Have fun with your neighbors and accomplish something important for our community and beyond! Wherever you live in Boston, get ready to join the citywide “Boston 500: Challenge to Save Energy” on Saturday, June 1, 2013.

The stakes are high:

*        Wasted energy is tightening budgets in tough financial times.

*        Dirty air is sickening our most vulnerable family members and raising health care costs.

*        Superstorm Sandy reminded all of us that climate change is here and now.

Here’s the good news:  By signing up for a no-cost home energy assessment through Renew Boston, each household in Boston can make a BIG IMPACT on ALL three of these problems.

Help us mobilize 500 households to sign up on Saturday, June 1, to save energy and save on their bills!

Organize Your Own Boston 500 Event – We’ll Help You Every Step of the Way!

In neighborhoods across Boston, people will organize house parties, block parties, and neighborhood events focused on engaging residents to get a no-cost home energy assessment and learn new ways to stop wasting energy at home. If we reach 500 households, we will:

*        Save residents $50,000 on their annual energy bills, money that can be reinvested in our neighborhoods.

*        Eliminate the greenhouse gas equivalent of consuming 25,000 gallons of gasoline every year.

*        Create new green collar jobs that stay in the community.

Renew Boston and ABCD are ready to help you meet this goal.

Will you host or join an event in your neighborhood?

Register today:  www.renewboston.org/Boston500

Do you want to sign up now to save energy & money in your home? Click here or call 617-635-SAVE

But coordinating between several different parties in one building can be difficult. For instance, some units qualify for the Mass Save rebates, while others qualify for weatherization assistance through ABCD (Fuel Assistance) instead. But collaboration and coordination is possible to help each building get the maximum benefits from weatherization. That’s where the Landlord/Tenant Coordinator steps in.

Meredith Geraghty, Renew Boston’s Landlord Tenant Coordinator

Renew Boston’s Landlord/Tenant Coordinator provides personalized assistance to Boston property owners, landlords, and tenants of 2-4 unit buildings who want to weatherize their homes.
Some of you may know Eunice Yu, who has served as the Landlord/Tenant Coordinator for 2 years. Eunice has recently left the Renew Boston team to pursue other dreams. We thank her and wish her the best of luck!

We are excited to welcome and introduce Meredith Geraghty, Renew Boston’s new Landlord/Tenant Coordinator!

Contact Meredith if you live in a 2-4 unit building and want to weatherize, but are facing obstacles, such as any of the following:

• You need help communicating with your landlord
• You need help communicating with your tenants
• You need help communicating with ABCD
• You need to weatherize some units through ABCD, and others through Renew Boston

Reach Meredith here: 617-524-3950 x128, Meredith@renewboston.org

The Landlord/Tenant Coordinator is a resource for you. We’ll help you weatherize now!

“This afternoon I had a really good conversation with Generoso Irizarry. He owns a home in Rozzie.

Last summer he had insulation done in the upper level of his home and now he wants to move forward to the lower part of the house.  When I asked him if he has felt a difference in the home, he said “Lourdes,  the difference is 100%! Before I needed to leave the heat on for hours and now, I turn it on at 5pm and by 7pm we turn it off. And not only that but we sometimes need to turn on a fan!”

He is really appreciative of the work that was done in the home. This type of story really makes my day; knowing that we are truly helping folks be more comfortable at home and at the same time helping the environment.. at the end of the day it feels great!”

Sign up for your no-cost assessment today!

Next week, we’ll be relaxing at Max & Dylan’s in Charlestown on the day before Valentines Day and getting folks signed up for Renew Boston (Feb 13 from 5-7pm). We’re excited. This networking event will have a lot of energy professionals at it. A great chance to meet people in the energy world. More info at: RBAfterWork.eventbrite.com

Later in February and in early March, we’ll be hosting two events in West Roxbury–so there will be two opportunities for you to get there. On Feb 23, we’ll be at the Roche Family Community Center from 10-11:30, and on March 4th we’ll be at the W. Roxbury Branch Public Library from 6:45-7:45pm. In both cases, our professional contractor colleagues from Next Step Living and Solar City will be there to answer your questions. Our co-host for these events will be the awesome West Roxbury Saves Energy.

And the icing (or ice cream) on the cake is an Family-Friendly Ice Cream Social at the East Boston YMCA on Ashley St. We’ll be hosting this event from 3-5pm on Saturday, March 2nd. Bring the whole family for ice cream sundaes and get signed up for Renew Boston all at once! This will be a good day. RSVP at: RBIceCream.eventbrite.com

We hope to see you at our upcoming events!

Renew Boston is coming to your neighborhood! We’ve been hosting a series of “Weatherize Now” events to help residents sign up to do something about drafty homes and high energy bills right away.

At our Weatherize Now events, you can sign up for a no-cost energy assessment; but best of all, you’ll have a chance to interact with program administrators and with the contractors that conduct the assessments. Wondering if you can insulate your attic? Or how to convince your landlord to sign up? Or if you can do Renew Boston a second or third time? This is the place to get your specific questions answered.

We’ve hosted three Weatherize Now events this winter–first, in Grove Hall, next, at Roxbury Crossing, and finally, in Mattapan, where we were lucky enough to be paid a visit by State Rep. Russell Holmes. Rep. Holmes has participated in the Renew Boston program himself!

“I wanted to come today because I have had a no-cost energy assessment through Renew Boston, and it has made a difference in my home,” said Rep. Holmes at the event. “Everyone should take advantage of this program.”

We couldn’t agree more! You can sign up for your no-cost assessment today by clicking here, or call us at 617-635-SAVE (7283). OR, you can join us at our next Weatherize Now event in Roslindale this Saturday!

Weatherize Now! Rozzie
January 26th at 10am
Roslindale Community Center
6 Cummins Hwy, Roslindale MA 02131
Coffee & pastries will be served!

We’ll be hosting more events in West Roxbury, Charlestown, South Boston, East Boston, Hyde Park, and Dorchester in the coming months. Can’t wait to see you there!

http://bostinno.com/2012/06/12/got-solar-want-solar-check-out-the-city-of-bostons-interactive-map/

DON’T FORGET TO REFER A FRIEND!!

With winter just around the corner, Renew Boston is hosting informational sessions  in Dorchester on Saturday, November 3rd and Saturday, December 8th in Mattapan on how insulation can reduce your winter heating costs.   

In 2011 and 2012, 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 2013 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 1,500 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.   

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 by calling 617-635-SAVE or via this website.

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