Energy Efficiency: Good for You, Good for Your Wallet

Energy efficiency means more money in your pocket was the overall message of Energy CA Kick-Off, a go-green event held at headquarters in Calabasas on Saturday. Presented by Sen. Fran Pavley and L.A. County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, the event was a resource fair featuring booths and displays of everything energy-efficient, from solar power to energy-saving light-bulbs. 

In particular, the event highlighted Energy Upgrade California, a project that gives rebates of up to $6,000 to L.A. County residents when they improve the energy efficiency of their homes. David Cohen, the associate program manager for the L.A. County project, calls the program an opportunity.

“Right now it’s unprecedented that there’s $6,000 available for Los Angeles County residents to help offset the cost of construction for energy efficiency improvements,” said Cohen. “They should be doing these improvements just for the fact that their energy bills are going to be lower and their house is going to be more comfortable and healthy. But the fact that you can get $6,000 back is important.”

In his presentation, Cohen outlined the program that includes the assessment of the home, in which participating contractors find deficiencies; the basic measures of the improvements, which include air sealing, duct sealing and attic insulation; and the process and value of the rebates. Following the Power-Point presentation, five contractors went into more detail in a question and answer session.

“The information is really, really valuable,” said Howard Choy, General Manager of the L.A. County Office of Sustainability. “I think if homeowners could hear that kind of information, they would be flocking to this program.”

Choy said the goal was for homes to be as efficient as possible by the time the program concludes at the end of 2013, though he hopes it will last for decades.

Energy Upgrade California was launched in Southern California on March 1, according to Cohen, and the county has only recently begun publicizing the statewide program.

Kara Seward, Pavley’s field representative, has been following the program since its inception and helped coordinate the outreach event in Pavley’s hometown region. She said L.A. County has been actively pushing the program that’s both labor and cost-saving.

“It essentially aggregates all of the utility rebates that are out there on both the federal and county levels,” said Seward. “And so you go through one application process in order to do the Energy Efficiency Upgrade, plus get the rebate. So it kind of streamlines the process, makes it a lot easier for homeowners to go green and save money.”

The program has had advertisements in newspapers, television and radio, according to Choy. After a modest turnout on Saturday, he hopes Energy Upgrade California to become more well-known by word-of-mouth once more people take advantage of it and see its benefits. 

“That’s really the way this program thing is going to spread,” Choy said. “Most homes in California can see very, very significant improvements, and right now there’s a ton of money on the table to help people make it happen.”

For more information, go to the official web site.