Great Ways to Take Action Saving Energy in Your Home

Take the Melrose
Energy Challenge

Learn How

Go
Solar

Learn More

Reduce Energy Usage in Your Home

Get Tips

Change the Way
You Get Around

Get Tips

Take the Melrose Energy Challenge

Get a No-Cost Home Energy Assessment

The Melrose Energy Commission has partnered with HomeWorks Energy, a Mass Save® participating Home Performance Contractor, to provide eligible Melrose residents with no-cost home energy assessments. Join over 3,500 of your neighbors who have already had an assessment and are now saving money and energy every month on their utility bills.

With your no-cost Mass Save® home energy assessment you’ll receive:

  • 75% off insulation up to $2,000
  • LED light bulbs, water-saving fixtures, smart power strips and programmable thermostats
  • No-cost air sealing to reduce air leakage
  • 0% financing on qualified efficiency improvements with a HEAT loan
  • A home safety inspection

$1.2 Million Saved Annually

3,500 residents in Melrose who have completed home energy assessments since 2011 are saving $900k annually. Follow-on insulation and airsealing done in Melrose homes are helping save an additional $300k annually.

To schedule your assessment:
Call our partner, HomeWorks Energy 781-305-3319
or Mass Save ® directly at 866-527-7283

Schedule here

Environmental Impacts of the Melrose Energy Challenge:

3,526 metric tons of carbon dioxide not released into the atmosphere, equal to:
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Greenhouse gas emissions from 755 passenger vehicles driven for a year

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CO2 emissions from 396,647 gallons of gasoline consumed

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Carbon sequestered by 91,354 tree seedlings grown for 10 years

Residential solar installation Melrose, MA

Installing solar energy helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions while minimizing electricity costs. Additionally, solar is a key component to reaching the City’s 2050 net zero goals.

Currently, over 300 Melrose property owners have installed solar PV. The combined impact of these installations is 2.3 MW of clean, local, renewable power from the rooftops of Melrose.

Why Go Solar?
  • Reduce or eliminate your monthly electric bill
  • Great investment that can return 15%+ annually
  • Protect yourself or your organization against rising utility costs
  • Lock-in your electricity costs at a lower rate
    • Helps you save money and budget better for energy costs

Questions about going solar? Email Lori Timmermann, Melrose Solar Coach. 

Email Lori

Our partner, EnergySage, provides an online solar marketplace where consumers can get information on going solar. The online marketplace allows you to view an instant estimate of your potential solar savings, compare quotes from multiple, pre-screened installers, and select the quote that is best for you.

To learn more and receive your instant estimate of solar savings, visit www.EnergySage.com/Melrose

 

Environmental Impacts of Melrose Solar

1,935 metric tons of carbon dioxide not released into the atmosphere, equal to:
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Greenhouse gas emissions from 414 cars driven for a year

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CO2 emissions from 217,730 gallons of gasoline consumed

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Carbon sequestered by 2,279 acres of forest in a year

Melrose residents have saved energy and money and raised energy efficiency for the City

[su_spoiler title="Read More" style="default"]Melrose Energy Challenge 2016

Melrose residents complete over 750 home energy assessments to surpass award goal!

Once again, the City of Melrose has proven to be one of the greenest communities in Massachusetts. The latest bit of proof is a $34,000 National Grid award for meeting a set of pre-determined energy-efficiency goals.

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This money is being used for energy-efficiency improvements in the City which so far include:

  • An XL Hybrid system on our new water tech van which will save 25% on fuel usage and costs
  • Solar-powered LED lighting at the Melrose Dog Park and four more at the new Pine Banks Dog Park during spring 2017
  • An outdoor water bottle filling station at Fred Green Athletic Complex
  • A Soofa solar-powered phone charging bench at the Melrose Common and another one on the way to the high school campus this spring

 

In addition to the National Grid award, HomeWorks Energy, donated $3,000 ($15 for each of 200 completed assessments) to the Melrose Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO). HomeWorks Energy, an energy services company in Woburn, partnered with the Energy Commission to conduct assessments and complete the necessary improvements.

In order to receive the maximum amount of the award, Melrose had to meet the following goals during the 2016 calendar year:

  • 511 home energy assessments (751 completed)
  • 114 air sealing projects (124 completed)
  • 157 insulation projects (157 completed)
  • 5 Heating system upgrades (65 completed)
  • 51 Wifi thermostats (107 completed)

Be proud Melrose – your willingness to take action helped us reach these goals! Additionally, it is through energy efficiency actions such as these that you are able to save energy and money and we are all able to help the City reach the net zero goals by 2050.

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Reduce Energy Usage in Your Home

The typical American household spends nearly $2,500 annually on energy for the home. Most of us in New England pay even more because of our long winters and relatively high energy prices. Save energy and money though easy steps you can take in your home:

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Air Seal & Insulate
your home

Air seal gaps and holes in your house. Add insulation to attic space and blown-in insulation in wall spaces. A no-cost Mass Save® home energy assessment will tell you what you need. Call our partner HomeWorks Energy, at 781-305-3319 or Mass Save® directly at 866-527-7283 to schedule one today.

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Update Your
Heating System

Heating and cooling costs amount to over half your home’s total energy bill. Consider installing ENERGY STAR equipment with a 0% HEAT loan. Learn more about the HEAT loan through a Mass Save® home energy assessment by calling our partner HomeWorks Energy, at 781-305-3319 or Mass Save® directly at 866-527-7283.

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Adjust the Thermostat

Start by lowering the thermostat one degree in the winter and raising it one degree in the summer. If this doesn’t bother you, increase the adjustments by another degree or two. Install a programmable thermostat to save over $150 a year.

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Water
Heater

Set your water tank thermostat to 120 degrees and add an insulation blanket. Insulate your hot water pipes as well.  Need a new water heater? Consider ENERGY STAR equipment. View available rebates.

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Replace
Lighting

Replace incandescent bulbs with LED bulbs. By replacing your home’s five most frequently used bulbs you can save more than $65 a year.

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Power
Strips

Eliminate phantom loads with power strips and timers. Even when they are not in use, many appliances continue to use energy. If you have a rarely used appliance, pull its plug when not in use.

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Appliance
Efficiency

Look for the ENERGY STAR label on home appliances to save $75 a year in energy costs. For products and incentives visit: www.energystar.gov

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Wash Clothes
in Cold Water

90% of the energy used to wash clothes goes into heating the water. Wash and dry full loads whenever possible.

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Switch the
Showerhead

Four people each taking seven minute daily shower, uses 51,000 gallons of water a year. Installing a new showerhead will save you more than 25,000 gallons annually.

Ways to Save on Transportation

Transportation choices have a huge impact on climate change and our ability to meet our goals to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.  Residential vehicles produce about 40% of the GHG emissions from the community as a whole, with average emissions of 6.3 metric tons per household in 2013.  Melrose residents on average own vehicles with worse fuel economy than the national average, and we drive those vehicles an average of 25 miles per day (based on 2013 figures), a higher mileage than most of our neighbors (with the exception of Wakefield at 26 miles/day).

Considerations when purchasing your next vehicle:
  • Don’t buy bigger than you need – if you use your car primarily to commute to work alone consider a fuel-efficient small car. Consider a car instead of an SUV, and if you need to own an SUV, make sure you buy the most fuel efficient one possible.
  • Consider new technology such as hybrid, electric, and other technology entering the market such as fuel cell vehicles.
    • Using electricity, hydrogen and other sources provide a much cleaner and cheaper source of power and fuel than gasoline to run your vehicle.
    • Check out the electric vehicle charging stations at Cedar Park and the City Hall Plaza parking lot.
Make a BIG Difference

Even small improvements in fuel economy have a bigger impact when you start from a relatively inefficient vehicle, so current SUV owners have the potential to contribute a great deal to greenhouse gas reduction goals.

Driving tips to save fuel:
  • Turn off your car – 10 seconds of idling uses more fuel than restarting the engine.
  • Observe speed limits – each 5 mph over the speed limit on the highway consumes about 7% more fuel.
  • Avoid fast starts and stops – you arrive at your destination at nearly the same time and use about 5% less fuel around town.
  • Plan your trips – combing trips and avoiding traffic improves gas mileage and saves you time.
  • Maintain your car – keep your tires properly inflated and change the oil and air filters as recommended by the manufacturer.
Did You Know?

One less trip to Route 1 per household per week would save more than 2,500 MT of emissions from the Melrose community (3.7% of the transportation emissions).

Commuting to work:
  • Walk for part or all of your commute.
  • Join NuRide – Find others to carpool with for free through NuRide, the carpooling rewards program for individuals who take greener trips – walking, biking, carpooling, vanpooling, public transportation, or even telecommuting.
  • Bike to the T – Use the new Pedal and Park locked bicycle storage facility at Oak Grove T Station. Register your CharlieCard here.  If you own a folding bike, you can bring it on the train with you.
Getting around town:
  • Meeting a friend for coffee or at the library? Bike and use the rack at the YMCA.
  • Weekend sports events? Walk or bike as a family to the game.
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Mass Save Heating and Hot Water Rebates

Mass Save helps Massachusetts residents save money and energy by providing rebates and financial assistance for new heating and cooling systems as well as hot water systems. These energy-efficient choices will help lower your electricity bill while positively impacting the environment. Depending on your heating system, you could install new equipment and receive a rebate between $225 and $3,250.

To learn more about which options would work best for you, visit https://www.masssave.com/en/saving/residential-rebates.