Minneapolis will soon be a "beta" tester for a federal Energy Score program, along with nine other U.S. cities.
The energy-saving program, which Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Steven Chu presented last week, is comparable to the well-known
Energy STAR label for appliances, program materials state.
In Minneapolis, the program begins with an educational workshop that gives homeowners the chance to sign up for a home visit from a two-person team of experts, according to Carl Nelson, the program and policy manager of the local nonprofit
Center for Energy and Environment, which administers a related
Community Energy Services program in Minneapolis.
For $30, the experts will check out a home's energy use and offer tips for improving efficiency. A blower door test, for instance, can show how much air is escaping through open spaces, Nelson explains.
Another benefit of the walk-through is "It'll give [homeowners] perspective on how they're doing in terms of other homes per square foot," he says.
Beyond that initial inspection, homeowners will get periodic progress reports that are based on their energy bills. By installing recommended items such as fluorescent light bulbs, programmable thermostats and low-flow showerheads, or tackling retrofit projects, people can improve their marks and save money.
"Staff can help figure out how to finance it as well," he says, referencing various rebates and credits that are out there. "People can come to us and say 'what can we get?' and we can hook them up," he says.
Nelson hopes the program, which will be rolled out neighborhood by neighborhood starting with about 300 homes, will transform the market for energy-efficient upgrades.
"There's a lot of potential for something like this," he says, adding, "We want to try to make it as easy as possible for people to save energy in ways that are cost-effective."
Source: Carl Nelson, program and policy manager for the Center for Energy and Environment
Writer: Anna Pratt