San Antonio area residents can take the first step to lowering their energy bills this summer by discovering their home’s wasted energy through an energy efficiency check-up. Starting today, homeowners can receive either a small rebate by doing a home audit or have a professional audit performed for a minimal cost through the new CPS Energy Savers program. The first 300 local homeowners who follow through on the audit findings are being offered a $1,250 incentive from the Department of Energy (DOE). The incentive, combined with qualifying rebates from CPS Energy, can result in immediate cost-savings to participants while also ensuring long-term savings as they reduce their overall energy consumption.

“Customers who go to cpsenergysavers.com will learn which retrofits can net them the biggest return on their investments,” said Carla De La Chapa, CPS Energy BetterBuildings program manager. “This is a tremendous opportunity for homeowners to get a customized look at their individual home and specific tips on how to make their space more energy efficient.”

CPS Energy is spearheading the CPS Energy Savers program, which is also available to commercial customers, through a $10 million federal grant secured by the City of San Antonio. The funding is part of the DOE’s BetterBuildings initiative aimed at saving $50 million nationwide in annual energy costs.

“Providing a continuum of support to enable residential energy upgrades will be a major benefit to participants in the BetterBuildings program,” said Laurence Doxsey, environmental policy director for the City of San Antonio. “Energy efficiency improvements have traditionally been handled in a reactive manner, meaning that something is done or fixed only when it becomes a problem. Actually, many energy upgrades have a competitively positive return on investment.  This program will help residents identify the benefits and then provide guidance through the process of securing contractors and financing. We are looking for a large amount of interest in going this route.”

The customized audit will help consumers make informed decisions on energy efficiency measures. It also will provide the estimated energy savings potential resulting from recommended retrofits.

CPS Energy customers have the option of selecting from the following:

• Online home energy evaluation – this online energy survey can be completed by the homeowner and will provide them with a free home energy report. For a limited time, CPS Energy is offering a $5 credit on utility bills for individuals taking advantage of this audit.
• Home energy evaluation – for a $25 fee (valued at $200), a trained energy professional will perform a home walkthrough and evaluation. Included in this report is a prioritized list of recommendations and information for finding a contractor, rebates and financing options.
• Whole home energy evaluation – for a $95 fee (valued at $600), a comprehensive home assessment will be performed by a specially trained and certified energy professional using diagnostic equipment to test and evaluate a home’s health, safety and energy performance. Included in this report is a detailed energy consumption analysis, a customized plan for energy efficiency upgrades and information about finding a contractor, rebates and financing incentives.

Have You Already Signed Up for an Energy Evaluation? 

Implementing the CPS Energy Savers initiative is another strategy CPS Energy is using to reach its goal of reducing 771 megawatts (MW) of consumption by the year 2020 as part of its Save for Tomorrow Energy Plan (STEP).

Anyone interested in learning more about the program can visit CPSEnergySavers.com or call 210-353-2220. CPSEnergySavers.com is a newly launched website aimed at explaining the program in detail and offers a list of licensed contractors registered with the Better Business Bureau.