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January 1, 2010
Online Home Energy Audits Answer the Call for Cost Reductions, Public Power Magazine, January-February 2010
| For More Information |
Tim Blodgett
Hometown Connections
303-526-4515
tblodgett@hometownconnections.com
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Energy Depot for Homes Offers Personalized Info to Customers
For the city of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, the decision to offer online home energy audits was an easy one. The potential cost savings and environmental benefits of offering customers an online home energy audit service can be very substantial. The city is among 55 members of American Municipal Power (AMP) taking advantage of the joint action agency's sponsorship of the Energy DepotŪ for Homes service from Enercom. AMP is offering the Energy Depot program as a benefit to members at no additional cost, to help homeowners evaluate their energy usage and reduce their monthly bills.
Enercom's "do-it-yourself" Energy Depot Internet energy tools are designed to answer customers' questions. These online tools are presented under a city or utility name and brand. In addition to general information, Energy Depot provides personalized energy analyses through its online energy audit and energy calculator software and is available to customers 24/7.
The Energy Depot audit programs combine proven engineering algorithms with local weather data and energy costs to give customers personalized energy information they can trust and act upon. Energy Depot includes a true energy audit, not "typical home" models or national averages, which can mislead customers. Built on these sound engineering foundations is a customer-friendly user interface, including an easy-to-understand audit questionnaire and an abbreviated "EZ Audit" for residential customers. A new Energy Depot option is a carbon footprint package. Current and new public power clients may add information on greenhouse gas emissions to Energy Depot's Personal Energy Profile audit report.
Through the Hometown Connections partnership with Enercom, Energy Depot is available to APPA member utilities and joint action agencies at deeply discounted prices. Along with AMP, other joint action agencies offering Energy Depot through their member utilities include the Alabama Municipal Electric Authority, Connecticut Municipal Energy Electric Cooperative, Delaware Municipal Electric Corp., ElectriCities of North Carolina, Florida Municipal Power Agency, and Piedmont Municipal Power Agency.
As facilitated by Hometown Connections, AMP contracted with Enercom to develop an Energy Depot for Homes "Master Site" that allows its member utilities to offer residential customers online home energy audits, calculators, the energy library and more. The master Web site approach enables Enercom to work with one primary point of contact at AMP while bringing the benefits of Energy Depot to many member utilities and their customers. This group approach lowers the cost per utility dramatically over the already discounted prices available to APPA members via Enercom's Hometown Connections partnership.
The benefits of Energy Depot for the utility include:
* presenting expertise in home energy efficiency under the municipal utility's name and brand;
* providing customers with low-cost personalized energy information;
* meeting regulatory requirements or internal goals for energy efficiency;
* maintaining customer satisfaction by providing energy understanding and a sense of control over energy use;
* lowering costs due to fewer customer calls, high bill complaints, on-site visits for meter checks/ and energy audits;
* integrating energy savings programs with green initiatives and other utility products and services;
* attracting customers to the city or utility Web site and keeping them longer; and
* mining customer data for target marketing and research.
"Our goal is to incorporate all the best practices for energy efficiency and sustainability into a quantifiable long-term community plan," said Jeff McHugh, assistant superintendent of the Cuyahoga Falls Electric Department in Ohio. "Expanding our community outreach and education through offerings such as Energy Depot will empower residents now and in the future to effectively utilize their energy resources." Customers can access Energy Depot through the city's Web site under the Electric Department link.
Officials in Wadsworth, Ohio, signed on to Energy Depot for Homes because it offers a way to enhance services without adding significant costs. "We believe customers are interested in energy efficiency, and this seemed like an easy method to provide some service in that area," said Director of Public Service Chris Easton. "Customers have been supportive. We get questions on the amount of energy per appliance, the definition of Energy Star, and specific questions on insulation values. This tells us that customers are paying attention to energy use."
Participating cities use a variety of promotional tools to let their customers know about the Energy Depot service. Cuyahoga Falls, for example, is promoting a Web link for the service through the city's Web site, ads, pamphlets, customer inquiries, and events such as Public Power Week. The city of Painseville, Ohio, promotes its participation through a description and link on the city's home page to AMP's Energy Depot portal, as well as through coverage on the local government access television channel and in the Painesville Pride and Speaking of Painesville newsletters.
"With AMP's focus on energy efficiency and a growing demand for personalized energy information by our members' customers, we feel that Energy Depot's online energy audit and other tools are a perfect fit," said Marc Gerken, president and CEO of AMP and chairman of the APPA board of directors. "Our organization maintains a long and close relationship with Hometown Connections, and the Energy Depot program is an excellent example of the value to the marketplace of public power organizations working together to design and deliver important services."
Visit these web sites for more information.
• Hometown Connections
• www.enercomusa.com
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