EnergySmart, which launched in January of 2011 seeks to reach 10,000 Boulder County homes by the end of May 2013.  The innovative service pairs clients with an energy advisor to take the hassle out of home energy improvements by helping prioritize upgrades, receive bids from qualified contractors, find financing and complete rebate paperwork.  “To some extent, when we launched, there was this feeling that we were embarking on a mission with impossibly large goals,” said Laura Hutchings, CEO of Populus, “but when you’re a business owner putting it all on the line every day to build a company, you are constantly embracing challenges and nothing seems impossible.”

After less than six months, EnergySmart is reaching a series of major milestones.  “We’ve enrolled over 2,000 homes so far,” said Andy Mazal, Populus’ Existing Homes Director, “what’s more is that we’re seeing proven results from the energy advisor services.  So far, about 58% of the total homes that have received energy advisor services have undertaken or scheduled a major energy upgrade.”

“I’ve always felt that it’s our responsibility to help our community meet its clean energy goals to ensure both the long-term sustainability of our local economy and the health of our planet,” said David Neiger, the founder of Populus and its “Chief Geek,” “We have a unique opportunity to leverage the lessons learned here in Boulder County to assist communities nationwide in creating successful, scalable energy efficiency programs.”  Populus has already begun expanding its services to support other communities by licensing its tailored customer management and data tracking system to the City & County of Denver for their “Better Buildings” residential and commercial programs.

What advice would Populus give to other communities launching a residential energy efficiency program?  “Be sure you are listening to the market and be prepared to change direction quickly if needed,” said Hutchings.   “But, at the same time, you have to have a good deal of ‘stick-to-it-iveness’ – follow your instincts; in the beginning all programs are going to look like they’re falling short of expectations.  It takes time to see results, but once you reach the tipping point, progress can happen very quickly.”

Populus is a residential energy efficiency consulting firm based in Boulder, Colorado.  Populus has worked with municipalities throughout the West to design and implement residential sustainability programs and green building codes for both existing and new homes, including the nation’s first performance-based energy code for rental housing.  Find out more at www.popboulder.com

Through its EnergySmart program, Boulder County is offering up to $1,000 per household in rebates until July 31 or until funds are exhausted. Rebates are for qualifying projects including insulation, furnace replacement, efficient windows and Energy Star appliances such as refrigerators, dishwashers and more.

The more than $300,000 in rebates are available to EnergySmart participants only. EnergySmart provides a full suite of services to help Boulder County residents identify valuable energy-saving opportunities. More information and registration is available at www.EnergySmartYES.com or by calling 303-544-1000. Rebate payment takes an average of 6-8 weeks and will be made to qualifying applicants upon completion of projects on a first-come, first-served basis.

The $1,000 in EnergySmart rebates are available in addition to existing utility rebates. EnergySmart also offers 2.5 percent interest “microloans” for up to $5,000 on qualifying energy efficiency projects. More than 1,200 Boulder County residents have enrolled in EnergySmart services since the program launched in early 2011.

“Rebates are generally confusing, but EnergySmart helps people find them and figure them out. We even fill out the paperwork,” said EnergySmart Advisor manager Andy Manzal. “These new $1,000 rebates are really going to get people excited. There has never been a better time or an easier way to make energy efficiency upgrades.”

EnergySmart services and large energy efficiency rebates are also available to all businesses in Boulder County.

EnergySmart is funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act through the U.S. Department of Energy’s BetterBuildings grant program and is sponsored in partnership by Boulder County, the cities of Boulder and Longmont, Xcel Energy and the Platte River Power Authority. Residential services are administered by Populus, LLC.

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Attendance at an EnergySmart Information Session is mandatory for contractors wishing to provide services to homeowners through the EnergySmart service.  The next information session will be February 15, 2011.  Registration for these information sessions is being handled by the Boulder Green Building Guild (“BGBG”).  To learn more or to sign-up, please click here.

We anticipate that the RFP will be released by December 1, 2010.  If you attended the auditor recruitment event at Boulder County last Thursday, you will be on the email distribution list for the RFP.  In addition, the RFP will be distributed through various local trade associations.  If you wish to be added to the RFP distribution list, please email info@popboulder.com and we will add you to the list.

The ClimateSmart Loan Program has $12 million of energy efficiency and renewable energy financing available to commercial property owners (including non-profit entities) through July 12, 2010.  The five to ten year loans provide an extended payback period and apply to the properties they benefit rather than the borrower.

Now, a new countywide stimulus funded program, EnergySmart@Work, is offering REBATE incentives to all loan funded projects.  Rebates will be available for up to 70% of the cost of the project with a cap of $10,000. Find out more by contacting EnergySmart@Work at 303-441-1300.

Want to demystify Home Energy Rating?  This Energy Design Workshop gives architects and builders real world experience working with an energy rater to design buildings that achieve above-code home energy performance within a budget.  The workshop includes an introduction to the Home Energy Rating System (“HERS”), the performance pathway for Boulder County’s BuildSmart code, including a behind-the-scenes look at how home energy modeling works to create a “miles per gallon” rating for a home.

Following the presentation, workshop participants break into smaller groups and work with a home energy rater to upgrade a code-level home to achieve varying levels of above-code home performance. The workshop gives participants the opportunity to analyze the costs and benefits of energy efficiency improvements and demonstrates how home energy modeling can be used as a design tool to design and build more energy efficient homes.

Workshop will be led by David Neiger.  With a degree in architecture and a background in construction, David has provided energy analysis and consulting to architects, builders and developers throughout the West on hundreds of residential projects, including many high-performance, net-zero energy and LEED certified homes.  David is a RESNET Home Energy Rater and Quality Assurance Designee, a LEED for Homes AP and Green Rater and a BPI Building Analyst.

When:              Tuesday, June 15, 2010, 9:00 am – 12:00 pm

Where:             Boulder County Courthouse Annex, Caribou Room, 2045 13^th Street, Boulder, CO

RSVP:              Contact Populus at laura@popboulder.com or 303-325-7650

Cost:                $25

Pay with credit card by phone at 303-325-7650 or mail checks by June 10^th to:

Populus, LLC

1727 15^th Street, Suite 200

Boulder, CO 80302

Continuing Education for Architects: Under the State of Colorado’s rules for continuing education for state licensure renewal, this program meets the requirements for 3.0 HSW professional development units (HSW) – self reporting required.

We just received some communications from federal banking regulators and new requirements from the Department of Energy that affect the ClimateSmart Loan Program and similar programs across the country.  One impact of the Department of Energy requirements is that the ClimateSmart Loan Program will be required to abide by new national guidelines.  In order to make sure that we are in compliance with these new guidelines, it is necessary to delay our loan application process for 60 days.  This means that our application process will be put on hold until late July. During this period, we are keeping our online application open to allow residents to continue to apply for loans.

We greatly apologize for this inconvenience, as we know you have worked hard to be able to participate in this program.  We will also be extending this message to local contractors, and would appreciate your helping us get the word out by informing your contractor(s) of this delay.

We will contact you as soon as we know how these guidelines will impact the program.  We will also continue to update our website with the latest information at ClimateSmartLoanProgram.org.