Nevada want less. That's the ironic situation in Nevada. Last July, NV Energy said its residential lighting programs in southern Nevada were so popular--three times the utility’s initial projections--that it wanted to add more money to the program mid-year. It also wanted to boost its LED lighting program between 2016-2018, but the program was eliminated by the Nevada Public Utilities Commission.

In this podcast, Fridrik Larsens, CEO of Larsen Energy Branding--likely the first CEO in the world to get a Ph.D in energy branding—defines energy branding and explains why many companies are doing a bad job of establishing a clear, consistent and compelling brand.

Disruptive energy technologies provide many opportunities to cut energy bills in commercial buildings—but the many options are leaving building owners confused, resulting in missed opportunities. Mach Energy president Jon Moeller discusses a new survey in this podcast.

Patty Durand, executive director, Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative, shares the results of a study that categorizes consumers in terms of how they use--or avoid--smart grid applications. The most recent version of the study includes in-depth, on-camera interviews with consumers.

Energy harvesting can power the many sensors that are associated with the Internet of Things, says Terry Pennisi, CEO and founder of Jennova in this podcast interview (click on the player above to listen). When there's energy available as the result of fans or motors running, this energy can be harvested to power things like sensors that send data to the Internet, he explains.

Energy-harvesting sensors that are made of fabric and eliminate the need for batteries in some applications are the focus of this podcast interview with Keith McMillen, CEO and founder of BeBop Sensors. Listen by clicking on the player above.

Energy efficient motors can cut energy costs by 50% to 80% compared to older technologies. Even better, they can do that at the same cost as motors that use old-style technologies, says PJ Piper, president and CEO of QM Power in this podcast interview.

About 97 percent of the energy efficiency market is untapped due to the difficulty finding investors and other issues, says Dennis Quinn, COO of Joule Assets. And that’s a big market: nearly $279 billion in the US, he says. In this podcast, Quinn and Richard Jones, senior vice president of Hartford Steam Boiler explain how they’re going to help solve the problem by boosting investor confidence in projects. The two companies announced a portfolio-wide insurance product designed to meet the needs of small to medium-sized enterprises.

USGBC Colorado has seen a number of existing multi-family building owners invest in energy efficiency recently.“The new level of attention these leading multi-family buildings are paying to energy efficiency through their voluntary participation in the Denver City Energy Project (DCEP) points to a new trend that multi-family properties are establishing towards increased investment in energy efficiency,” said Patti Mason, Executive Director, USGBC Colorado. “This positive effort and investment will benefit Denver’s triple bottom line for decades to come."

Government energy efficiency mandates--especially those relating to appliances--are clunky and ineffective, says Ted Gayer, Brookings Institution vice president of economic studies. The costs outweigh the benefits, he says. It would make more economic sense to tax energy use or companies that produce pollution. Learn more about Gayer's views here: http://www.brookings.edu/research/testimony/2015/04/30-energy-efficiency-legislation-gayer

How are solar plus energy storage helping alleviate problems created by the drought in California? Neil Fromer, executive director, Resnick Institute of Sustainability at Caltech, explains the link between water availability and energy generation.

Which ethnic group invests most in energy efficiency? How to homeowners link solar and energy efficiency? Learn the answers to these questions by listening to this interview with Dave Treston, senior account planner at KSV, who give details about a recent energy efficiency study by KSV.

When we get a message from our cell phone provider that we're about to go over our limits, we generally cut back our calls. That's also true of consumers who opt for pre-pay energy, says Jamie Wimberly, CEO of Distributed Energy Financial Group, which has released a study showing that consumer like pre-pay energy and cut their energy use by up to 15% with it.

In 2013, Before California's initiative requiring utilities to install 1,325 MW of energy storage, the market was just in test phases. But now, the market has really heated up and energy storage competes with other sources of energy. Mike Hopkins, CEO of Ice Energy, gives his perspective on the state of the market in California--and the contracts his company has won.

In Ithaca, NY, Herbert Dwyer, president and CEO, ASI Energy, is developing the state's first "nodal microgrid," which is being built in phases. The project combines CHP with solar to provide heat and electricity. In this podcast, Dwyer explains the reasoning behind the "nodal" concept and its benefits.

Here's an interesting idea: creating a system that allows people to save energy, and then donate the amount saved to someone else who needs it! A new project, "Community First! Village" takes a step in that direction. Listen to our interview with Michele Negley, vice president, southern region, CLEAResult.

People Power's Presence Pro Energy Pilot Program--whose app was a Number One seller in the Apple store--has yielded 9% to 10% energy savings. The program first attracts participants with programs that allow them to monitor pets and relatives at home, then adds energy efficiency. Gene Wang, CEO of People Power, explains.