The Energy Network and the Claremont Energy Challenge will co-present “Home Energy Tours: Home Upgrade in Claremont” to help homeowners see first-hand how homes can become energy efficient and offset the cost of upgrades with statewide rebates.

An open house, scheduled for Saturday, January 28 from 1 to 4 p.m., provides community members an opportunity to walk through a one-story Claremont home built in 1966 to see recently upgrades using statewide rebates and incentives through the Energy Upgrade California Home Upgrade program.

Homeowners Stephanie Collins and Jeff Brown will be on hand to answer questions about the process and to share their before-and-after experiences. The couple had upgraded their previous home in Los Angeles with Home Upgrade rebates, so they investigated their upgrade options when they bought this home two years ago.

“We figured out that we could get a pretty good rebate-to-cost ratio. We were selective about the rebates to maximize the eventual savings, which made the project affordable.”

The home has a flat roof, which was leaking from damaged plywood when they moved in. Removing the roof was the perfect opportunity to install new insulation from the top down. In addition to the extensive roof insulation and sealing, the energy upgrades included new insulated ductwork throughout the house and a high-efficiency variable speed pool pump.

The couple elected not to replace the windows due to the large proportion of windows in the 3,136 square foot home, which would have made the job cost-prohibitive. The entire upgrade process only took about two weeks, with a minimum of disruption and inconvenience.

The tour will include refreshments and a chance to meet other green leaders and homeowners in the city. Visitors can also learn about financing options to make upgrading easier. To rsvp for the tour and learn the home’s address, visitors should go to http://tenres.com/HomeEnergyTourClaremont

The Energy Network is administered by Los Angeles County and funded by California utility ratepayers under the auspices of the California Public Utilities Commission. For more information, contact The Energy Network at (877) 785-2237 or email homeupgrade@theenergynetwork.com.

The Claremont Energy Challenge is a strategic energy efficiency partnership between CHERP, the city of Claremont and Sustainable Claremont. The initiatives launched by the Claremont Energy Challenge are designed to bring maximum economic, environmental and life-style benefits to our community. Contact: CHERP at (909) 293-8098 or email at info@CHERP.net.