Toward Net Zero retrofits
If you’ve been on the fence about doing a deep energy retrofit now is the time to get off of that fence! The Community Energy Challenge is looking for three homes to complete deep energy retrofits on. And, they’ll help pay for it.
The Toward Net Zero Energy program is pilot project coordinated by the Community Energy Challenge (CEC). The objective is to help local contractors complete three deep energy retrofits. These projects will serve as examples of what is possible for retrofits. The CEC is hoping this will help usher in more deep green projects in Whatcom County.
What’s in it for homeowners?
[pullquote]Each project will receive up to $15,000 in rebate incentives and their home will be more comfortable, healthy, efficient and durable! [/pullquote]Each project will receive up to $15,000 in rebate incentives. Their home will be more comfortable, healthy, efficient and durable! The primary techniques to achieve that will be aggressive air sealing, beyond-code insulation levels, minimizing or eliminating thermal bridging, improved ventilation and upgrading appliances. These grants are not based on income and homeowners will be financially responsible for a percentage of the overall project.
Beautiful and high performance
At Chuckanut Builders we’re not only committed to helping our clients have a more beautiful home; we’re also committed to helping homeowners reduce their energy use and carbon footprint. These don’t have to be at odds. In the U.S. nearly 40% of energy is used on residential and commercial buildings. We need to reduce that number. Projects like these can help. We regularly perform projects much like the one described here, with one big exception: this pilot program will help the three selected homeowners pay for a much larger portion of the work than is currently available for standard CEC projects. This pilot project has the potential to help move deep energy retrofits out of the ‘nerdy’ realm into the mainstream in Bellingham. Wouldn’t you love to be a part of that?
We know that green building is often considered a buzz word and that building performance isn’t a term that most homeowners use. The benefits of increased building performance are understandable to everyone. They increase the comfort, durability and health of a home. Building performance dramatically increases the efficiency of a home. The average CEC project achieves an energy savings of 20-25%. The goal for this program is at least 50%. We recently completed a similar project and saw an 81% reduction in energy use! Projects like these have the potential to make a dramatic impact on our overall global carbon emissions.
Next steps
Contact us if you’re interested in talking about this program. The CEC is actively seeking projects. It’s important to note that certain criteria must be met to be eligible for this program. The retrofits are highly performance based and homeowners will be financially responsible for a large portion of the project. Three winners will be selected before the holidays so if you’re interested don’t wait! As a vetted CEC contractor we have a good understanding of how projects like these work, which projects might get selected and we’re just plain excited about helping folks increase the comfort and performance of their homes.
by Intellitonic