Web Site Policies

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) has developed this page to detail its compliance with the Office of Management and Budget Policies for Federal Public Web Sites. To learn more about EERE, visit About the Office of EERE.

Accessibility

EERE is committed to providing access to its Web pages to members of the public and federal employees with disabilities.

To meet this commitment, we will comply with the requirements of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. Section 508 requires that individuals with disabilities seeking information or services from us have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to that provided to the public who are not individuals with disabilities, unless an undue burden would be imposed on us. Section 508 also requires us to ensure that federal employees with disabilities have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to the access to and use of information and data by federal employees who are not individuals with disabilities, unless an undue burden would be imposed on us.

If you use assistive technology (such as a Braille reader, a screen reader, or TTY) and the format of any material on this Web site interferes with your ability to access information, please contact the Webmaster of the page in question. To enable us to respond in a manner most helpful to you, please indicate the nature of your accessibility problem, the preferred format in which to receive the material, the Web address of the requested material, and your contact information. Users who need accessibility assistance can also contact us by phone through the Federal Information Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339 for TTY/Voice communication.

Communicating with EERE

Inquiries

Inquiries and feedback about this Web site can be directed to the Webmasters of individual program or office sites. Webmasters are linked to from the bottom of each page. Every effort will be made to respond to your e-mail in a timely manner. Problems with content, technology, or data can also be directed to the Webmasters.

Fraud Reports

To report suspected fraud, waste, or abuse, including scams involving home energy efficiency services, please contact the Department of Energy's Office of Inspector General (OIG) Hotline:

  • Call: 1-800-541-1625 or 202-586-4073
  • E-mail: ighotline@hq.doe.gov
  • Fax: 202-586-4902
  • Write: U.S. Department of Energy
    Attn: Office of Inspector General Hotline
    1000 Independence Avenue, S.W.
    Washington, D.C. 20585
  • For more information, visit the Inspector General's Hotline Web site

Please provide as much information as possible. You may remain anonymous. If you provide contact information, the OIG may contact you for more information.

For more information about reporting fraud, see the Fraud Reporting Web page.

Small Businesses

Small businesses interested in contracting opportunities with the U.S. Department of Energy can visit the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization.

States

To learn more about state partnerships, projects, and opportunities with EERE, please visit the EERE State Activities and Partnerships site.

EERE Contacts

Each program site within EERE lists contact information for that program. The Office of EERE Contacts page lists the main EERE mailing address and further contact information. See the EERE contact information standard to learn more about the requirements for each EERE Web site.

FOIA

The Department of Energy is required under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to disclose records requested in writing by any person, unless the records or parts of the records are protected by any of nine exemptions in the law. The Department of Justice offers the full text of the Freedom of Information Act.

To request information under FOIA, please see the Department of Energy's FOIA Program site.

No FEAR Act

For summary statistical data about equal employment opportunity complaints filed with the agency and written notification of "whistleblower" rights and protections as required by the No Fear Act of 2002, visit the Department of Energy's Equal Opportunity Data Posted Pursuant to the No FEAR Act.

Materials on the EERE Web site are in the public domain. EERE requests that it be acknowledged as the source in any subsequent use of its information. Some materials on this site have been contributed by private individuals, companies, or organizations and include a copyright notice. It is the user's responsibility to contact copyright owners and obtain the written permission required under U.S. copyright law before using these materials.

Links may be made to the EERE Web site from personal and organization Web pages. EERE requests that you link to its site rather than downloading portions of the site to another Web server so viewers will see the most up-to-date information.

EERE materials may not be used to state or imply the endorsement of EERE or any EERE employee of a commercial product, service, or activity or be used in any other manner that might mislead the public.

Disclaimer

This system is made available by an agency of the United States Government and complies with the Web disclaimer policies of the U.S. Department of Energy.

Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of originators expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof.

We reserve the right to make all decisions in regard to what material is added to the EERE Web site, including the right to reject submissions.

Domains

All sites associated with EERE use only approved domains and URLs. See the EERE domain standard for more information.

Information Dissemination

Section 207(f)(2) of the E-Government Act of 2002 requires federal agencies to develop an inventory of Web site content. EERE's inventory and schedule of priorities is intended to be comprehensive and to represent Web site content from all programs and staff offices of EERE. EERE makes every effort to disseminate information to the public in a timely, equitable, efficient, and appropriate manner.

Information Quality

EERE is committed to providing quality information on its Web site. EERE complies with the Department of Energy's Information Quality Guidelines to ensure and maximize the quality, utility, objectivity, and integrity of the information it disseminates to members of the public.

Linking

This Web site contains hyperlinks to information created and maintained by other public and private organizations. External links are identified in the link text or an accompanying description. These links add value to the site by providing visitors with additional information about topics and eliminating duplicate content.

EERE does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of information on non-federal government Web sites. Links to particular items in hypertext are not intended as endorsements of any views expressed, products or services offered on outside sites, or the organizations sponsoring those sites. Many program sites have lists of links within their sites. Each program has its own criteria that are used when adding links to the site. Requests to add links or inquiries about linking criteria should be directed to the program sites.

External Web sites are welcome to link to EERE, as long as they do not imply that EERE is endorsing or supporting their Web site. Do not use the EERE or DOE logo without permission.

Photographs

Most photographs on EERE are in the public domain and may be used. Please include any credits that appear alongside the photograph; where no credits are listed, please credit DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

High-resolution photos can generally be obtained from the PIX Photo Library at DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Any photos on this site that are restricted will include a copyright notice. It is the user's responsibility to contact copyright owners and obtain the written permission required under U.S. copyright law before using these materials.

Privacy

EERE uses Web measurement technology to improve our website and provide a better user experience for our customers. The Office of Management and Budget classifies this as a Tier 2 usage, since we are utilizing a multi-session Web measurement technology that does not collect any personally identifiable information (PII).

EERE uses Webtrends, Google Analytics, GovDelivery, CrazyEgg, and Flite widget statistical tracking tools on our website, which help us determine top tasks, improve our user interface, and diversify our content offerings for our customers. These tools use first-party cookie technology to anonymously track how visitors interact with eere.energy.gov, including where they came from, what they did on the site, and whether they completed any pre-determined tasks while on the site.

Visitors to the Web site remain anonymous because no PII is collected. This user data is retained only as long as it is needed to support optimizing the website. This information is NOT shared with anyone beyond the support staff to this website, except when required by Law Enforcement investigation, and is used only as a source of anonymous statistical information.

Disabling this Web measurement technology requires modifying individual browser settings; it is enabled by default. If you wish to opt-out, follow these step-by-step instructions for changing your settings. Please note that opting-out in no way effects your access to content on eere.energy.gov or how you see the site.

EERE is committed to expanding the national conversation on energy issues and upholding the open government principles of transparency, participation and collaboration. One of the key ways we seek to accomplish this is through the use of third-party social media websites and applications. We do not collect or request personally identifiable information through these outlets, but may occasionally come into contact with unsolicited PII due to circumstances beyond our control. As a result, we reserve the right to moderate or remove comments that include personally identifiable information such as address, phone number, or social security number in a public manner. No PII will be retained in our system or shared with outside parties.

More information about the Department of Energy's automatic collection of information and persistent multi-session measurement is available on the DOE Web site.

Records Management

EERE manages Web site records in accordance with federal and U.S. Department of Energy policies.

Regulations

Visit Regulations.gov to search for regulations issued by EERE and the U.S. Department of Energy.

The EERE Web site includes a search box on every page. The search function permits the searching of all EERE content, displays search results in order of relevancy to search criteria, and provides quick response times. Advanced search options and search help are also offered.

Security

This Web site is part of a Federal computer system used to accomplish Federal functions. The Department of Energy monitors this Web site for security purposes to ensure it remains available to all users and to protect information in the system. By accessing this Web site, you are expressly consenting to these monitoring activities.

Unauthorized attempts to defeat or circumvent security features, to use the system for other than intended purposes, to deny service to authorized users, to access, obtain, alter, damage, or destroy information, or otherwise interfere with the system or its operation are prohibited. Evidence of such acts may be disclosed to law enforcement authorities and result in criminal prosecution under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 (Pub. L. 990474) and the National Information Infrastructure Protection Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104-294), (18 U.S.C. 1030), or other applicable criminal laws.