Home improvement season is here and many people are using this extended time at home to get ready for their next big project.
Some improvements can enhance a home’s value and comfort, but energy-efficiency upgrades also offer immediate and lasting benefits. The market is filled with goods and services that will reduce energy waste and lower utility costs, but it can be difficult to know which ones to invest in first.
Clark Public Utilities’ team of Energy Counselors is available to help customers understand their home’s energy use and prioritize projects to maximize energy savings and improve comfort.
In keeping with the state’s “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” guidelines, the utility’s customer service lobbies remain closed and in-home energy counselor appointments are on hold until those guidelines change. But energy counselors are still available to speak with customers over the phone and through email.
“Even without in-home and office visits, our energy counselor team is providing the same services we were before the pandemic started,” said Clark Public Utilities Energy Services Supervisor DuWayne Dunham. “We’re almost always able to answer customer questions in just one phone contact without needing to arrange an in-home appointment.”
Customers can call 360-992-3355 to speak with Trevor Frick, a Clark Public Utilities energy counselor, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Or they can email their questions to him at ecod@clarkpud.com.
“Trevor is deeply knowledgeable about building sciences and takes a lot of pride in providing customers with technically and practically sound information,” Dunham said.
Frick has access to a wide range of customer energy account information, including a home’s consumption history, information about the home’s size and age and much more. All of that information is combined to build an energy profile of the home, that helps inform his suggestions.
Customers can also explore personalized home energy solutions at their convenience with free home energy calculators on the utility’s website. The home energy calculator helps customers understand their own energy usage and discover ways to reduce consumption. It’s fast and easy to use.
Customers create a brief profile of their home by answering a few basic questions. After just a few minutes, the tool generates a detailed analysis of a household’s energy usage. It also provides numerous suggestions on ways to save energy and money.
The tool offers a wide range of solutions from changing personal habits to energy-efficiency investments that have the potential to save money.
Customers can get a more precise review if they log into MyAccount first. The MyAccount energy calculator automatically factors in the customer’s actual energy consumption before making the calculations.
In addition to getting energy tips, MyAccount enables customers to sign up for text and email notifications, and manage their accounts. MyAccount is secure, convenient and designed to work on computers, smartphones and tablets.
Customers who want to have an on-site consultation with an Energy Counselor will have the opportunity to do so once state health and government officials deem it safe to relax social distancing guidelines.
“We’re making a list of customers to meet with once it’s permissible to do so,” Dunham said. “In the meantime, the energy counselor team meets virtually every week to discuss the types of calls that are coming in and to make sure customers are getting the latest information possible on energy-saving tools and techniques.”
Energy Adviser is written by Clark Public Utilities. Send questions to ecod@clarkpud.com or to Energy Adviser, c/o Clark Public Utilities, P.O. Box 8900, Vancouver, WA 98668.
