MassSave Offers No-Cost Home Energy Checks to Fall River Residents and Businesses

People getting regular health checks is a pretty smart thing to do; detecting issues early, finding the best course if there are any medical problems, and saving money in the long-term from expensive medical treatments.

So why wouldn’t you do the same with your home or small business to assess the energy efficiency of where you live and work? 

And given that consumers are already paying for the service through their utility bills, why not save money on future energy costs and help the environment.

The MassSave program aims to move the state closer to goal of reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. 

A public private partnership with the state and utility companies, the Mass Save program that can offer a wide variety of energy cost efficiencies, savings and rebates when it comes to residential, municipal and commercial buildings.

With a MassSave grant recently awarded to the city, the Department of City Operations, headed by Al Oliveira has set up a new energy division and assembled a team to get the word out about the program.

“So, its two-fold,” said Oliveira. “We’re trying to get people to sign on to MassSave. But we’re also working on city and school buildings to reduce our carbon footprint.”

Oliviera said in addition to homeowners and small businesses being eligible for the program, the city is also working with the non-profit Citizens for Citizens to help reach out to both low-income owners and tenants.

The first step in the MassSave program is participating in a no-cost home energy assessment by experts from Liberty and National Grid that will provide a list of recommendations to make the home or business more energy efficient.

Many of the recommended energy upgrades could be at no cost to the home or business owner or with deep discounts and rebates as part of the program.

Team supervisor James Carey worked for Liberty Utilities for years and has experience working with MassSave said the program has been around since the 1980’s.

“Communities like Fall River historically have been underserved. What that means is when we are out there looking for these energy savings, people in older cities just tend not to participate. I think some of it might be that a lot of them are renters. Approximately 65 to 70 percent in Fall River are renters,” said Carey.

He said the program’s focus now is to get increased participation in Fall River and other Gateway Cities whose populations typically struggle to pay utility bills.

Renters qualify for a free assessment of their rentals and with owners’ consent, some of the energy improvements are 100 percent covered. The same for moderate income participants.

Other energy upgrades; no cost air sealing; discounts on high-efficiency heating and cooling equipment and appliances; no-cost energy products like programmable thermostats, high-efficiency faucet aerators and shower heads; and access to a zero percent financing through the MassSave HEAT loan program.

Rental properties located in Designated Equity Communities, which Fall River is included, may qualify for comprehensive energy upgrade packages that may include no-cost air source heat pumps.

For more information and to schedule a no-cost home energy assessment go to MassSave.com/Fall River; the Fall River website at https://fallriverma.gov/; or call 508-286-6237.