Getting Ready: Home energy efficiency upgrades can save you money and the planet

Are drafts in your home driving up your energy bills? Is it time to replace an aging boiler or hot water tank? Then you are in a fantastic position to benefit from advances in technology and generous rebates that will make your home more comfortable and more affordable, all while saving energy and helping the environment. Insulation, heat pumps, and heat pump hot water heaters increase a home’s efficiency and help lower the need for climate-warming fossil fuels.

The town of York has committed to joining global efforts to combat climate change by lowering emissions by 50% by 2030 and 100% by 2050. Each of us can be a part of meeting this goal and benefitting from more comfortable homes that are more affordable to live in.

York Ready for Climate Action’s Energy Coach Program provides trained volunteers to assist people with individualized guidance to navigate home energy projects like adding heat pumps, insulation, air sealing and heat pump hot water heaters. Coaches walk homeowners through options by informing them about area installers, available rebates and assistance for various income levels.

Our seven Energy Coaches are out in the community actively helping residents learn how they can cut emissions and save money with home energy efficiency measures.

It is important the benefits of energy retrofits be equitably available and not reserved for those who can afford to finance the upgrades themselves. For this reason, the state of Maine offers rebates through Efficiency Maine, the federal government offers tax incentives and local programs assisting income-qualified residents.

Generous rebates can make it free or nearly free to upgrade your home. Residents who already participate in state programs like HEAP and MaineCare are eligible for a free heat pump hot water heater (installation included).

If drafty windows are a problem, residents can order window inserts through WindowDressers.org and receive low or no-cost window inserts to tighten up a home for winter. York Ready for Climate Action will host a community window build in York this October. Residents must order window inserts by the end of August.

Adding insulation to your home can significantly reduce monthly energy bills by keeping heated (or cooled) air from escaping a home. Regardless of income, rebates greatly increase the affordability of insulation projects. See effiencymaine.com for more details.

Did you know that heat pumps also provide air conditioning? They are vastly more efficient than oil or propane heat and can help you reduce your energy bills. Various rebates and assistance programs help residents afford to install heat pumps.

The qualifications and particulars of all of the various rebates and programs can be complex. York Ready for Climate Action’s Energy Coaches are ready to help you find the rebates you qualify for so that you can improve your home and start saving on energy costs. Contact an Energy Coach today at https://yorkreadyforclimateaction.org/energy-coaches/.

Marina Mails is the executive director of York Ready for Climate Action.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Getting Ready: Home energy efficiency upgrades can save you money