Xcel Energy operates in Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, New Mexico, Wisconsin and Texas.
Home Energy Squad: Optimize your home energy use with a visit from the Home Energy Squad. For $70 they will install door flashing for two doors, optimize the hot water heater. Install aerators on the bathroom and kitchen sink. Install energy efficient shower heads and install compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs. (value of $200)
I think all except the last one seem like a good idea. The light quality from the CFL bulbs is not as good as the incandescent bulbs. I have installed the CFL bulbs in the basement and garage of my home as the quality of light in those locations is not as important. They do not work as well for reading.
For an additional fee the Home Energy squad will use LED instead of the compact fluorescent bulbs. LED bulbs save money over the long run but have a higher upfront capital cost.
Savers Switch: 15% off summer cooling. Xcel installs a device to intermittently shut off the AC unit for approx. 20 minutes at a time during peak energy usage during the summer. It does not shut off the fan in the house as air continues to circulate. Typical hours of operation 2pm to 7pm. I'm giving this a try this summer and will offer a critique in the fall. I also plan to log the temperatures and %RH for some of the time.
MN CERT joins home energy squad - 7 min.
Xcel's savers switch in Minnesota
Xcel also has a rebate program for a new AC. You need to go through an approved vendor. Our AC stopped working so we installed a new one. Install went OK. Insufficient freon amount the first time. Fan took about 8 hours to drop 3 degrees. Drained the freon and filled it to amount recommended by manufacturer. Appears to be working OK now. We'll see tonight.
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