A Close Look at San Diego’s HERO Program: A Step Towards Home Energy Renovation


The importance of green energy for use in homes and businesses is becoming more and more widespread, with individuals, families, and whole communities making the proactive effort to renovate their energy systems in order to pursue a more cost-efficient and energy-efficient method. San Diego is a west coast city that is leading the way in providing solar opportunities for homeowners. With the implementation of San Diego’s HERO (Home Energy Renovation Opportunity) program, homeowners throughout the San Diego and Southern California area are making changes in order to have the opportunity to rely on solar energy as their main energy source in the coming months and years.

Having said that, it might come as no surprise that solar energy systems are expensive to implement, thus potentially preventing homeowners from pursuing this more efficient clean energy system. It’s for this reason that many areas across the nation have introduced the concept of Property Assessed Clean Energy, or PACE. 

In San Diego, the PACE concept takes the form of the HERO program, or Home Energy Renovation Opportunity. HERO and similar programs have the potential to cover 100 percent of the cost of solar energy system implementation, from the solar panels and green windows, to artificial turf and water saving upgrades. This financial assistance makes access to clean energy and a renovated energy akin society that much more feasible.

This clean energy upgrade financing is a low-interest option that is repaid through property taxes. With a simple application process and options for even those with unfavorable credit scores, the HERO program provides homeowners dedicated to making the transition to clean energy with manageable rates and fees. 

Since 2011, a clean energy focused organization called Renovate America utilized this HERO program to fund $1.2 billion in home improvements on approximately 55,000 homes. Starting in Riverside, California, this program was implemented in order to allow homeowners to bring their clean energy desires to reality. In Riverside County alone, approximately 18,700 homes have utilized the program in order to make clean energy modifications to their homes. Since expanding to San Diego County two years ago, the same program has provided financial assistance across nearly 8,000 local projects. 


In San Diego county alone, the benefits of access to the HERO program through Renovate America is obvious when taking a closer look at the statistics involved. Thus far for San Diego county, this program has facilitated a substantial increase in jobs, provided millions of dollars in funding for sustainable options, conserved nearly 1,000 million kilowatts of energy, and saved more than 700 million gallons of water.


These benefits go hand in hand with what the HERO program is doing for homeowners as well. The amount saved on energy bills and reduction in their personal carbon footprint are other advantages to consider when making the decision to apply for this clean energy financing. 

Overall, though, when taking a look at the positive reception from homeowners and the effectiveness of the program, it is easy to see that individuals are ready and willing to take advantage of a program such as this in order to go above and beyond to make a change for the better. Moving in the right direction in regards to clean energy changes is made that much more possible with the help of the HERO program and others like it. 


More info. on the HERO program:


http://www.sandiegoapprovedhomepros.com/blog/4-things-need-know-hero-program


https://www.renovateamerica.com/financing/hero




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