Sustainable Southbury presented a free Residential Energy Efficiency Webinar on the evening of March 2. Newtown’s Sustainable Energy Commission was invited to attend the online event.

According to Sustainable Southbury’s website, “Sustainable Southbury exists to advance Southbury towards a sustainable, resilient, net zero community. Sustainable Southbury assists, advises, educates, and helps drive action by municipal leaders, schools, residents, and businesses.”

Chuck Litty, chair of Sustainable Southbury, moderated the event and welcomed everyone in attendance.

“Energy efficiency is such an important thing for all of us to pay attention to. It has so many benefits. I’m so glad everyone joined to learn more about this,” he said.

Litty explained that not only does energy efficiency save people money, but it can also make homes more comfortable and safer, as well as help save the planet.

The panel of experts leading the discussion were Jerry Lawson, of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); Bill Stack, of Eversource; and Joe Buonannata, of CT Green Bank.

Each speaker showcased specific ways people can save money and they engaged attendees through polls during the webinar.

The first multiple choice poll was from Litty, and he asked, “What has prevented you from doing energy efficiency upgrades?”

Nearly half of those who answered selected “I don’t know which upgrade will help the most,” while the second most popular answer — receiving 36% of votes — was because of the “cost.”

Environmental Protection Agency

Lawson shared that there are various home energy conservation measures people can take and that a good place to start is at energystar.gov.

“We have a lot to offer online,” Lawson said.

There, people can evaluate what their home is telling them (for example, if there are hot or cold spots, drafts, moisture on windows, ice dams, high utility bills, excessive dust, or mold). Then, they can identify the problems they want to fix and make a plan.

By going to the “Save At Home” page, people can utilize the Home Energy Yardstick feature for an assessment of their home’s annual energy use compared to similar homes.

To do so, people will need to submit basic information such as ZIP code, home’s square footage, number of full-time home occupants, and a list of all the different fuels used in the home (eg, electricity, natural gas, or fuel oil).

Also under the “Save At Home” section is the Home Energy Star Advisor button. The program lets people create a home energy profile, get custom recommendations, and improve their home’s efficiency.

“Most people — 95% of the public — know Energy Star through the products. Here at energystar.gov/products with your ZIP code you can find products in the ‘product finder’ and find rebates,” Lawson said.

The company’s sister program WaterSense is also an asset and can be found at epa.gov/watersense.

It gives products, such as commercial/residential toilets, urinals, showerheads, and bathroom faucets, a special label that says “WaterSense Meets EPA Criteria.” More than 20,000 product models have earned the label, according to Lawson.

“Saving water saves energy and money,” he said.

Lawson also recommended people visit energystar.gov/homeupgrade.

“It’s going to cover six key topics: heating and cooling, water, smart thermostat, attic installation, windows, and even getting [electric vehicle] EV ready,” Lawson said.

According to his slideshow, it is “designed to work together to deliver significant energy and cost savings” and “can help you transition from fossil fuels for a cleaner, healthier, and more comfortable home.”

If people have additional questions or are looking to learn more, Lawson said he can be reached at lawson.jerry@epa.gov.

Eversource Offers ‘Solutions’

The second presenter of the webinar was Stack, who shared that he is the manager in the energy efficiency department at Eversource. He said that Eversource has Home Energy Solution Programs to help people save both energy and money.

“We are the largest energy company in New England. We have about 9,300 employees in three states: Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. We have almost 4 million electric, natural gas, and water customers,” Stack said and listed the accolades the business has recently received.

He went on to discuss how Eversource is a partner of Energize Connecticut to provide Connecticut residents and businesses the resources they need to save money and use clean energy.

Stack said, “We view energy efficiency as a valuable resource in Connecticut. It helps you reduce the amount of energy you use, which of course will lower your energy bills. It has a positive effect on the environment because we need to generate less electricity and use less fuel. Energy efficiency also creates jobs and slows the need to build a new energy generation plan.”

He pointed out that every customer pays into these funds that support the programs through a small charge on their electric and natural gas bill.

A poll was sent out to see how many people have already participated in the Energize CT initiative. The results show that 45% have participated and 55% have not.

For the latter group, Stack said, “It’s like having a savings account that every month you are putting money into yet are not drawing from it and never utilizing the dollars you’ve been putting away.”

He also touched upon the topic of weatherization and how it is “the process of making your home better protected against the effects of changing weather.”

Some benefits are that it reduces energy bills and can save people money, it helps maintain the temperature of your home for longer, and it helps the environment overall.

Home Energy Solutions (HES) is Eversource’s weatherization program, and Stack said that customers in Connecticut save an average of more than $200 per year on energy bills by participating in it. It is available to all qualifying homeowners and rental customers for a $50 copay.

Those that participate in HES will have a technician come out to do blower door-guided air sealing, duct sealing, a Home Energy Report and Home Energy Score, and water-saving measures, as well as health and safety tests on heating equipment.

“At the end, the technician will go over everything with you and based on what was discovered during the assessment, make recommendations for future improvements. You’ll receive a personalized, detailed report of the findings and how much you can save if you move forward with additional changes,” Stack said.

Those interested in enrolling can call 877-947-3873 (877-WISE-USE) or visit eversource-CT.com/HES.

As for other opportunities to save, Stack said that Eversource has a refrigerator/freezer recycling program where “a contractor will pick up your inefficient refrigerator or freezer, send you a $30 rebate, and will responsibly recycle the appliance.”

They also have a market place to purchase energy efficient products where people can get instant discounts on smart thermostats, air purifiers, and dehumidifiers, by visiting efi.org.

Stack concluded by listing rebates for homes as well as financing options for Eversource programs.

CT Green Bank

Buonannata was the final webinar speaker and introduced himself as managing the Smart E-loan Financing program on behalf of CT Green Bank.

“I’ll go into some financing options that are available. I’ll focus on single family residential financing, so that is anything one to four units. Anything five units or greater is considered a multi-family,” he said.

Buonannata then put out a poll asking if attendees were homeowners, renters, investment property owners, or a combination of those options. A whopping 89% responded as being homeowners and the remaining 11% were renters.

Energize CT’s financing options are primarily managed through the CT Green Bank and a partner organization called Capital For Change that have four separate financing options.

Buonannata showed a detailed table of financing options throughout Connecticut, including Smart E-loans and the Landlord Loan.

“The Smart E-Loan is administered by the CT Green Bank, but CT Green Bank is a quasi-public state agency. So even though there is ‘bank’ in our name, we are not actually a lending institution. We partner with nine banks and credit unions across the state that do the lending,” he said.

People can finance more than 40 different energy improvements, such as for home performance, HVAC, health and safety, solar, and battery storage. People can borrow from $500 to $40,000.

Landlord Loan is administered by Capital for Change and can finance the same energy improvements as a Smart E-Loan. People can borrow from $3,000 to $40,000.

“Some of these other programs, next, are a little more narrow in focus,” Buonannata said.

Energize CT Heat Loan is administered by Capital for Change and requires use of C4C energy savings calculator. People can finance heating equipment, such as boilers, furnaces, and heat pumps. It requires a minimum of 10% down payment and the person can borrow up to $15,000.

HES Micro Loan is also administered by Capital for Change. It requires that the home get a HES assessment prior to the loan and people can then finance insulation, ductless mini splits, windows, natural gas tankless and indirect water heaters.

The last loan Buonannata covered was the Energy Conservation Loan, which he said is “the most narrow in scope” and used in “emergency situations.”

It is administered by Capital for Change and the borrower is first reviewed for Smart-E and CT Heat Loan. Also, the borrower’s income cannot exceed a certain amount. The loan is limited in what can be financed, because it is only for non-working heating systems and leaking roofs. People can borrow up to $25,000.

The public can e-mail Buonannata at SmartE@ctgreenbank.com or call 860-357-5676 for additional information.

Attendees had the opportunity to also ask questions through the chat function of the webinar, and Sustainable Southbury member Anne-Marie Hunter read them aloud to the panel.

For those with questions regarding the Residential Energy Efficiency Webinar, e-mail sustainablesouthbury@gmail.com or visit grassrootsfund.org/groups/sustainable-southbury.

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Reporter Alissa Silber can be reached at alissa@thebee.com.