Robbinsdale Councilmember Touts City’s Free Home Energy Audits
Robbinsdale offers residents home energy audits for free. Councilmember Mia Parisian recently went through the process.
“They send some professionals out to your home and they will check on any opportunities for improvements you can make to your home in terms of reducing energy costs,” said Parisian, who represents Ward Three on the council. “They’ll provide a really comprehensive report of recommendations for future projects that you can choose to do.”
Among the aspects of usage in your home a Robbinsdale Home Energy Audit can examine is how much water is coming out of your faucets and shower heads, among other things.
Parisian said she expected–and was financially preparing for–recommendations that she replace aging windows in her older home.
“But, actually, that wasn’t the case, which I’m not mad about,” said Parisian. “They recommended that I would get more bang for my buck by doing an insulation project in the attic, so that’s ultimately what I ended up doing and it’s already proving to be the right move.”
She said the team also did some spot repairs and improvements on the spot, including weather stripping and adding some insulation over and around pipes.
“Super professional, very knowledgeable and they had some high-tech instruments to do some of these tests in the home, which is pretty cool,” she said.
The city started offering the visits–which usually cost consumers up to $100–for free using money in the city’s Economic Development Authority budget a couple of years ago, said Sustainability Coordinator Kayla Kirtz.
“We’ve noticed a huge increase in the number of residents that have participated in the visit based on the elimination of the cost, so we’re excited to continue to offer them for free and enable more residents to participate,” said Kirtz.
“These are the mechanisms I’m happy to support and make sure funding is set aside for the city to cover these costs, and I agree, I think it’s showing a great example. I think it’s lowering barriers of entry for folks to participate in this program,” said Parisian.
