Ossining Officials Lead by Example

The following is a news release from the Village and the Town of Ossining:

In their homes, on Saturday March 3rd, Westchester Legislator Catherine Borgia and Trustee John Codman are each hosting an “Assessment Party” to introduce homeowners to the potential of significant energy savings and energy efficiency through a new program, Energize Ossining. 
, a collaboration of both the Town and Village of Ossining—and a local program outgrowth from Energize New York—will help homeowners reap the benefits of home energy efficiency in a time of record energy costs.  Borgia and Codman are demonstrating the first step for all homeowners—getting their homes “analyzed” to determine opportunities to eliminate energy waste.  Over 90 percent of homeowners qualify for a free New York State assessment.

Assessment Parties - Date:  Saturday, March 3rd
When/Where:    10:00 a.m. - Home of Village Trustee John Codman, 37 Ferris Place, Ossining

When/Where:    2:00 p.m. - Home of Westchester Legislator Catherine Borgia, 19 Audubon Drive, Ossining

Energize Ossining Community Launch - Date:  Thursday, March 8th
When/Where:       7:00 p.m. - , Multipurpose Room, 95 Broadway, Ossining

“This is not about changing the way you live, but about doing more with what we have,” stressed Borgia.  New York State programs have been launched to help homeowners get more energy-efficient; Energize Ossining will be the homeowners’ guide.  "Conservation, energy independence, and the environment go hand in hand. I feel this issue has a wonderful dynamic in that saving money and helping the environment are not in conflict, but complementary,” Borgia said. “It all starts at home, literally."

Borgia and Codman share worries echoed by their colleagues at both the Village and Town that the average Ossining homeowner is paying too much for energy and needs to prepare for an uncertain energy future.  New York State figures show the average homeowner is losing 30% of the energy usage annually through hidden holes in the house.

Codman, whose assessment is scheduled for Saturday at 10:00 a.m. said, “We got lucky this winter, but usually this time of year is painful when it comes to energy costs.  This is a great benefit that all homeowners should take advantage of and I hope everyone in town will consider a home energy assessment.  This is the most significant thing a homeowner can do to affect their family’s energy consumption.”

Once the evaluation is complete, the results are shared with the homeowner who can determine what home improvements they would like to pursue.  In order to make these changes even easier for homeowners, New York State has introduced a revolutionary new financing mechanism called “On Bill” that lets homeowners pay for improvements on their utility bill and in the amount of their energy savings.

Homeowners from across the Greater Ossining community are invited to come learn more about Energize Ossining.  The initial comprehensive energy efficiency assessment is $0 for nearly all Ossining homeowners.  Homeowners that decide to make efficiency improvements to their home can take advantage of low rate financing.  The amount homeowners save is sometimes even greater than their monthly finance payment—a net savings!  For more information, please contact energizeossining@greenossining.org. 

About Energize Ossining:
Energize Ossining is being launched with this event.  Our first step with homeowners is to help them get a “comprehensive home energy assessment” so that they know where their home is losing energy.  Energize is a program that will extend to 14 towns in Northern Westchester affiliated with the Northern Westchester Energy Consortium (NWEAC).  It was successfully piloted in Bedford, NY with Ossining becoming the second participating community.  Energize is a community-based energy efficiency program funded through Department of Energy (DOE) and New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) grants.  The program and its staff operate within the Energy Improvement Corporation, a NYS Not for Profit Local Development Corporation whose mission is to save money and reduce the waste of energy by enabling energy related improvements through innovative community based outreach and marketing efforts and innovative financing options.
For more information on Energize Ossining: www.energizeossining.org