Sustainable Edmonds needs additional Save Energy Now participants

Sustainable Edmonds is seeking additional home and business owners who want to save energy and money through its Save Energy Now (SEN) program.

SEN is aimed at helping local home and business owners find ways to reduce their annual utility consumption by at least 10 percent in 2010. The City of Edmonds provided funding for the pilot program, with the hope of creating an energy conservation model for home and business owners citywide.

“Saving energy through conservation does make sense,” noted Todd Cloutier of Sustainable Edmonds. “We save money, our local utilities don’t have to build new generating capacity, and we boost local employment and business by making home improvements.”

While several homeowners have already volunteered to participate, Sustainable Edmonds is looking for additional participants to ensure the SEN program is successful, Cloutier added.

Here’s how the Save Energy Now program works:

-A professional energy auditor will perform a complete energy audit of a home/business. This will help identify appropriate changes for each participant, including the likely payback period for improvements.

-Sustainable Edmonds will provide $150 of the $210 ($230 commercial) energy audit; the participant will pay the remainder. Additionally, Snohomish County may have additional funds available for audits in 2010.

-Using the energy auditor’s report, the participant will seal leaks and make other energy-efficient improvements.

-Sustainable Edmonds will help identify sources of financial assistance and incentives, as well as contractors certified by local utilities.

-Conservation progress of participating homes/businesses will be monitored using the CarbonSalon.net website.

-Owners and Sustainable Edmonds will share the lessons of what worked with the rest of the city.

Participants need to meet the following requirements:

– Be a homeowner or business operator in the city of Edmonds.

– Have a home or business structure built before 1985, or one that has extraordinarily high utility bill(s).

– Agree to the energy audit, and be responsible for paying the non-subsidized portion of the audit. Also agree to make changes recommended by the audit, which may involve some expense on the part of the home or business owner.

– Agree to work toward a goal of a 10-percent reduction in electricity and gas consumption.

– A maximum of 10 homes and 10 businesses can participate, and will be chosen on a first-come, first-served basis.

For more information, email SustainableEdmonds@gmail.com. You can track the progress of the Save Energy Now program at www.SustainableEdmonds.org.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Real first and last names — as well as city of residence — are required for all commenters.
This is so we can verify your identity before approving your comment.

By commenting here you agree to abide by our Code of Conduct. Please read our code at the bottom of this page before commenting.