A Patch of Green

Could Solar Panels Become a Common Sight in West Roxbury?

This environmentally friendly column is brought to you by West Roxbury Saves Energy, a community-based organization committed to spreading the word that individuals can make positive choices that save money as well as the planet.

  The following article was written by Ray Porfilio for West Roxbury Saves Energy. West Roxbury Saves Energy — along with some 20 like-minded organizations from communities such as Newton and New Bedford recently attended a “Community Leaders Energy Summit” in Boston hosted by Next Step Living (NSL). Familiar to WRSE from our work with Renew Boston, NSL bills itself as a socially conscious, environmentally focused, results-driven organization dedicated to helping its customers lower their energy bills, increase the comfort of their homes, and reduce their carbon footprint. During the summit, we had a chance to catch up with Ben Harel, a Greater Boston Community Outreach Coordinator with Next Step Living whose territory includes West …

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A Patch of Green

Five Ways to Save Money on Your Heating Bill

This environmentally friendly column is brought to you by West Roxbury Saves Energy, a community-based organization committed to spreading the word that individuals can make positive choices that save money as well as the planet.

    With the temperature falling (albeit slowly) and the winter months soon also to descend upon us, we like to figure out ways to conserve on our heating bill as much as possible. Here are five things we can do that will save money — and energy. And if you sign up for a free energy assessment  through the Renew Boston program by December 31, you will receive help with numbers 1, 3, and 4 by getting a programmable thermostat, air sealing, and insulation up to $3500 at no cost to you. For more information about this unique Boston initiative as well as additional tips on how to save money and save energy, visit WestRoxburySavesEnergy.org.

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Renew Boston Program to Assist with Insulation Costs

Renew Boston is offering no-cost home energy assessments and free efficiency upgrades including insulation before the year is up.

Residents should take advantage of a city program to insulate their home before the winter. Renew Boston staff are trying to improve insulatation in as many homes as possible in Boston area. They're providing no-cost energy assessments all over the city, to this end. And, as long as homeowners (or tenants and landlords approve) Renew Boston provides up to $3,000 toward the cost of insulating a home. However, the program expires on Dec. 31. Read about a West Roxbury Saves Energy informational session on the Renew Boston program. According to the program's web site, Renew Boston "provide[s] qualifying residential customers with low-hassle, no-cost home energy assessments and free efficiency upgrades including insulation, air sealing, water …

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A Patch of Green

'Renew Boston' Program Pays for Your Energy-Efficiency Home Upgrades

You will be supporting West Roxbury Saves Energy, which will receive $50 for each referral at our link or when you mention WRSE if you call Next Step Living.

If you have been trying to figure out a way to pay for that insulation you know you need to tighten up your house or those energy-efficient light bulbs or water-saving devices so that you can decrease your home energy and water bills, here is the answer. The Renew Boston program, for which most Bostonians qualify (see income eligibility guidelines here), offers you a no-cost energy assessment as well as up to $3,500 in energy upgrades. Save energy and save money through this unique program launched by the City of Boston last year, the first program of its kind in the country. You can sign up right now or read on for more details about how Renew Boston works for you. This initiative prompts homeowners and apartment-dwellers, or their …

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Mayor Menino Announces Boston Solar Rebate Program (Video)

The mayor held the announcement in the front yard of JP's Katharine Kilbourn and Scott Shear, who get 90 percent of their power from solar cells.

On the longest day of the year, the bright sunshine had the electric meter running backwards at Katharine Kilbourn and Scott Shear's house. That's because eight months ago the couple installed a solar array on the roof of their 98 Brookside Ave., Jamaica Plain home. And while the couple says the solar panels are already making economic sense, the city picked their front yard to announce that it will sweeten the pot for other home owners who want to add solar panels. "If you look at our meter now, it's running backwards," said Shear, minutes before Mayor Thomas Menino arrived to announce the program. The new program is part of Renew Boston. It adds a city rebate to incentives already offered by the state and federal governments. The average…

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