A statewide energy efficiency program is holding a workshop next month in Half Moon Bay to educate homeowners on how to increase their energy efficiency — and apply for thousands of dollars in rebates.
Up to four thousand dollars in rebates are currently available for participants throughout California.
Last August, San Mateo County launched a matching program which doubled the maximum who make energy-efficient repairs by March 2012. Funding for San Mateo County's match program was made available through stimulus funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The matching program has since run out of funds, said Napallo Gomez-Somer of Energy Upgrade California.
According to the organization, the program creates local jobs with area contractors, reduces energy use, and helps homeowners save money.
“The before and after results of upgrades are often impressive, with homeowners reducing their energy consumption by 10 to 50 percent," said Colin Clark, staff member at Energy Upgrade California.
Clark says that most homes have gaps and cracks in ceilings, walls and ducts.
"When added together, those gaps and cracks are equivalent to having a hole in the house the size of a hula hoop,” he said.
Homeowners who participate in the program will receive a home energy assessment that takes into account the overall energy consumption of the house, rather than that of individual appliances alone, according to Energy Upgrade California.
Assessors will recommend potential upgrades that could be made to the house, such as installation of a high-efficiency heater or air conditioner, insulation, changes to ducts and registers, or new windows to address “air leakage” in or out of a home.
The organization pledges that homeowners attending the workshop will leave with a "firm understanding" of how to:
- Lower their utilities bill and reduce energy use
- Increase home comfort and indoor air quality
- Get started on a home energy upgrade right away
The Half Moon Bay workshop will be held on Wed., Feb. 8 from
7:00 – 8:30 p.m. at (500 Purissima St.). RSVP by clicking here.
For more information, watch the video produced by Energy Upgrade California in the media box at right.
Clarification 1/30: Energy Upgrade California has notified Half Moon Bay Patch that the San Mateo County matching rebate funds has since been completely used up by county homeowners. The current maximum amount of rebates available to county homeowners is $4,000.
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I believe the 4K rebate is comprised of a $1000 federal tax rebate (still available) and a maximum of $3000 administered by the county and the state (which is no longer available), We have friends who happily updated their houses energy efficiency using these rebates. So in November we signed up for an energy audit, paid for it, had the audit, and then were told the state and county money ran out at the end of last year. If there is any money left we would love to know of it. We will go to the seminar to see if we are wrong.
That's interesting that you were told that money ran at out end of last year since Energy Upgrade California staff told me just a few days ago that up to $4k in rebates are available per house. I'm sure that if you go to the Feb 8 workshop they will have more detailed answers to your question as to what happened with your inquiry or the program money in general. Good luck.