Ferndale Homeowners Eligible for Energy Audit Program

Jan Hopkins heard it from a neighbor. It was something about getting your house energy efficient, something about CFL lightbulbs and a new thermostat.

"All this for $50?" She remembered thinking. The neighbor passed her a number.

Hopkins liked the idea of saving energy and money and those CFL lightbulbs are so darn expensive, so she called.

She found out she lived in a section of Ferndale that was selected by the BetterBuildings for Michigan, a part of the Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth, to kick off a pilot energy efficiency program headed by the nonprofit Southeast Michigan Regional Energy Office.

This section of Ferndale – West Nine Mile Road south to Pearson and between Allen to the east and Pinecrest to t0he west – is the only area in Michigan and only the third in the country to have this energy program.

"This is a credit to Ferndale," said Amanda Dentler, an outreach director of the project.

The program, paid for through federal grants, offers residents in this 420-house section of Ferndale energy audits that normally cost $1,200 for only $50.

A homeowner in the pilot section who signs up receives a four-hour energy audit from a program contractor. The contractor points out where the house is losing heat, replaces the home's thermostat with a programmable one, replaces standard lightbulbs with CFL bulbs, checks for leaks in insulation and plugs them if he can and installs a low-pressure shower head and kitchen sink faucet.

The contractors are also trained to analyze energy bills so they can help the homeowner figure out peak months and how to save energy and money during those times.

Michigan, along with other partners including Ferndale's Michigan Suburbs Alliance, applied for and won a $30 million grant from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act specifically for this energy project. It was the second largest grant awarded in the country to go toward this program.

Why Ferndale?

Dentler said that the program looks at demographics, age of homes, age of homeowners, race and income when deciding where to go. "It's not one thing," she said. "It's more about having a mix throughout the section."

Environmental leadership in the community is also important when choosing a site, Dentler said. She pointed to Ferndale's Environmental Sustainability Commission. "This is Ferndale's green team. … They are already generating (a green) culture in Ferndale."

"Residents and city officials have know for many years that Ferndale is a leader in sustainability," FESC Chairman Douglas Christie said. "So to be selected as the first city in Michigan for the program is an honor and also an indication that our efforts are getting noticed."

The money from the grant is designated to six sections in the suburbs and six sections in Detroit. As each program wraps up it will alternate from the suburbs to the city. The goal of the program is to get at least 80 percent of the houses in each section to participate in the audits. Ferndale is on track to reach that goal, Dentler said.

Contractors also offer a "next level" to homeowners when the audit is finished, giving pointers on where they can take it a step further, whether that is a new energy efficient furnace or refrigerator or maybe new windows.

"The contractors don't push it, but present it as an option," Dentler said. "The cool thing is that if the homeowner takes it to the next level there are deeply subsidized loans or grants dedicated to getting this stuff basically free."

She said there are too many grants to name but most of them can be found here.

As for homeowner Hopkins, when asked if she's ready to go green she replied: "Yes, definitely."

The Southeast Michigan Regional Energy office will schedule Ferndale audits until Dec. 15.  If you live in the program's section of town and are interested in an energy audit call 866-402-1061 or e-mail Amanda Dentler at Amanda@regionalenergyoffice.org