How To Cut Carbon Emissions At Home Mendocino County’s Default Electric Utility Is Mandated To Help
by Suzanne Pletcher
If you are building a new home or purchasing new appliances for your existing home, you may qualify for significant local discounts and rebates. The deals are offered by Sonoma Clean Power, Mendocino County’s default electricity provider, as part of its mission to help people cut their carbon footprint.
With a grant from the California Energy Commission, the utility built an Advanced Energy Center in downtown Santa Rosa that provides a showroom for energy-efficient products offered at unbeatable discounted prices. The utility then adds additional rebates to cut the cost of some products even more. For example, Sonoma Clean Power customers who are low income may qualify for a brand new hot water heater for zero dollars, and the cost of installation can be paid off over time on their monthly bill with zero percent interest.
“It’s really important as far as climate change is concerned to get off fossil fuels,” said Jim Tarbell of Caspar.
Tarbell is on the front lines of Mendocino County citizens’ efforts to combat climate change, and exemplifies a clean energy lifestyle. He and wife Judy drive a plug-in hybrid electric car, installed a solar system and car charger, and run their Caspar household on 100% EverGreen electricity from local solar and geothermal renewable energy through Mendocino County’s default electric utility, Sonoma Clean Power.
Sonoma Clean Power is the only utility in California to provide the option of 100% renewable, locally produced energy 24/7, and its website states EverGreen costs the average household about $13 extra per month.
Now Tarbell is considering an electric mini-split heating system that will free him from gas. Several types are on display at the Advanced Energy Center.
The Advanced Energy Center opened this past June. It’s a 9,000 square foot hub of energy-efficient home appliances, cooktops, back-up batteries, heating and air conditioning units, hot water heaters, meeting space and more. Anyone can visit the Center Tuesday through Saturday, and tours can be booked online.
“We wanted a place to educate customers about these products, help them find contractors who know how to properly install them, and ensure low-income customers of Sonoma Clean Power are able to afford these energy efficient appliances,” said David Harvey, store manager.
In fact, Harvey said, any Sonoma Clean Power utility customer with a good history of paying their bills can qualify for zero percent financing on up to $10,000 in purchases of energy efficient products offered by the Advanced Energy Center.
When ready to purchase, anyone can browse and choose products on the Advanced Energy Center website, which lists discounts, rebates, and installers.
A short list of our favorite offerings by Sonoma Clean Power:
1. Free do-it-yourself toolkit. Anyone can check out a toolkit from any Mendocino County library and install free LED lightbulbs, weather-stripping, and showerheads. The kits come with a bi-lingual how-to booklet and tools to help people reduce their energy and water use.
2. Heat recovery ventilation system. This ingenious machine brings outside air into a tightly-built home, filters it, and takes heat or cold from stale outgoing air so the heating and cooling system doesn’t have to work hard to keep the inside temperature stable. Outfitted with a HEPA filter, it can purify smoky air for the whole house.
3. Induction stovetop. An induction stovetop is fire safe, can’t burn fingers and hands, and eliminates indoor air pollution and excess heat from gas stoves. With induction, a magnetic field excites atoms directly in the cookware. A cook can quickly boil water or melt sugar at an ultra-low simmer. Sonoma Clean Power customers who purchase an induction stovetop through the Center get a free set of quality cookware.
4. Commercial dishwasher. It uses only 15 quarts of water a day. The heat recovery system takes heat from the previous load and uses it to heat water for the next load.
5. Whole house battery back-up system. This supplies a house with electricity during peak demand when utility costs are highest and maintains a reserve for use during power outages. The battery can be controlled with an iPhone using wifi or cell service.
6. Heat pump water heater. Set like a bowler hat atop the water heater, it pulls heat energy from the air to help heat water in the tank. Concurrently, it cools the garage it’s in or can be vented to cool another space. It connects to the electric grid for remote control.
Pictured: Top (l-r): Judy Tarbell, Ann Cole, Jim Tarbell; Bottom: David Harvey
