Supervisor Petrone, Rep. Israel and Councilman Cuthbertson talk about Residential Energy Efficiency Retrofit Program at house of Frank and Marilyn Urso

Huntington, NY – Huntington Supervisor Frank P. Petrone, Councilman Mark Cuthbertson, U.S. Rep. Steve Israel and the Huntington Town Board today announced details of a cutting-edge program that will use federal stimulus funds to show up to 2,000 Town residents how to make their homes more energy efficient.

Under Huntington's new Residential Energy Efficiency Retrofit Program, an energy efficiency service technician will visit a home, conduct a computer-generated home energy survey and prepare a work plan for low-cost improvements.  The technician will also provide energy education, explain the recommended Energy Conservation Measures (ECMs), provide a list of certified contractors and help homeowners identify federal tax credits, utility rebates and other available efficiency incentives to assist with financing.  Homeowners would then hire a contractor to undertake the ECMs; they could also do the work themselves. The cost of the technician's visit is being funded from $345,000 of the Town's allocation under the Federal Energy Efficiency & Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) program. 

"This program will achieve two important objectives by showing homeowners how they can save money on their energy costs and providing work for local contractors," Supervisor Petrone said. "We're pleased that this funding will enable Huntington to remain at the forefront of efforts to preserve the environment and create jobs."

"Huntington is committed to remaining a leader in energy conservation and environmental preservation, not just at Town facilities, but throughout the Town. What better way than by showing homeowners how they can make their own homes more energy efficient?" Councilman Mark Cuthbertson said. 

             "Improving the efficiency of homes not only helps Long Islanders save money on their monthly utility bills, but it also creates new jobs in our local communities," said Rep. Israel. "Huntington is launching a new energy efficient homes program with their Recovery Act funding at exactly that right time. Homeowners are looking for ways to save money on their high energy bills and through this program they'll be given low cost options."

The program places Huntington at the forefront of efforts by the United States Department of Energy to identify residential and commercial energy efficiency and conservation programs that are replicable, scaleable and sustainable.  In a statement to the World Economic Forum in Switzerland earlier this year, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said his department was "working to develop a strong home retrofit industry" and create "a state-of-the-art tool that home inspectors can use on a handheld device to assess energy savings potential and identify the most cost effective investments to drive down energy costs."

The Huntington program will be run by non-profit technical energy services provider Long Island Green. Homeowners wishing to participate will make a fully refundable $100 deposit to LI Green.  Upon completion of the ECMs recommended on the energy efficiency work plan, the deposit will be refunded.  It is estimated the recommended ECMs will cost $1,000 or less.  

In addition to the local technical services provider, the Huntington program will bring together two U.S. companies as partners.  LI Green will partner with PDA device maker Motorola and energy efficiency web-based software supplier, EnerPath, whose product will run on the Motorola hand-held units.

The hardware and software will allow LI Green to: (i) record home energy survey results in real time, (ii) print out a work profile for the homeowner, and (iii) upload the energy data to LI Green/EnerPath servers for follow-up analysis and reporting.  The LI Green home energy survey is estimated to take 1.5 hours, including homeowner education, explanation of the PDA printout and contractor referral information.

In collecting residence-specific energy data and educating those homeowners about sustainability, it will be possible for the Town to pre-qualify candidates for comprehensive energy efficiency improvements, if and when additional public/private resources become available to finance comprehensive home energy efficiency improvements in the $5,000 to $15,000 range.  

            Funding for the program is coming from the Town's $1.725 million EECBG grant authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 proposed by President Barack Obama and supported by Congressman Israel. 

In keeping with the strategy outlined by Energy Secretary Chu, the Town determined that a program that could reach thousands of homeowners and help them make simple energy efficiency improvements had the potential to produce immediate energy savings and greenhouse gas emission reductions on a scale that would make meaningful strides toward achieve U.S. energy goals.

The Town estimates this program will save twelve times as much energy and reduce twelve times more greenhouse gases than pursuing complex energy improvements before simple improvements, the so-called "low hanging fruit," have been made.

Widespread homeowner interest and acceptance of program should also make it possible for LI Green, EnerPath, Motorola and the green energy contractors doing the retrofit work to be able to continue the program after the first 2,000 homes even if EECBG funded subsidies are reduced in the future. 

"Federal, state and local government must all pitch in through programs like this one, to relay the vital message of energy efficiency," said LIPA President and CEO Kevin S. Law. "The Huntington Energy Efficiency Retrofit Program will serve the purpose of educating and allowing more Long Islanders to make energy efficiency a priority. This program provides the vehicle for Huntington residents to become more energy efficient."            

            "The Town of Huntington shows incredible foresight in recognizing the importance of green-tech opportunities for creating local jobs and addressing residents' concerns to lower their energy bills," said Stephen Guthrie, EnerPath Founder and CEO.

            "The time for talk about improving the energy efficiency of homes on Long Island is over," stated Chuck Schwartz, Director of LI Green.  "For over two years LI Green has been fine tuning community programs to streamline the process of getting Long Island homes more energy efficient at the same time leveraging next generation technologies that will lower costs, improve transparency and improve outcomes.  The Huntington program will expand that even further."

            Homeowners wishing to schedule a survey should go out to www.ligreen.com/huntington or call 631-721-1908.