Home and business owners looking to make energy efficiency upgrades are often confronted with a jungle of red tape; coordinating between banks, auditors, contractors, and utilities is daunting. An energy concierge program simplifies the process, giving building owners a single point of contact to complete their energy retrofits.
The Opportunity
Implementing energy efficiency upgrades in businesses, homes, and other sectors has a huge potential for our economy and environment: they can unlock a mountain of savings to the tune of $1.2 trillion over the next ten years, prevent over 1 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions, and create 1.7 million jobs.
The Problem
The problem isn’t just figuring out how to pay for energy retrofits—or even training workers to perform energy audits; all of these things together, combined with an overall lack of awareness of the opportunities for savings, is the root of the problem.
The Solution
The concierge approach can help home and business owners solve the energy efficiency puzzle. One person—or entity, such as a local utility or community action agency—serves as a reliable guide for people interested in energy retrofits. Specifically, the concierge can:
- Arrange an energy audit and give guidance for selecting the best efficiency opportunities.
- Help owners make the most of available financing schemes to help pay for the upgrades.
- Communicate with and oversee reliable contractors to do the work.
- Set up audits after retrofits have been performed to ensure energy savings are being met.
- Coordinate financing and payback of loans
Having a central entity ensures the best improvements are made in places where there are the greatest opportunities for savings and reductions of emissions. Furthermore, it encourages property owners to perform upgrades by simplifying the process and helping them realize the savings quicker.
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