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Hamden Energy & Conservation Programs

The Town of Hamden is very proud to partner with United Illuminating, Energize CT, and SolSmart CT to provide our residents with helpful information, programs, and events geared towards the conservation of energy and the reduction of costs associated with residential energy use. Take a look below for all of our currently active programs and partnerships, and please feel free to contact the Town's Energy Efficiency Coordinator, Kathleen Schomaker, at 203-287-7036 or by email at kschomaker@hamden.com with any questions you may have.

http://www.gosparc.org/ 
https://assessor.keva.la/cgb/ 

SolSmart provides recognition and no-cost technical assistance to help local governments reduce barriers to solar energy growth. With the help of our team of national and local experts, cities, counties, and towns are cutting red tape to make it easier for homes and businesses to go solar. Local governments that achieve these goals are eligible for SolSmart designation, providing national recognition that they are “open for solar business.” By encouraging solar energy development at the local level, SolSmart helps local governments bring new businesses to their community, promote economic growth, and foster the creation of new jobs.

Hamden will leverage SolSmart to develop and execute a solarize campaign, expand and communicate solar finance options for residential and commercial properties, and install solar energy systems on key local government facilities. In order to measure progress along the way, Hamden will track key metrics related to solar energy deployment, such as installed solar capacity and the number of installations across sectors.

SolSmart is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Initiative and supports its goal of making it faster, cheaper, and easier to go solar.

Home Energy Services

Sponsored by United Illuminating and Energize CT

Chances are your home or apartment is leaking energy at a surprising rate.

The Home Energy Solutions (HES) program is an innovative solution to reducing your home’s energy bill supported by the Energy Efficiency Fund, an Energize CT partner, and administered by UI. For more information, call 1-877-WISE-USE (1-877-947-3873).

We Can Help Lower Your Energy Costs with an In-Home Visit

Do you ever wonder how much energy you lose through leaky doors, windows and ductwork? Do you suspect that your insulation isn’t making the grade? What about your major appliances? Wouldn’t it be great if you could have an expert give your home an energy assessment? You can. With support from the Energy Efficiency Fund, the Home Energy Solutions program offers valuable energy efficiency services. If you are interested in seeing what happens during one of our visits please watch our short video!

To get started, click on the service below that is right for you.

  • Home Energy Solutions - Core Services (HES) – An innovative solution to reducing your home’s energy bills through a variety of energy efficiency measures performed by a UI-authorized contractor.
  • Home Energy Solutions - Income-Eligible (HES-IE) - formerly known as the UI Helps program – Based on income-eligibility, offering renters or homeowners the opportunity to reduce their energy bills by making their homes more energy efficient.

Sustainable CT - Local Actions, Statewide Impact

“Sustainable CT communities strive to be thriving, resilient, collaborative, and forward-looking. They build community and local economy. They equitably promote the health and well-being of current and future residents. And they respect the finite capacity of the natural environment.” Watch this short video about Sustainable CT.

How Does it Work? The Sustainable CT Framework:

  • Sustainable CT is a road map of voluntary actions that will help municipalities be more sustainable.
  • Sustainable CT seeks to help cities and towns across the state become more vibrant, healthy, resilient and thriving places for all of their residents.
  • Sustainability actions, policies, and investments deliver multiple benefits and help towns make efficient use of scarce resources and engage a wide cross section of residents and businesses.
  • Sustainable CT is flexible. Any Connecticut municipality can find ways to become more sustainable – urban or rural, big or small, coastal or inland.

Sustainable CT seeks to help cities and towns across the state become more vibrant, healthy, resilient and thriving places for all of their residents. Sustainability actions, policies, and investments deliver multiple benefits and help towns make efficient use of scarce resources and engage a wide cross section of residents and businesses.

What makes CT Sustainable?

There are many ways to help local communities thrive. Sustainable CT provides resources to municipalities to support:

  • Clean and diverse transportation systems and choices
  • Efficient physical infrastructure and operations
  • Strategic and inclusive public services
  • Dynamic and resilient planning
  • Well-stewarded land and natural resources
  • Thriving local economies with benefits for all
  • Healthy, efficient, diverse and affordable housing
  • Vibrant and creative cultural ecosystems

Louis Astorino Ice Rink LED Project

The Louis Astorino Ice Arena, located at 595 Mix Avenue, has just acquired a new LED lighting upgrade offering the brightest lighting ever at our Hamden ice rink. The upgrade delivers a substantial cost-savings benefit from a brighter, more energy efficient light system with a dimming system that allows lights to be adjusted for the rink’s needs. The newly installed Echelon dimming system, a favorite improvement in lighting at many regional ice rinks, allows for three levels of lighting directly over the ice: the brightest for hockey games, a medium level for practice sessions, and a lower level for social skating.

The cost of the $87,000 installation was financed through United Illuminating: half of the cost was covered by a direct grant for the energy efficiency upgrade; the other half is financed by UI at 0% for three years, with payments from energy cost savings on the bill for the ice rink. Those savings are estimated to exceed $200,000 over the first decade then continue to accrue for an additional 5-10 years. Savings from the LED upgrade plus dimming system accrue from the improved efficiency of the LED bulbs themselves as well as from the fact that the dimming system will extend the lifespan of the bulbs. The Echelon dimming system, developed over 20 years ago, has been documented to boost energy savings by 30-40% over simple LED bulb upgrades.

To learn more about the Louis Astorino Ice Arena, visit http://www.hamdenrink.com/home.html.

Environmental Services Fair

The Town of Hamden is pleased to announce the annual "Environmental Services Fair". This event which will feature on-site paper shredding from ProShred of Wallingford, electronics disposal by Take2Inc of Waterbury (10am-1pm), Home Energy Services (HES) information and signups, and C-Tec Solar information and signups for the Solarize Hamden campaign. Shredding and electronics disposal services will be provided FREE to all attendees. Local vendors Spuds Your Way and DiSorbo’s Bakery will also be on-site serving up your lunch options, so be sure to bring the family too!

This year's event is occurring on Saturday, November 4th, at 2750 Dixwell Avenue, Hamden, CT 06518. The event will run 10am-2pm. Announcements for 2018 will be posted when applicable.