from the ground up - The Tyee

Beyond rebatesOne thing is clear: it will take more than rebates. AsChristopher Pollon reported previously in this series,rebates like the SmartEnergy program add up to just adrop in the bucket.In December, Mayor Gregor Robertson announced thecity was developing a pilot program that would allowhomeowners to pay for home energy retrofits throughon-bill financing.On-bill financing means the homeowner doesn’t haveto dip into savings and pay a lump sum up front, andit’s more convenient than asking a person to go to abank and take out a separate loan. It’s easier to trackas the cost of running a household, too. Retro-fit loancharges can be folded into tax or utility bills the residentis already paying.“We want to make it easy for everyone so you can optin and you pay over time but the cost is offset by thesavings in energy,” Robertson said when he launchedVancouver’s version.The program will allow a homeowner to borrowmoney to finance home energy retrofits -- things likenew furnaces and boilers, more efficient windows,insulation and weather stripping. That loan can thenbe repaid over time on the homeowner’s property tax.This kind of long-term, low-interest financing modelis already being adopted many U.S. jurisdictions,including Portland. Two years ago, it launched CleanEnergy Works Portland, a pilot similar to the one Vancouveris proposing, which has reached 500 homeownersin the city.Moving energy savings to a top priorityMarlowe Kulley is a clean energy specialist with thecity who helped develop and implement the pilot. Oneof the biggest challenges, she explains, was convincinghomeowners that energy retrofits were somethingthey want, or ought, to do.“Most people would like to save energy at their home,but it’s not necessarily at the top of their list of projects,”Kulley says. “Especially when you think aboutother home improvement projects they might do -- abathroom remodel, or a new addition.”To combat this, Clean Energy Works Portland didwidespread advertising, but also targeted outreachin one particular neighbourhood -- the Cully neighbourhood-- in a working class part of the city. Theycontracted a team who canvassed door to door, heldneighbourhood potlucks and approached peoplethrough local churches and community centres. Accordingto Kulley, approximately 2,300 people responded.Those who qualified for the program first received avisit from a home energy auditor to assess energy useand potential savings. Then, they got an estimate ofwhat work needed to be done and how much it wouldcost. If the homeowner decided it was worth it, theysigned the loan agreement and work began.The average loan through this pilot program is$12,600, with a 20-year fixed interest rate of 5.99 percent (residents who qualify for federal income assistanceget a 3.99 per cent interest rate). The averagepayment per month is $76 per month, but combinedwith lower utility bills, real costs are more like $25per month.Through the whole process, Kulley and the team atClean Energy Works Portland guided homeowners.This is key, according to Eric de la Place, a senior researcheron climate and energy policy at the SightlineInstitute.“Even if you’ve got $10,000 in hand to do energyefficientupgrades, how do you spend it? It’s hardfor the average person to determine the right investments,”he says. “We’ve been advocating for an energyconcierge for municipalities -- someone to helpyou do energy audits, tell you about the return, hireout contractors, have the work done and do a postworkaudit.”Kulley measures the program’s success in part by itsconversion rate; that is, the number of people whoreceived an energy audit and actually went on to geta loan and do the work. Clean Energy Works has a 66per cent conversion rate. In a free market, without thebenefit of an on-bill financing program, that number ismore like 16 to 20 per cent, according to Kulley.75