Ready to make your home (or small business) more comfortable and save on energy costs? Here's how:
Step 1: Schedule an energy audit
- Select an auditor from the list of Efficiency Kansas qualified auditors and schedule an appointment. You may want to contact a Partner Lender or Partner Utility, before you schedule the audit, to ensure you qualify for financing.
- You're responsible for paying for the audit; the audit cost can be rolled into loan and new promotional programs are currently available.
- The auditor will make an appointment to perform the audit, which involves a thorough inspection of your home and performance of some diagnostic tests. An audit typically takes between two to four hours. Note: The auditor will alert you to any health and safety issues uncovered during the audit.
- The auditor will use the data collected during the on-site audit to prepare your custom Energy Conservation Plan, which will be submitted to the Kansas Energy Office for review, to ensure the recommended improvements meet program guidelines.
Step 2: Review your Energy Conservation Plan
- Once your custom plan is approved by the Kansas Energy Office, the auditor will explain the recommended improvements and discuss any health or safety issues uncovered during the audit.
- Detailed project specifications will be included in your Energy Conservation Plan for you to use when seeking contractor bids for the improvements.
- Remember, the Energy Conservation Plan is a prioritized list of recommended improvements. You may choose not to do everything recommended, but in order to receive Efficiency Kansas financing, your project must include the improvements in the order prescribed. This cost-effectiveness ranking is how we make sure you get the maximum energy savings, no matter how many of the approved improvements you decide to do.
Step 3: Solicit bids from contractors
- When you've decided on the scope of your project, you're ready to solicit bids from contractors of your choice, using the specifications you received from your energy auditor. Learn more about the DIY options available.
- You'll select your contractors and send their bid information and contractor forms to your energy auditor for review for any deviations from the approved Energy Conservation Plan. Learn more about working with contractors.
Step 4: Arrange for financing
- You can access Efficiency Kansas financing through our network of Partner Lenders or Partner Utilities. No matter which option you choose, you'll get low-cost financing and the assurance that you're investing in cost-effective upgrades.
- The maximum loan amount is $20,000 for residential projects and $30,000 for small commercial projects. The maximum term is 15 years.
- Our Partner Lenders have branches throughout Kansas and can help you arrange for an Efficiency Kansas loan. Lenders set their own creditworthiness standards, so you may want to contact more than one in your area.
- Our Partner Utilities offer on-bill financing, in which your loan repayment becomes part of your monthly utility bill (and non-payment can result in loss of utility service). This financing option is also available to tenants, provided their landlord agrees.
Step 5: Get the work done
- Once your loan is approved, you can get in touch with your contractors and begin work on your Efficiency Kansas project. Learn more about the DIY options available.
- When all the contractors have completed their work, your energy audit will return to conduct the required post-retrofit inspection to verify that the improvements followed the Energy Conservation Plan and were made correctly.
- You and the auditor will sign the Efficiency Kansas Certificate of Completion and return it to the Kansas Energy Office.
