How It Works
Like any home improvement project, an energy efficiency retrofit is a step-by-step process. The Green Energy Loan program offers you resources for financing, identifying, planning, and implementing your efficiency upgrades.
Here is how the Green Energy Loan works...
Step One -- Apply for a Green Energy Loan
Apply for a Green Energy Loan with a participating lender. Links to participating lenders may be found on the Participating Lenders page, or in one of this site's navigational sidebars.
Step Two -- Historical Energy Use
Provide your utility and water bill information for the past year during a telephone intake interview.
- PG&E: If you don't want to assemble your hardcopy PG&E bills for the past year, you can receive your annual PG&E use online at www.pge.com. Click on "My Account." If you are already signed up for online billing simply enter your login name and password; if you are not already registered, click on Signup and provide the information requested. Once you are logged in, click on Billing; in the left-hand column, click on Usage History. Be sure to select therms and kilowatt hours as the measurement criteria for your annual energy report. Print out a copy for your records. Your energy use information may be provided during the telephone intake interview or fax.
- Water: Most water utilities in the Sonoma County area have online billing programs that allow you to access your billing history via the Internet. Otherwise, your water use history may be obtained from past water bills or by calling your water provider. Your water bill information may be provided during the telephone intake interview or by faxing your winter bill with the lowest usage and your summer bill with the highest usage to the Green Energy Loan program.
Step Three -- Home Performance Audit
Schedule an energy audit for your home with a GEL auditor. You may also be invited to schedule an outdoor water-use audit with the Sonoma County Water Agency, if your water bill indicates your home may benefit from water-saving irrigation or drought-tolerant landscaping.
Step Four -- GEL Audit Report
The energy savings opportunities for your home will be listed in order of biggest-bang-for-the-buck. Your report will also include resources for finding reputable, experienced contractors to perform the recommended upgrade.
Step Five -- Retrofit Tracking
When you have completed your energy efficiency retrofit, you send GEL a copy of the signed work release from the contractor showing the completed upgrade tasks.
Step Six -- New Carbon Footprint Confirmation
The energy savings you achieve with your energy efficiency retrofit will be calculated from your pre- and post-retrofit utility bills and used to document local progress toward the goal of lowering annual countywide greenhouse gas emissions to 25 percent below 1990 levels by 2015.
Step Seven -- Show the Neighborhood How It's Done
When the successful completion of your energy efficiency retrofit has been confirmed, your lender will give you a colorful sticker to display in your window proclaiming your home as a Green Energy Loan Eco-House.
