Burbank utility wins national recognition for energy saving programs
Burbank Water and Power has been nationally recognized for its Green Home House Call program, which provides water-saving and energy-efficient products to roughly 850 Burbank homes a year – for free.
The Washington D.C.-based American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy called the three-year-old program “exemplary” and noteworthy for its “effectiveness and innovation” in bringing energy efficiency to homes and businesses, officials said.
“These programs are delivering energy savings that are critical in helping customers reduce their energy costs, plus they make an important environmental contribution by reducing pollution from the use of fossil fuels,” Dan York, the council’s utilities program director, said in a statement.
Through the program, Burbank Water and Power provides a laundry list of “nitty-gritty” infrastructure services, including attic insulation, air conditioner tune-ups, air sealing, duct testing and sealing, installation of water-saving faucets and shower heads and energy-saving light bulbs, officials said.
On average, the services save participants nearly $300 on their annual water and electric bills and curb the amount of noise and dust that enters the home, said utility spokesman Joe Flores.
“That’s what we’re getting from folks -- ‘I didn’t realize how quiet my house could be,’ ‘I didn’t realize I don’t have to freeze in my bedroom while my living room is boiling,’” Flores said.
Workers may spend up to 18 hours in each home, made possible through a partnership with the utility, the Southern California Gas Company and the Southern California Metropolitan Water District, he said.
“We’re able to offer this at no cost to homeowner – you make one phone call and it’s done,” Flores said.
-- Alene Tchekmedyian, alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com