Energy Efficiency at Home

In Needham, an estimated 37% of our greenhouse gas emissions come from residential buildings. Check out the following suggestions for cutting back on emissions at home.  

Interested in seeing estimates of economic and environmental impacts of green home and transportation upgrades? Check out RMI's Green Upgrade Calculator.

Weatherization

Weatherizing — insulating plus air sealing — is a sound investment, even if your home already has some insulation. Investing in weatherization can provide comfort, energy efficiency, and cost benefits.

The first step for weatherizing your home is to find out exactly what your home needs by scheduling a free home energy assessment. Green Needham has partnered with the home performance contractor HomeWorks Energy (781-305-3319), a Mass Save partner, to provide no-cost home energy assessments to residents. Both homeowners and renters can schedule an assessment. The no-cost assessment is available to all Needham residents in 1-4 family homes, whether they have gas, electric, or oil heat. You can also choose from any of Mass Save's approved vendors. Already had an assessment? Homeowners are eligible for another assessment every three years.

During the home energy assessment, your home energy advisor will provide information such as:  

• A full assessment of your home’s energy efficiency, followed by next-step recommendations for energy-savings. 
• Detailed information about available rebates and incentives, including for energy-efficient heating and cooling equipment.

If your home energy advisor determines that your home needs air sealing, it can be done at no charge to you. The home energy advisor will provide a complete scope of work, schedule the work with you and, in most cases, will arrange for inspection when the work is completed. If your home energy advisor determines that your home needs insulation, the Mass Save® program will pay 75% of the total cost (100% for 2-4 family homes). The home energy advisor will provide a complete scope of the proposed work, schedule the work with you and, in most cases, arrange for inspection when the work is completed.

Financial Incentives for Weatherization

Heat Pumps

Heat pumps are cost-effective and energy-efficient technologies that transform how your home uses energy. They are heating and cooling systems that move heat indoors in the winter and draw heat outdoors in the summer. Instead of burning fossil fuels, they’re powered by electricity to move heat to keep your home or business at a comfortable temperature year-round. Today’s cold climate heat pumps can be up to 400% efficient and many provide efficient heating at outdoor temperatures as low as -15 °F.

Need Advice?

If you are a Needham resident interested in receiving no-cost guidance from a volunteer trained in clean energy technologies, check out Green Needham’s Energy Coaching Program. Green Needham’s volunteer Energy Coaches provide expert advice to Needham residents in person or over the phone to help answer your questions.   

Financial Incentives for Heat Pumps

Energy Efficient Appliances and Equipment

There are plenty of opportunities to shift away from using fossil fuels in your home. Making changes to your appliances and equipment will not only lower your home’s carbon footprint, but it will also improve air quality. 

Financial Incentives for Energy Efficient Appliances and Equipment 

Solar

Investing in solar panels can provide substantial cost savings. When paired with a battery storage system, a solar system can serve as a backup power source during outages.

Thinking of Installing Solar?

Project Sunroof is a free tool created by Google that maps and estimates the solar potential for your roof. Simply enter your address, and the tool will estimate the hours of usable sunlight each year, square feet of roof space available for solar, projected net savings and more. This tool is helpful for doing a first review of the solar potential for your roof. 

Interested in learning about your potential savings when installing solar panels under different ownership scenarios? EnergySage has created a Solar Calculator that factors in the sunlight your roof receives, your estimated electricity bill, and applicable rebates, incentives, and tax credits to determine your potential savings. 

Need Advice?

If you are a Needham resident interested in receiving no-cost guidance from a volunteer trained in clean energy technologies, check out Green Needham’s Energy Coaching Program. Green Needham’s volunteer Energy Coaches provide expert advice to Needham residents in person or over the phone to help answer your questions.   

Options for Solar

• Purchase: You buy the panels outright and own the system. Any applicable tax credits and incentives belong to you. You are responsible for any maintenance that might be required on the system.
• Loan: You pay for the panels over time, but still own the system. Any applicable tax credits and incentives belong to you. You are responsible for any maintenance that might be required on the system.
• Power Purchase Agreement (PPA): A solar company installs panels on your roof, and you buy the electricity generated from the panels at a set per kWh price which usually increases incrementally over time. You do not own the system and any applicable tax credits and incentives do not belong to you. The PPA company monitors and maintains the system. You are only responsible for purchasing the energy that the system actually produces.
• Lease: A solar company installs panels on your roof, and you pay a fixed monthly 'rent' or lease payment which usually increases incrementally over time. You do not own the system. Any applicable tax credits and incentives do not belong to you. Maintenance responsibility can vary depending on your contract with the leasing firm.

Curious about community solar? Visit our Energy Savings, Rebates, and Incentives page to learn more about options for renters, homeowners, and multi-unit dwellers (including income-eligible options!). 

Home Battery Storage

Home battery storage takes the stress out of power outages by providing a reliable source of backup power. If your home is already using solar electricity or you are thinking about replacing your generator, this may be a good time to consider home battery storage. 

The home battery is charged by solar electricity if you have solar panels, or by utility-supplied electricity if you do not have solar panels. If the home battery is paired with solar electricity, energy generated during the daytime and stored can be used to power your house at night. You can work with an installer to size a home battery storage system to best fit your house’s needs and to power critical loads, such as a refrigerator, in an electric outage.

Please note that if you have solar panels and want to power portions of your home or re-charge your home battery with solar energy during a power outage, you should talk to your installer about islanding capability. Islanding capability allows your solar and home battery storage system to power critical loads in your home in the event of a grid electricity power outage. For the safety of utility line workers, solar and home battery storage systems are designed by default to stop feeding electricity into your home during power outages. Islanding capability changes this while still protecting utility workers and allows you to isolate your home from the grid during a power outage. You can then power critical loads with your solar and battery system.

Financial Incentives for Solar and Home Battery Storage