Federal Reserve Bank of San Fransisco Features Long Island Green Homes Program!
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 pointed to an era of expanded energy efficiency, one that, as the well-known McKinsey’s carbon abatement curve posits, would in effect be self-financing. The “Recovery through Retrofit Report” from the Vice President’s office in late 2009 detailed a distinct financing mechanism, Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE), which would “enable the costs for energy efficiency retrofits to be added to an owner’s property tax bill… which takes the same priority as traditional property tax liens and assessments.” The Harvard Business Review would round out the year by identifying PACE as one of 10 “Breakthrough Ideas for 2010.” The future looked exceedingly energy efficient. However, behind the promise lurked several issues.
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Long Island Green Homes delivers cost, comfort, and convenience with a one-stop retrofit that underscores the efficacy of its municipal delivery model. Trusted vendor status is key to overcoming reservations homeowners have historically harbored about having work done that is hard to verify given that the work is often invisible. LIGH requires participating contractors to be certified by the Building Performance Institute (BPI). Controlling the work-flow, LIGH brings considerably more leverage should a job not be completed to satisfaction. BPI-certified LIGH staff has the ability to retest homes and advocate on behalf of homeowners to get the job done right. If the homeowner moves before the term of the obligation, the balance is assumed by the new owner. Convenience is the hallmark of the municipal delivery model, unmatched by any other type of program.