JUNO BEACH, Fla. -- Florida Power & Light Company, in partnership with The Community Foundation of Sarasota County, today provided free home energy makeovers for 50 qualifying families in Newtown, a community in Sarasota County. FPL estimates that these families may save as much as 25 percent a year by maintaining in place the upgrades from the free energy makeover. For these families, the savings may equate to about three months of energy use annually.
“Our goal is to make a difference in our customers’ lives, and one way we can do that is by helping them improve their home’s energy efficiency to save money year-round,” said Marlene Santos, vice president of customer service for FPL. “We can all learn to be more energy efficient, and through this initiative, we can reach out and help those who need it most.”
“By partnering with FPL in this worthwhile endeavor, we have the opportunity to make a real difference in people’s lives in a very concrete way…saving them money and making their homes more affordable and comfortable, as well,” said Stewart Stearns, president and CEO of The Community Foundation of Sarasota County. “We know that low-income families in older homes spend a disproportionate percentage of their budget on energy bills.”
Examples of energy-efficient upgrades implemented as part of the home energy makeover include:
- Weather stripping
- Cleaning and/or replacing air conditioning filters
- Changing incandescent light bulbs to energy-saving compact fluorescent light bulbs
- Installation of low-flow shower heads to reduce hot water flow
- Refrigerator thermometers
- Hot water pipe insulation
- Attic insulation
- Duct repair and air conditioning maintenance, provided by the Manasota Air Conditioning Contractors Association
- Enrollment in FPL’s On Call program, which can save customers over $100 a year by allowing appliances, such as central air conditioners, central heaters, and water heaters to be cycled off during times of high electricity demand.
While today’s home energy makeover is aimed at low-income customers, all FPL customers can start to save energy today. FPL says customers can conduct their own home energy makeover by visiting www.FPL.com and participating in the online home energy survey. FPL's Online Home Energy Survey offers customers a personalized energy saving analysis of their home's energy use and specific ways to implement energy saving tips. The energy survey provides customers with an overall guide for an energy efficient home and a printable report detailing specific ideas on how to keep electric bills down. Many of the upgrades are quite simple to do such as controlling thermostat settings, turning off fans before leaving a room or limiting the time a pool pump runs. The upgrades just take just a couple of hours to complete.
“Our goal is to make all our customers aware that by putting into practice some of the suggestions found on our website they can make their homes energy efficient,” said Santos. “Our specific goal with the home energy makeover is to support those low-income customers who have been hit hard in the pocketbook because of the impact that fuel costs are having on their electric bills.”
“Implementing energy-saving measures can really make a big difference in money savings and comfort," said Stearns. “We’re proud to be involved in these kinds of community partnerships and will continue to support FPL’s initiatives in this area.”
FPL is planning another home energy makeover event for 50 low-income Broward County customers in the first quarter of 2007.
About The Community Foundation of Sarasota County
The Community Foundation of Sarasota County is a public charity founded by the Southwest Florida Estate Planning Council in 1979 to meet the needs of their clients seeking to leave a charitable legacy of lasting impact. With current assets of more than $140 million in over 520 different funds, the Community Foundation manages and invests these funds and uses the interest earned to award grants and scholarships totaling in excess of $6 million annually. Individuals and organizations are encouraged to create permanent funds to support the causes they care about most in the areas of education, the arts, animal welfare, the environment and health and human services. The Community Foundation partners to make charitable giving work for our community. Our motto is: For good. For ever. ® Stewart W. Stearns is president & CEO of the Community Foundation. Sophia LaRusso is board chair.