Tulare Contractor Training Invitation

Calling all contractors who work in Madera and Tulare Counties!

Are you frustrated when you propose an energy upgrade but your customers
 have no way to finance it? We may have a solution!

The California Hub for Energy Efficiency Financing (CHEEF) is launching the Residential Energy Efficiency Loan Assistance Program (REEL) aimed at providing attractive unsecured financing options to help residential customers complete more energy efficient projects.

You’re invited to:

Meet & Greet with Valley Oak Credit Union & REEL Program Training Session

When:   April 13, 2016 (Wednesday)

Time: 8:00am – 11:00am (Breakfast Served)

Where: SCE Energy Education Center, Edison Building 4175 South Laspina Street

                Tulare, CA  93274

           

To register for the free training, email The CHEEF with your business name, phone number and contact person to cheef@treasurer.ca.gov. Seating limited to 30 contractors.

More information at: www.thecheef.com

REEL Program Benefits for Your Customers:

• 100% financing
• Rates starting at 7.41% (1-15 year term)
• Less than perfect credit scores may qualify (FICO as low as 580)
• Add up to 30% of loan amount for other home improvements

REEL Program Benefits for You:

• Close more deals and expand your customer base
• Receive up to $7,000 in co-op marketing funds
• Get featured on the statewide EnergyUpgradeCA.org website.
• Access free training to help your company drive volume and increase project scope
• Earn BPI Continuing Education Credit by completing free trainings
• No cost to participate

Statewide LG EE Best Practices: Weekly Update

1.  Last chance...earn $$ for your city's sustainability efforts!

Don’t miss your chance…August 31st is the deadline to sign your city up for the CoolCalifornia Challenge! 

Energy Upgrade California® CoolCalifornia Challenge 2015 - 2016

Play your part to keep California golden…join now in our statewide competition engaging thousands of households in cities across California to save energy, conserve water, reduce their carbon footprints, and help build more vibrant and sustainable communities!

For more information, download the Program Overview and Frequently Asked Questions from the website, or email challenge@energyupgradeca.org.

2.  Sierra Business Council - Two Positions Available

Sierra Business Council has two job openings available.  The positions are the same, but one is located in Sonora and the other can be either in Truckee or the Auburn area.  Here is the link to get more information:  http://sbcouncil.org/get-involved/sbc-careers

3.  Saving Energy in the Supply Chain

 Very good article about how to save energy through the supply chain.  To read the full article, go here:  http://www.energymanagertoday.com/saving-energy-in-the-supply-chain-0114946/

4.  Local Government Water Policy Forum

You are invited to a Local Government Water Policy Forum

Tuesday,September 15, 2015 10am-2:30pm

StopWaste 1537 Webster Street, Oakland CA

Lunch provided

Register at http://waterpolicyforum.eventbrite.com

This forum is for local government staff working to implement or update their jurisdiction’s response to the drought in departments such as planning, building, facilities, maintenance, public works or landscapes.

The intent of the forum is to share information amongst local governments about what we are doing to address water conservation both in our own facilities and in policies affecting our communities. 

The forum will:

· Clarify new requirements of the State for MWELO and Cal Green

· Discuss barriers to implementation, and identify potential regional approaches that could support your jurisdiction

· Review example tools and policy case studies

A preliminary agenda is attached.

There is no fee to attend this workshop, but you must be a local government staff and reservations will be accepted on a first-come first served basis.

Please email waterpolicyforum@stopwaste.org with any questions.

Please register HERE to reserve a spot.

This event is hosted by StopWaste.

And that is all for this week! 

Tulare Contractor Training Invitation

Calling all contractors who work in Madera and Tulare Counties!

Are you frustrated when you propose an energy upgrade but your customers have no way to finance it? We may have a solution!

The California Hub for Energy Efficiency Financing (CHEEF) is launching the Residential Energy Efficiency Loan Assistance Program (REEL) aimed at providing attractive unsecured financing options to help residential customers complete more energy efficient projects.

You’re invited to:

Meet & Greet with Valley Oak Credit Union & REEL Program Training Session

When:   April 13, 2016 (Wednesday)
Time:     8:00am – 11:00am (Breakfast Served)
Where:  SCE Energy Education Center, Edison Building
                4175 South Laspina Street
                Tulare, CA  93274
           

To register for the free training, email The CHEEF with your business name, phone number and contact person to cheef@treasurer.ca.gov.  Seating limited to 30 contractors.

More information at: www.thecheef.com

REEL Program Benefits for Your Customers:

• 100% financing
• Rates starting at 7.41% (1-15 year term)
• Less than perfect credit scores may qualify (FICO as low as 580)
• Add up to 30% of loan amount for other home improvements

REEL Program Benefits for You:

• Close more deals and expand your customer base
• Receive up to $7,000 in co-op marketing funds
• Get featured on the statewide EnergyUpgradeCA.org website.
• Access free training to help your company drive volume and increase project scope
• Earn BPI Continuing Education Credit by completing free trainings
• No cost to participate

Look For Your Climate Credit in October

       
Look for a Climate Credit from the State of California on Your October Utility Bill

This month your electricity bill will include a credit identified as the "California Climate Credit." Twice a year, in April and October*, your household and millions of others throughout the state will receive this credit on your electricity bills.  

The Climate Credit is a payment to Californians from a program designed to fight climate change by limiting the amount of greenhouse gas pollution that our largest industries put into the atmosphere.

This program is one of many developed as a result of landmark legislation called the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, which puts California at the forefront of efforts to battle climate change. Other programs under this law increase clean, renewable forms of electricity, promote energy efficiency in homes and businesses, and require cleaner fuels, and more efficient cars and trucks.

Together, these programs will aid in reducing greenhouse gas emissions that trap heat in the atmosphere–helping to clean the air and protect our food, water, and public health, as well as the beauty of our state.

The Climate Credit is designed to help you join with California in its efforts to fight climate change and clean the air. You can use the savings on your electricity bills however you choose, but you can save even more money by investing the bill savings from your Climate Credit in energy-saving home upgrades, including more efficient lights and appliances. You can find more information and receive rebates for these and many other energy efficient choices for your home at www.EnergyUpgradeCA.org/credit.

California's greenhouse gas reduction programs provide a range of powerful solutions to help slow climate change, one of the greatest challenges facing society. By gradually reducing emissions each year and moving to cleaner forms of energy, we are taking an important step to preserve the health and prosperity of our state for generations to come.

* Billing periods vary by utility and may not always coincide with a calendar month. If you don't see a Climate Credit in the bill that arrives in October, it will appear in the bill you receive in November.

The CPUC regulates privately owned electric companies and serves the public interest by protecting consumers and ensuring the provision of safe, reliable utility service and infrastructure at reasonable rates, with a commitment to environmental enhancement and a healthy California economy. For more information about our work contact us at:
news@cpuc.ca.gov, 800-253-0500, or visit www.cpuc.ca.gov. 

City of Fresno Buttons Me Up

*Editors Note: this post ran on a personal blog in October 2011.  The Home Energy Tune Up program is in a ramp down period for the remainder of 2012 but will return in full-force in 2013 through funding from Pacific Gas & Electric Company, the California Public Utilities Commission and California Rate Payers.  To track the status of this program you can check in here on our blog and at the City of Fresno website.  Now, on to the home-shaming. 

I carry an albatross of inefficiency.

My home was built in 1977 and for 33 years sat untouched by the hands of my husband's grandmother. To her credit, she did install shutters on the eastern facing windows, but I'm fairly certain that was more aesthetic than for cooling purposes.

Looking pretty and leaking $

Upon moving in our first priority was making the house livable--and for us that meant replacing every square of plaid linoleum and fiber of "goldenrod" carpet and drapery. We wanted our home to look pretty, and paid little attention to running pretty. The very little credit we deserve is that we installed ceiling fans in every room and replaced all our lighting with cfl bulbs, inside and out. That was it.

Now, as one who is compensated for evangelizing energy efficiency you would expect that my own home's efficiency was a top priority. Especially given that our monthly electric and gas bill exceeded our mortgage costs six months out of the year. It wasn't until this spring that we even started thinking about "buttoning up the house". 

California, despite the boondoggle of a PACE program, has introduced some rather enticing mechanisms to incentivize homeowners to make efficiency upgrades to their home. After sitting through no less than 17 presentations on Energy Upgrade California/Residential Retrofit/Weatherization I decided that our home was ready for a makeover!

My husband immediately wanted solar. However, I knew we would be paying an arm and a leg for an over-sized solar array if we didn't get the house tuned up first. And, like we say to every city manager and public works director up and down the Valley--solar isn't worth a penny until you address your inefficiency first.

Now, here is where I profess I have a work-crush on Steven Chu. Yup, that's right Secretary of Energy Steven Chu. Mostly because he isn't afraid to speak out about gas prices, touts efficiency as a saving grace, and because he can tie-in energy storage with the latest Harry Potter release. I also really respect his personal efforts to make his home a pinnacle of energy savings. Secretary Chu has insulated, sealed and gone tankless; resulting in big time savings. So, I figured if the Secretary of Energy of the United States can take the time to insulate his pipes, the least I can do is pay someone to do it for me!

And so it began. I made my own list of "to-do's":

1. insulate the attic and lee walls 
2. duct inspection and sealing 
3. AC tune-up 
4. Insulate hot water heater  Replace hot water heater with tankless hot water heater
5. solar shade on transom windows

In a chicken/egg scenario I can't say whether I made my list because I wanted to be more efficient or because the City of Fresno was launching a "Home Energy Tune-Up" program, free to homeowners (disclaimer: my Organization is was a sub-sub-contractor to the City on this project.  We assist in outreach to local governments.).  Likely, a little of both.  

Regardless of professional involvement, the steps of the program are so incredibly simple! 

1. Schedule a free home energy survey by calling (855) 621-3733 or filling out an online form
2. Be home during a 3-4 hour walk-thru survey to determine where energy is wasted
3. Receive a detailed report from your  inspector with no-cost and low-cost ideas to improvement

There is even assistance for accessing rebates and incentives, as well as financing option for advanced upgrades.  

Our survey was completed on a Friday morning by Nathaniel Zayas of AmeriSpec, and took a little longer than four hours, but mostly because I asked him a zillion questions at every step, and because he was being assisted by this guy:

Dutch, our St. Bernard and Assistant Inspector

To my great surprise, our house wasn't in as bad shape as I thought it was.  The average home inspected has a 20% duct leakage.  After the blower test, it turned out that ours were leaking less than 10%. Our AC, as it turns out, is functioning better than expected given that it is original to the home.  We're pretty diligent about having it checked, but who's to say what Grandma did all those years so that was indeed a nice surprise.  The unit is way too big, but in all honesty that's something that I'm willing to pay extra because come July and that 20 day streak above 100 degrees I'll be glad for the chill.  

The real offenders are the furnace, the hot water heater, and the windows. 

Because we're not opting into the Energy Upgrade California program (although EUCA is awesome and if you're considering major efficiency improvements I strongly recommend you look into it) we'll be paying for each improvement upfront, in full.   With those financial realities I set up something SJVCEO recommended to local governments as gospel--a revolving energy loan fund.  Here's how it works: 

• you have an upfront amount of money that you decide you're willing to spend on upgrades.  In our case that was $1,000.  
• Next, you determine your project, and what your rebate is and what you can expect for a payback on the investment.  For us, we wanted to do insulation first.  One, the whole house and lee walls could be insulted within our budget.  Two, we had Z-E-R-O insulation in our home and it gets cold...and hot.  PG&E was offering a $300 rebate on the work, so in the end our cost was $900.  Pre-insulation our combined electric and gas bill on an average month was $400.  The insulation saves approximately 10% each month, so the payback would be about 18 months.  We liked that. 

• Once you know your project, do it.  In our case we went with Masterguard Insulation and Windows and they were fantastic.  Quick, clean, and considerate.  I'm not sure Dutch got to help out, but he seems pretty happy with the end product.  In the months of post-insulation bills the project is actually saving an average of 18% per month!  That means the project paid itself off in five and a half months!  
• Finally, take your rebate and the money you've saved on utility bills and reinvest in your next project! Ours is probably going to be a tankless hot water heater.  I expect it will be another $1,000 project with the product and installation 
• Repeat as necessary until you've got your home buttoned up and running smooth! 

Have I loosened that albatross? Not quite; I still have a ways to go before I can feel like our home is pinnacle of efficiency, but at least I no longer feel like there's a dirty secret I'm hiding!  The truth is, energy upgrading your home is no different than any other DIY/home improvement project: it just takes time and commitment to making a better quality of living for you and your family...our your Saint Bernard. 

photo credits: all photos property of Courtney Kalashian

Sometimes The Right Solution Is A Green One

Replacing lights, beefing up insulation, weatherizing and other energy-efficiency measures can cut power consumption and costs. In fact, the nation's energy chief, Steven Chu, calls efficiency the "low-hanging fruit" of the clean-energy movement.

Commercial and residential buildings are responsible for 40 percent of the nation's energy consumption, according to this study. Even a Math-challenged Journalism grad like myself can see the potential for significant savings. How significant? Up to $33 billion per year by 2030.

Closer to home, officials in the city of Fresno crunched utility data and determined that a citywide reduction in energy use of 30 percent would save property owners a whopping $260 million. That windfall would then be spent in the community to help stimulate the economy. Here's more on the Fresno analysis.

What's in it for you? A free energy audit of my 1,400-square-foot, 18-year-old house in Clovis determined that $1,700 worth of upgrades (after rebates) would shave $50 per month off my electricity bill - which equates to a three-year payback. It's free money after that point. That's not a bad investment.

My audit was through the Home Energy Tune-Up offered by the city of Fresno in cooperation with Energy Upgrade California - and available in Fresno, Kings, Tulare and Kern counties. A list of recommended contractors who can do the work is provided.

A similar Energy Upgrade California program is available in the service areas of Pacific Gas & Electric and Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) through GreenerSolutions of Stockton.

Sometimes it costs money to make money. Energy efficiency is that way, but Hayden Logan, owner of GreenerSolutions, says the investment is well worth it. "You can see how much energy you can save by spending only a little money," he said.

Many property owners have to finance the energy improvements, but there are ways to do that. One of the most common is the CHF Residential Energy Retrofit Program, for which GreenerSolutions is an approved contractor. The program provides no-and low-interest loans (up to 3%) without requiring a home appraisal or a minimum credit score.

However, there are income requirements, which can be found here (some examples: $32,820-$87,500 in Fresno County; $39,240-$104,640 in San Joaquin County; and $45,060-$120,160 in Sacramento County.)

GreenerSolutions also offers financing through its own in-house program, or through energy-efficient mortgages (which are used in conjunction with purchases or refinancing).

Energy Upgrade California and similar programs offer an opportunity for property owners to get more green in their pocketbooks while living a greener lifestyle.

Photo of Fresno City Hall

New State Program Could Help Families Become More Energy Efficient

I live in your basic suburban tract house near Fresno. Fourteen hundred square feet with four bedrooms, two bathrooms and a backyard pool. It was built in 1993.

Two dogs. One cat. One wife. Kid in college. But our monthly electricity bill during the summer, when Fresno fries under triple-digit temps, has been known to exceed $600. We like it cool, but not that cool.

I'm thinking an 18-year-old air conditioner could be part of the problem. Experts say that every jump in SEER rating equates to 7.5% increase in savings. So, going from a SEER 10, for example, to a new SEER 15 could potentially cut my power bills 45% .

And that's where a new California state program could benefit me, and others in a similar situation. The Energy Upgrade California plan launched this week by the Energy Commission provides up to $4,000 in rebates to homeowners who make energy-efficiency upgrades.

Using the program's Web portal, property owners can enter their zip code or county name to learn about available upgrade programs, rebates, financing options and participating contractors available to them.

Initially, the program will be available for single-family homes and multi-family properties of up to four units. Later in 2011, the program will expand to multi-family properties of five or more units. In fall 2011, the program will be expanded to include commercial properties.

Upgrades are available in two rebate packages: the Basic Upgrade Package and the Advanced Upgrade Package. The Basic Package consists of seven required elements designed to improve energy efficiency by approximately 10%, and includes a fixed rebate of $1,000. The Advanced Package is customized for the property owner, with rebates based on the energy savings achieved between 15-40 percent, with rebates ranging from $1,250 to more than $4,000, depending upon the utility provider and energy savings.

Here is a San Jose Mercury News story on the program, plus links to the CEC press release and to the Energy Upgrade California Web site.

photo by remodeling.hw.net