If there was a way to save money on your utility bills, improve your home, and be more environmentally conscious, all with a super-easy, step-by-step process and expert help, wouldn't that be a no-brainer?
Actually, it almost sounds like one of those commercials that's just too good to be true: This incredible new product helps you lose weight, live longer, look better, sleep better, and improves your memory! OK, the BetterBuildings for Michigan energy efficiency program can't do any of those things, but the part about saving money, improving your home's value and helping the environment -- that is true.
Plenty of Marquette residents seem to agree it's a no-brainer, too; out of the Michigan cities participating in the energy efficiency program, Marquette has the highest participation rate.
The basic idea behind the Better Buildings program is to encourage homeowners to make energy efficiency improvements. It does that by providing resources, funding and expert analysis to homeowners who participate. In Marquette, it's administrated by the Superior Watershed Partnership, with energy assessments done by
Michigan Energy Options and
Home Evaluation Services.
Natasha Koss is the director of the program for
Superior Watershed Partnership, and says the premise is simple and beneficial to homeowners. Participants pay $50 to join the program, which gets them a complete home energy assessment, energy-efficient CFL lighting, pipe wrap, faucet aerators, low-flow shower heads, and a programmable thermostat installed in the home.
"The program pays for the rest of what a typical energy assessment would cost. It is a really good deal, especially if a homeowner was planning to make the improvements anyway," Koss says.
Homeowners then can choose one of the major areas identified in the assessment as an area in which their home could use improvement, such as new insulation, windows, appliances, a water heater or furnace, sealing, or even a solar energy system. The program offers a $500 rebate toward the cost of the major project, and a no- or low-interest loan on the rest.
There is no income qualification for the program; low-income households actually may qualify for even more energy-efficiency assistance through local community programs like the AMCAB Weatherization Assistance Program.
In Marquette, the Better Buildings program started with a trial or pilot period in south Marquette, with even higher incentives, Koss says. As of June, the program opened up to north Marquette residents, and now is open to homeowners in the entire city.
"We do have one of the highest (participation rates) in the state," she says. "(The) uptake of the program for south Marquette was 281 homes visited and for north so far has been 294. This totals 575, but I would suspect by the end of the program the total will be closer to 700."
One homeowner who took advantage of the program this summer after it expanded to north Marquette is Leslie Bek, who had heard about the program when it began, and says the timing was good, since she and her family were already wondering about possible energy efficiency improvements.
"What is neat about this process is, it starts with a home energy retrofit report and makes recommendations for the top four improvements you should do, and analyzes them for costs and savings," Bek says. "When the analysis report was done, we pretty much had a choice of what would fit our budget at this time, or what could be done in the future."
Besides the programmable thermostat, CFL lighting and water regulators that are automatically part of the program, the Beks chose new insulation and attic venting as their major improvement.
"In my case I had my attic insulated," she says. "That was my one big-ticket item that cost about $3,300. They helped us connect with an estimator for the job and recommended a contractor."
It's not a process that takes forever, either; Bek had the initial assessment done in mid-August, and the insulation was installed the first week of October. And, the benefits continue to stack up as time goes on. For instance, since the insulation improves the house's heat use, Bek now is eligible for a rebate through her gas provider, Semco. The Marquette Board of Light and Power also offers rebates for energy-efficiency improvements.
"I feel more confident as a homeowner now, knowing my house better, and having a healthier home to live in," she says. "As time goes by we can decide better what to do to further improve it."
"What I love about the program is the step-by-step assistance. Every step along the way they were very, very responsive to calls, questions and were there for everything we needed to do," Bek says. "I feel like they're friends I can call on with questions now. They're as invested in you as you are in your own house."
Koss says that so far, homeowners participating in the Better Buildings program are seeing a decrease in energy bills anywhere from 32 to 45 percent. The program is grant-funded through June of 2013, but the Superior Watershed Partnership hopes to secure funding for it past that date, to continue improving Marquette's energy efficiency overall.
Marquette homeowners who are interested in signing up for the program or finding out more about it can do so online
here or by calling Koss at the Superior Watershed Partnership, 906-228-6095, extension 21.
Kim Eggleston is a freelance writer and editor based in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. A Northern Michigan University graduate and Marquette native, she also is the managing editor of Marquette Monthly.