Energy Wise Otsego Workshop Series

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Solvei Blue Telephone: 607-723-0110 Email: [email protected] Energy Wise Otsego Workshop Series Brings Energy Efficiency to Homeowners and Businesses New NYSERDA Program Offers Free Energy Assessments

Do you ever wonder how much of the money you spend on your home heating bills is actually paying to heat the great outdoors instead of your house? With Home Performance with Energy Star® (HPwES), part of Green Jobs Green NY (GJGNY), a new statewide program from NYSERDA, you can find out with a free energy assessment of your home or office building!

“We can help people make their homes cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter, while saving money on their utility bills,” said Euphemia Martin, the program’s Regional Outreach Coordinator for the Southern Tier. “And people often find that their health improves after they make energy-saving improvements to their homes, because ventilation problems, gas leaks, mold and mildew are also taken care of in the process.”

The Otsego County Planning Department, in partnership with Otsego County Conservation Association (OCCA), Opportunities for Otsego, and Sustainable Otsego, have teamed up to bring the GJGNY outreach team to the area for a series of workshops on how homeowners, small businesses, and non-profits can get a thorough energy assessment of their home or office—at no cost to the homeowner or business owner. In addition, local contractors will demonstrate technologies they use to evaluate the energy efficiency of a building.

To help people afford energy-saving improvements to their homes, NYSERDA offers financing that eliminates up-front costs for most homeowners. Grants of up to $5,000 are available for qualified homeowners, and the On-Bill Repayment loan allows people to repay their low- interest loan as a line item on their utility bill.

"If you tighten up your house, less heat will be lost and you will save money on heating costs,” said Martha Clarvoe of OCCA. “NYSERDA has funding to help do this for many homes in Otsego County."

The workshop series will kick off on Saturday March 9, in the Butternut Valley Room at SUCO’s Hunt Union. From 10 am til 1 pm, outreach coordinators from PPEFNY will guide people through the process of applying for NYSERDA incentives, and local BPI-accredited contractors will demonstrate some of the techniques they use to assess a home’s energy efficiency. Homeowners who are interested in applying can do so at the workshop; they just need to bring a copy of their most recent utility bill.

For more information about the workshops, or to get an application for a free energy assessment, please call 607-723-0110 or email [email protected]. If you are planning to attend a workshop, please register at www.energywiseotsego.eventbrite.com

Following the workshop in Oneonta, workshops will take place at these venues:

 Wednesday, March 20, from 4 pm to 7 pm at the Cherry Valley Community Center, 2 Genesee St, Cherry Valley, NY  Wednesday, April 10, from 4 pm to 7 pm at the Morris Central School Auditorium, 65 W. Main St, Morris, NY  Saturday, April 27, from 10 am to 1 pm at the Edmeston Central School Auditorium, 11 North St, Edmeston, NY

The workshop series will continue into the summer, with dates and times to be announced.