The home of Shaun and Katherine Rafferty undergoes an energy audit under the auspices of NOLA Wise in November, 2011. Using a fan through a sealed door, Jacues Magne, left, and Jacob Wolff test the home for air leaks. (Photo by Eliot Kamenitz / Times-Picayune archive)
NOLA Wise, a $15 million city-run program that has made low-interest loans available to New Orleans homeowners to make energy-efficiency improvements, will now begin offering business owners the same opportunity, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu's office announced Monday.
Since launching one year ago, NOLA Wise has provided energy audits to determine how much electricity is being wasted in homes, stemming from issues like leaky windows or poor insulation. Program managers can then offer a rundown of suggested upgrades and help secure cash incentives and loans to make the upgrades using trained and certified contractors, who complete the work and monitor its performance.
Potential upgrades range from new insulation to tune-ups of heating and cooling systems, as well as improved lighting and sealing leaky doors and windows. Under the arrangement, participants could add solar panels through the program if they can achieve at least a 15 percent energy savings from the work.
The program is a partnership between the city and the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance, the Department of Energy's Better Buildings Program, and Global Green USA, which?administers it.?
"The NOLA Wise program is a tremendous resource for individuals who want to make environmentally friendly decisions," Landrieu said in a statement. "We're excited to now make this valuable resource available to our local business owners so that they can also make the wise investment in saving energy."
The commercial loans will be offered by Fidelity Homestead Savings Bank on a first-come, first-served basis.
Source: http://www.nola.com/business/index.ssf/2012/10/to_make_energy-efficiency_impr.html
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