JUNO BEACH, Fla. — In partnership with the City of Florida City in southern Miami-Dade County, Florida Power & Light Company delivered Home Energy Makeovers for 50 local families today, installing energy-efficient upgrades to help them save money and lessen their impact on the environment by reducing their energy usage.
Together, the money-saving, energy-conserving improvements can save these families as much as 25 percent on their utility bills each year.
“By working with FPL and other organizations, we’re helping provide the residents of our growing community with access to tools and information that can save them money and have a positive impact on their daily lives,” said Florida City Mayor Otis T. Wallace, who participated in several of the Home Energy Makeovers today as a member of one of the teams of volunteers. “This partnership with FPL is one way we are working to make Florida City the best city in which to live, work and play.”
Because FPL’s typical residential bill is the lowest of the state’s 55 utilities and 18 percent below the national average, an FPL customer using 1,000 kwh of electricity a month pays approximately $253 less annually compared to the average American and $458 less compared to the average Floridian. Still, FPL customers can save even more by adopting some of the energy-efficient improvements demonstrated today in Florida City.
Customers who want to learn more about smarter, cleaner energy choices can visit FPL’s Energy Savings Toolkit section at www.FPL.com and take FPL’s free, online Home Energy Survey.
“FPL is proud to partner with local communities to help residents learn about how they can live more efficiently and environmentally friendly,” said Ramon Ferrer, FPL area manager for southern Miami-Dade County. “We’re committed to helping our customers, especially those on limited or fixed incomes, learn about energy efficiency. The upgrades installed by our talented volunteer teams today are just a few of the simple things that families can do to reduce both their carbon footprint and their monthly expenses.”
Approximately 50 Home Energy Makeover team members – FPL energy experts, contractors and city employees – volunteered to make energy-efficient upgrades that included:
- Repairing air-conditioning ducts
- Checking and installing insulation
- Installing lifetime air-conditioning filters
- Installing compact-fluorescent lights
- Inserting refrigerator and freezer thermometers
- Installing weather-stripping
- Installing water-saving showerheads and faucets
To complete 50 energy makeovers in one day, the teams of volunteers visited the homes of FPL customers who were pre-qualified by the City of Florida City through an application process. The teams spent one to two hours in each home, making the upgrades and educating the residents about free or low-cost measures they can take to further reduce their energy use. Many of the homeowners who participated today were senior citizens living on fixed incomes.
Since the program’s inception in 2006, FPL’s Home Energy Makeover initiative has helped educate communities in the counties of St. Lucie, Miami-Dade, Sarasota, Broward, Brevard, Flagler, Lee and Palm Beach about energy efficiency. In total, the program has directly assisted more than 500 Florida families by upgrading approximately 50 homes at a time during each event, saving customers thousands of dollars on utility costs.
Florida Power & Light Company
Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) is the largest electric utility in Florida and one of the largest rate-regulated utilities in the United States. FPL serves approximately 4.5 million customer accounts in Florida and is a leading employer in the state with 10,500 employees. The company consistently outperforms national averages for service reliability while customer bills are below the national average. A clean energy leader, FPL has one of the lowest emissions profiles and one of the leading energy efficiency programs among utilities nationwide. FPL is a subsidiary of Juno Beach, Fla.-based NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: FPL). For more information, visit www.FPL.com.