Stimulus-funded home energy efficiency program helping residents save money
Beginning Aug. 1, Minneapolis homeowners will have the opportunity to save money and use less energy through the Community Energy Services program. The program offers free educational workshops to teach homeowners how to lower their energy use and save money. After the free workshop, the homeowner can sign up for a $30 customized home visit by energy efficiency experts who will:
- Identify a home’s unique energy needs, provide a blower door test to measure air leaks
- Help homeowners install materials in the home such as compact fluorescent light bulbs, programmable thermostat, low-flow showerhead, faucet aerators, gasket seals, pipe wrap and water heater thermometers
More than 4,000 Minneapolis homeowners are already saving money on their energy bills through this program, and now it is available citywide. The program also provides:
- A personalized energy use inventory for the past 12 months and feedback for the next 12 months to show homeowners how these low-cost/no-cost measures resulted in decreased energy use, as well as allowing participants to compare their energy use to that of similar homes;
- Access to 0% energy financing, incentives, and rebates for those wishing to complete larger projects.
The Community Energy Savings program is available for owner-occupied, one to four unit properties in the city of Minneapolis. Scholarships are available for qualified participants. For information on upcoming workshops in your neighborhood, contact Ashley Robertson at (612) 335-5869 or arobertson@mncee.org or visit www.mnces.org.
The program is a collaboration with the City of Minneapolis and the Center for Energy and Environment. The pilot program has already reached 59 neighborhoods and over 4,000 homeowners. The goal is to reach 6,000 total homeowners, saving $762,000 in energy costs annually and reducing CO 2 emissions by more than 5,000 tons per year. The program also creates 34 new jobs. The program is funded, in part, by a $3.9 million grant the City received from the Department of Energy through the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009; $705,000 is being used to expand this program to all neighborhoods in Minneapolis.
The City of Minneapolis has an eco-focused goal, embracing sustainability to support the City's quality of life now and in the future.
Published Jul. 29, 2011