With summer just around the corner, Renew Boston is hosting informational workshops in Dorchester this Saturday, April 14^th and in Roxbury next Saturday, April 21^st on how insulation can reduce your summer cooling costs.   To ensure accessibility for all Boston residents, Renew Boston is offering translation for Vietnamese, Spanish, and Cape Verde Creole at these workshops.

In 2011, a record number of Boston homeowners, landlords, and renters signed up to Renew Boston to reduce their utility bills and improve the comfort of their homes and we expect 2012 to be even better.  With over 5,000 Boston households receiving no-cost energy assessments, including instant savings measures such as CFL light bulbs and over 1,000 households receiving insulation improvements in 2011, Renew Boston has brought the message to Boston residents about how easy it is to save energy and save money.

“I encourage Bostonians to take advantage of the incredible rebates and discounts available through Renew Boston,” said Mayor Thomas M. Menino. “I participated in the program and I can’t say enough about the immediate benefits.  It is great opportunity to make your home more comfortable and to saving during the hot summer and colds winters.”

In partnership with MassSave, NSTAR and National Grid, Renew Boston provides no-cost energy assessments and 75% off – up to $2,000 – on qualified insulation improvements for households in 1-4 unit buildings.  There are no income qualifications and renters and landlords are encouraged to participate.

Renew Boston program participants will see immediate savings upon getting an energy assessment. On average, participants will save about $200 a year with installation of CFL light bulbs, aerators and programmable thermostats with a fully completed weatherization saves up to $600 in heating costs each year.  Bostonians saw a total annual savings from Renew Boston since October 2010 of over $2 million when combining savings from energy assessments and insulation improvement jobs.

“Renew Boston is really beneficial for homeowners and renters,” says Adam Gibbons, a Renew Boston outreach coordinator based at Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation in Uphams Corner.  “Residents can get a reliable and very detailed assessment of how efficient their home is – the furnace, water heater, insulation in the walls and attic, the air-tightness of the home.  And if they qualify they can get rebates to get their home fully insulated and can use a 0% interest loan to purchase a new heating system or water heater.  And the assessment itself includes instant savings measures such as CFL bulbs, which use 75% less energy of an equivalent incandescent bulb.”

To learn more about what Renew Boston offers, you can attend the upcoming workshops in the Dorchester area or you can call (617) 635-SAVE or visit www.RenewBoston.org. 

Dorchester Renew Boston Workshop: Open Enrollment and Info Session

Where: April 14 from 10am to 12pm:

Location:  Vietnamese American Community Center, 42 Charles Street, Fields Corner

Interpretation Available for Vietnamese, Cape Verde Creole, and Spanish

Roxbury Renew Boston Workshop: Open Enrollment and Info Session

Where: April 21 from 10am-12pm

Location:  Project HOPE, 550 Dudley Street, Roxbury

Interpretation Available:  Cape Verde Creole

MassSave, a state program, will continue to provide free energy assessments, products and services—including energy-efficient light bulbs, low-flow showerheads, heating system inspections and insulation upgrades—for qualified participants. But Renew Boston, the city’s energy-efficiency initiative, will no longer supplement it, leaving the remaining 25 percent of costs for homeowners to cover….”

For the rest of this article visit jamaicaplaingazette.com/2011/11/18/energy-upgrades-to-no-longer-be-free/

With winter weather fast approaching, the City of Boston is looking to bring residents in from the cold with a no-cost weatherization program. Now in its second year of operation, members of the Renew Boston program are urging renters and homeowners alike to register for the free services before the December 31 deadline….

For the rest of the article visit the Dorchester Reporter at http://www.dotnews.com/2011/wanted-residents-renew-homes-free

Over the past year, 8,000 residents have expressed interest in home weatherization, with over 3,800 households receiving a no-cost home energy assessment. In the coming months, these community-based organizations will continue to sign up Boston residents for free weatherization services to save money and energy this winter with registration ending December 31.

“Renew Boston is proof positive that community networks are effective in scaling up energy efficiency and leveraging local economic benefits for all,” Mayor Menino said. “This is Boston’s triple-bottom-line approach to sustainability: lowering utility bills for residents and businesses, create jobs and increase economic opportunity – all while greening our city.”

Renew Boston has contracted with 13 community organizations to conduct outreach and marketing for Renew Boston this past year. Three organizations are also contracted to provide fulltime outreach work as Renew Boston Neighborhood Network Coordinators including Nuestra Comunidad’s Partnership for Greening Blue Hill Avenue, East Boston’s Neighborhood of Affordable Housing (NOAH), and the Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation.

By working with these neighborhood organizations, the City has reached residents and businesses that have not traditionally accessed weatherization programs, particularly moderate income Bostonians and those for whom English is a second language.

Mayor Menino made the announcement in front of East Boston resident Patricia Cortes-Duran’s home, which recently received weatherization services, including air sealing and insulation that is expected to save 30% on heating and electricity bills this winter.  Ms. Cortes-Duran learned about Renew Boston through the Neighborhood of Affordable Housing, which assisted her through each step of the program and provided translation services.

The Renew Boston initiative is an innovative energy efficiency partnership with NSTAR and National Grid that provides free weatherization services for qualified Boston residents with assistance from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The Renew Boston program uses $1.8 million of the $6.5 million EECBG grant to leverage rebates available under existing energy efficiency programs administered by NSTAR and National Grid for Boston residents and businesses. The no-cost energy efficiency improvements for residents are provided by Mass Energy Consumers Alliance and Next Step Living, a Boston-based energy services company.

Renew Boston program participants save immediately upon getting an energy assessment. On average, participants will save about $200 a year with installation of CFL light bulbs, aerators and programmable thermostats and a fully completed weatherization saves up to $600 in heating costs each year.  The total annual savings by residents to date through Renew Boston is $1 million when combining savings from energy assessments and weatherization jobs.

The weatherization services are available for limited time for Boston residents within 60-120 percent median income and only to residents that live in buildings with four or fewer units. To determine eligibility and for more information on how to enroll in the residential program Boston residents can call (617) 635-SAVE or visit www.RenewBoston.org.

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We have a small one family house in Mattapan and we were struggling with the gas payments.  My niece told me about Renew Boston and I contacted them. In a few weeks I got an energy assessment where they told me that we needed to have the attic insulated because that was where all the heat was escaping!  That insulation was completed on September 15, 2011 just before the cold season begins.

I am confident that this will lower our gas bill and make it the payments more manageable.

Thanks to Mayor Menino and his team for coming up with this innovative way to assist home owners in Boston. Congratulations to Next Step Living and the Renew Boston team for their help. I cannot thank them enough.

Sincerely,

Carol

Mattapan

Under the Renew Boston program Sinh received a free home energy audit, instant savings measures, and $3500 worth of insulation and air sealing work per unit of her home. “The home energy professional was very helpful and gave us a lot of advice on how we can save even more energy in our home. He changed our light bulbs for energy saving ones, installed a new programmable thermostat, and switched our shower heads to water-saving ones through the whole building.”

The insulation and air sealing work of both units was completed in March by Next Step Living. While she has noticed that the house stayed cooler this summer when the A/C was on, Sinh and her family are most excited for an upcoming winter free of icy drafts and soaring energy bills. It will make raising a family in her dream neighborhood that much more comfortable and affordable.

“From America’s first Subway to first-in-the-nation LEED requirements for private buildings, Boston has been a leader in sustainability. Mayor Thomas M. Menino is continuing to lead the way with an innovative initiative called Renew Boston that helps residents struggling to pay their bills by weatherizing homes and creating green jobs in the community….”

Read more from Renew Boston Director Brad Swing’s post on the Green For All Blog at http://www.greenforall.org/blog/community-and-institutions-work-together-to-renew-boston

Sign up now at Renew Boston Solar to receive more information about the pilot program.