Despite a multitude of rebates, tax incentives and other programs to revamp one’s home or business with more energy efficient technology, it’s easy to get lost pondering the question of “Where to start?” said Marty Pool, sustainability manager for the city of Durango.
He said replacing one’s thermostat with newer, more efficient technology is an easy place to start. He is working on a city program that will not only help people upgrade their thermostats free of charge, but connect them to other organizations who can help with other upgrades.
Pool expects the program to launch in 2025, pending budget discussions and Durango City Council approval this fall. Participating in the program will be easy and at no cost to homeowners and business owners, he said. Residents will be able to sign up through the city, and then wait. Someone will come to one’s home or office to perform the replacement.
“It’s surprising how many people still don’t have a programmable thermostat,” he said. “Maybe they don’t know how to use it. Maybe they’re a renter. Maybe they’re younger or it’s their first home and they were just never familiar with that. There’s a lot of people where that can be the case.”
The idea is the thermostat replacement program would hook homeowners and business owners on the idea that energy-smart upgrades are easy to make and there are a wide variety of organizations ready to perform them. Pool said replacing one’s thermostat is a small, bite-sized step toward reducing one’s energy bills.
He said there is an increasing number of state- and federally-funded programs that many people simply aren’t aware of. The thermostat replacement program is a way of spreading the word about those opportunities.
“As part of that installation, whoever comes by can then tell the person about all these other programs,” he said.
Area entities that oversee energy efficient programs include the Four Corners Office of Resource Efficiency (4CORE) and Housing Solutions of Southwest Colorado. The Colorado Energy Office has also received much more funding in recent years to offer programs of its own, he said.
Pool said over 60% of greenhouse gas emissions come from energy consumption in buildings, mostly in the form of electricity and natural gas. Breaking it down further, the highest use of energy in buildings is to heat and cool buildings.
Programmable thermostats to regulate when specific areas in buildings are heated and cooled are a simple technology that has been around for decades. But many people aren’t utilizing them, he said.
Rental units, older homes and obscure spaces in existing buildings that have heating and cooling systems elsewhere within them are all examples where upgrades are possible.
“It really does come down to thermostats as a very simple and maybe in some ways overlooked opportunity,” he said.
cburney@durangoherald.com
