Free event brings together residents to learn about making their homes more energy efficient
Residents in the Rancho Del Rey community of Chula Vista will learn about an exclusive new program that provides special discounts and promotions to complete home energy upgrades through the statewide Energy Upgrade California program at a kick-off block party set for 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, July 16. The event is sponsored by the California Center for Sustainable Energy (CCSE) as part of the Energy Upgrade California Community Savings Initiative, a model project with the goal of bringing together neighbors to enjoy the benefits of energy efficiency upgrades in Rancho Del Rey homes at a lower cost.
The block party is free and open to community residents. It will be held in the cul-de-sac of Espuelas Court near Camino Espuelas and Bayona Loop off North Rancho Del Rey Parkway. Homeowners will learn about Energy Upgrade California, speak with home energy efficiency experts, find out how to lower their energy bills and tour a Rancho Del Rey home recently given a complete home energy efficiency remodel. There also will be kids’ activities, prizes and refreshments.
During the block party, the home of Mike Gorski and Paula Whitsell will be open as a model of an energy-efficient home. After a thorough energy performance assessment, their home was upgraded with new duct work, high efficiency air conditioning and heating systems, energy-saving lighting, tankless water heater, ENERGY STAR appliances, better insulation, energy monitoring systems and more. Tours of the home, exhibits and videos will explain the energy upgrades and illustrate how such improvements can be made in other neighborhood homes.
An energy efficiency upgrade under the Energy Upgrade California program focuses on the whole-house systems approach. CCSE officials said the program looks at all of a home’s energy features to maximize a homeowner’s energy savings, health and comfort.
The Community Savings Initiative in Rancho Del Rey provides cash rebates of up to $4,000 from Energy Upgrade California and discount pricing from preapproved contractors. There are also matching rebates of up to an additional $4,000 or more and low-interest loans from the City of Chula Vista’s Home Upgrade Carbon Downgrade Program. All Chula Vista residents can take advantage of the cash rebates from Energy Upgrade California and the Home Upgrade Carbon Downgrade programs.
Under the Community Savings Initiative, a group of homeowners and local business and community leaders vetted more than a dozen qualified contractors to select Greenwise Solutions and ASI Hastings Heating and Air Conditioning as the program contractors. They will be working with the neighborhood leaders, CCSE and the City of Chula Vista to provide special discount pricing on energy upgrades for the homeowners in the community that is unmatched in the rest of San Diego County.
Areas of Chula Vista covered by the Community Savings Initiative will be expanded during the next two years, according to CCSE officials.
“Taken together, these savings allow Chula Vista residents to not only improve their home’s performance and lower their energy costs, but also enhance the value of their homes – making the entire community a better place to live and a model for the rest of San Diego and California,” said Jack Clark, CCSE’s building retrofit manager.
For more information about the Energy Upgrade California Community Savings Initiative, visit www.energycenter.org/community-savings-initiative or call CCSE at 858-244-1177. For more information about Energy Upgrade California, visit www.energycenter.org/energyupgrade.