SOLVANG — The first 50 Home Challenge – Solvang participants to complete extensive home energy efficiency projects will be recognized by city and county officials on April 23 at Solvang City Hall. Solvang Mayor Jim Richardson and Third District Supervisor Joan Hartmann will present plaques to homeowners Peter and Jutta Aichinger, and Meagan and Eric Tambini recognizing their commitment to energy efficiency and environmental stewardship.
The presentation will take place during the City Council Meeting starting at 6:30 p.m. on Monday April 23. Preceding the ceremony, members of the community are invited to a reception in the lobby and speak with the participating homeowners about their experience, positive impacts, and find out how they can partake in the program. Light refreshments will be served.
About the home efficiency changes they made, Peter Aichinger said, “Our house is much more livable. It just feels continually comfortable. When it heats, the temperature changes are smoother and more uniform. It’s not blasting on, blasting off.”
The Aichingers and Tambinis worked with an emPower Energy Coach to identify some common, energy-efficiency issues in their homes, such as outdated heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, insufficient insulation, and numerous cracks and gaps. The emPower program connected them with qualified local contractors and available rebates that saved them thousands of dollars on their retrofits.
The 50 Home Challenge is a joint initiative of Santa Barbara County’s emPower Central Coast program and the nonprofit CHERP (Community Home Energy Retrofit Project) to engage an entire community and retrofit 50 single-family homes to make them more energy efficient.
For more information or to schedule a home consultation with an emPower Energy Coach, visit www.empowersbc.org
About emPower Central Coast: The emPower program was established by the County of Santa Barbara to offer incentives, financing and free technical advice to help single-family homeowners make home energy upgrades easier and more affordable.
About CHERP: CHERP is a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization that was created to eliminate barriers to success of our critical, national energy efficiency goals.