The 2010 PA Home Energy Conference was held on March 15 and 16 at the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel. The event featured advanced training on building science, growing and sustaining business, and up-to-date code and technical news. Attendees learned to position their businesses for expansion in response to state and federal consumer incentive programs for making energy efficient home improvements.

Over 250 people attended this year’s conference, including energy auditors, home performance contractors, green building professionals, and utility program managers. Attendees got the opportunity to hear from local, state and national speakers on relevant programs and incentives. Speakers included Sam Rashkin, the National Director of ENERGY STAR for Homes, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Matt Smuts, Sustainable Design Coordinator, Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburg; and Nicole Reed, a former student at the EMS Energy Institute who is currently on a detail assignment from the U.S. Department of Energy to the White House Council on Environmental Quality as the Deputy Associate director for Energy Efficiency.

In addition to the speakers and workshops, a variety of exhibitors were on site to provide a look at the latest home performance diagnostic tools and technology.

PA Home Energy is a program from the Penn-State managed West Penn Power Sustainable Energy Fund [2](WPPSEF) to help consumers reduce home energy. ENERGY STAR products, for both new and existing homes, are a major component of the program, which began in August 2007.