Climate Giant Home-Energy
Climate Giant - Insulation & Weatherization, EmPower+ Application

EmPower+

 

EmPower+ helps low- and moderate-income households save energy and money toward energy improvements made to their property.

Through EmPower+:

  • Households can receive a no cost comprehensive home energy assessment to pinpoint where energy and dollars are being wasted and receive a customized plan to lower energy usage.
  • No-cost direct install improvements identified during the assessment can be installed by participating program contractors.
  • Households can receive financial discounts on the cost of energy efficiency improvements.

The program is open to income-eligible owners and renters of 1-4 family households.

Get Started

Step 1. First, you can review the eligibility requirements for EmPower+.

Step 2. Complete and submit an EmPower+ Application. The application can be completed online, or it can be downloaded, printed and mailed in.

Step 3. As part of the application process, you can select a trained and experienced participating program contractor.

Step 4. Following the approval of your EmPower+ Application, the household will be qualified as either low-income or moderate-income eligible. Your contractor will reach out and schedule the home energy assessment.

Step 5. The program contractor will perform the home energy assessment which identifies opportunities for energy efficiency improvements in the home. During the home energy assessment, the contractor will identify any opportunities for energy efficiency improvements that can be installed at the time of the home energy assessment at no charge to you.

Step 6. Within two weeks of the home energy assessment, a report of findings will be presented by the contractor to the household identifying the ways for the household to save energy.

Step 7. The contractor will develop a workscope based on the assessment findings and provide to the Program for approval.

Step 8. Following Program approval, the program contractor will go over the workscope with you, discuss out of pocket expenses, if any, and install the approved energy efficiency improvements.

Available Incentives

  • Low-income, single-family households are eligible for no-cost energy efficiency improvements capped at $10,000 per project.
  • Moderate-income single-family households are eligible for a discount of up to 50% of the cost of eligible work capped at $5,000 per project.
  • Customers can apply for low-interest financing through NYSERDA’s Residential Financing offers. Additional information on financing options can be found here: https://www.nyserda.ny.gov/All-Programs/Programs/Residential-Financing-Options 
  • For renters, you will need to have landlord/building owner permission to take advantage of core energy efficiency improvements through EmPower+
  • Learn more about benefits for renters and two- to four-unit residential homes.
  • Eligible households can receive incentives toward the following prioritized core energy efficiency improvements including:
    • Attic, wall, and rim joist insulation
    • Air-sealing to reduce drafts
    • Health & safety items
    • Mobile-home underbelly insulation
    • Replacement of inefficient refrigerator/freezer units
  • For homes that have had air sealing and insulation completed, contractors can make recommendations to upgrade other equipment including:
    • Cold climate air source heat pump
    • Heat pump hot water tank
    • Replacement of low-efficiency natural gas heating systems (Household should be evaluated for heat pumps first)

Additional Resources

In addition to discounts by NYSERDA, there may be other financial incentives and offerings available through utilities and local community-based organizations. Households are encouraged to work with their Regional Clean Energy Hub, who can provide information about the benefits of the clean energy economy, ways to reduce energy use and costs, and how to make more informed energy decisions. Hubs can assist with completing the EmPower+ application and inform customers if local assistance is available for their project.

Climate Giant - Residential Services

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes—State residents meeting EmPower+ eligibility requirements can receive home energy services through the program at no cost.

The program is funded through a “System Benefits Charge” included in the bills of participating electric and natural gas utilities. This means that everyone who is a customer of a participating utility is chipping in to pay for this program. Additional funding is provided from other sources as well, such as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which provides funding for energy efficiency upgrades to lower carbon emissions.

You may be eligible if the following are true:

  • Your total household gross income meets the income guidelines or if you are receiving HEAP, SNAP, or public assistance.
  • You are an electricity or natural gas customer of Central Hudson, Con Edison, National Fuel, National Grid (Upstate, Metro and Long Island), NYSEG, Orange and Rockland, Rochester Gas & Electric—or heat with oil, propane, kerosene, wood, coal, or pellets.
  • The person on the utility account resides in the household.
  • You reside in a building with 100 units or less.

Yes—EmPower+ provides energy services to anyone who owns or rents a home and meets all of the eligibility requirements.

  • Replacement of old-style light bulbs with high-efficiency lighting.
  • Replacement of inefficient refrigerators and freezers with new ENERGY STAR® certified models.
  • Added insulation to keep your home more comfortable.
  • Air sealing to reduce drafts.
  • Everyday strategies and tips to help you manage your energy costs.

No—EmPower+ contractors are not code inspectors.

Please don’t hesitate to call or contact us here for more information.

Climate Giant - Insulation & Weatherization

What to Expect

Once you have received your letter of approval, we will be in touch within a week to schedule an energy assessment of your home and its energy-using systems.

Climate Giant takes a “whole house” approach: we look at how your house is heated, how well it keeps the heat in, how electricity is used, and your daily in-home activity. The assessment generally lasts one to three hours and identifies areas where energy efficiency, comfort and safety upgrades can be made.

During the initial visit, the technician will evaluate your electricity use and cost, and may provide some minor improvements at no cost. Examples include:

  • Install high efficiency lighting as needed
  • Review and adjust your thermostat setting for maximum comfort and savings
  • Check and adjust your hot water temperature
  • Evaluate the need for high efficiency showerheads and aerators, and install if needed
  • Measure the energy use of your refrigerators and freezers. These may be replaced with new ENERGY STAR models, at no cost to you, if your old appliances use a lot of energy
  • Check for carbon monoxide and evaluate the need for CO and smoke detectors

Depending on your energy use, we may also evaluate the need for additional measures to reduce your heating cost.  Examples include:

  • Evaluate your heating system and conduct a combustion efficiency test
  • Inspect the heating distribution system: the ducts or pipes that bring you heat.
  • Assess the insulation levels in the home, which usually involves probing the walls for insulation, inspecting the attic or roof insulation, measuring the home, and ensuring that insulation is in all the right places
  • Measure the air leakage in the home, using a “blower door”. This device helps us determine if the house is drafty, find the leaks, and make sure that the home still has sufficient fresh air after the work is done.
  • Check for gas leaks if natural gas or propane are in use at the dwelling

On the basis of this energy assessment, your technician may recommend energy efficiency measures to NYSERDA. If the services are approved, we will return to install them at no cost to you.

Once all of the work has been completed, the technician will perform final tests to ensure that the energy efficiency measures are performing exactly as they should.

Before, during or after the work, you may be contacted by NYSERDA’s Quality Assurance and Quality Control inspectors. These teams work independently from participating contractors to ensure that the measures are installed correctly.