Columbia County Launches Clean Heating, Cooling, and Energy Efficiency Campaign with Public Online Informational Meeting on February 28^th at 6:30pm

Columbia County has launched a campaign for Clean Heating, Cooling, and Energy Efficiency to encourage residents and businesses to install highly efficient heating, cooling, and hot water heating equipment. The campaign also provides assistance in assessing building efficiency and identifying more ways to save energy and money. The technology behind these upgrades, called “heat pumps,” provides significant increases in energy efficiency and comfort while reducing energy costs, saving money, and providing rapid payback on the cost of the upgrades. There are also various incentives and rebates available to assist with the costs of upgrading.

The Columbia County Climate Smart Communities (CSC) Task Force and Heat Smart Capital Region have partnered on this campaign to help New Yorkers conserve energy, save money, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The organizers are hosting an online public meeting on February 28th at 6:30 pm with some of the vendors to introduce people to opportunities for them to participate in upgrading their heating, cooling, and hot water heating systems, and otherwise improving the energy efficiency of their buildings. Details for participating in this and future events are available at bit.ly/ccheatcoolenergy

Brenda Adams, Supervisor of Canaan supports the campaign and urges county residents to participate. “High fuel prices and an increasing number of days with heat warnings this past year has necessitated that community members look for more affordable ways to heat and cool their homes. Heat pumps have become a sustainable choice for heating and cooling that can save consumers money and shield them from the price fluctuations associated with market demand for fossil fuels.”

Ron Knott, Supervisor for the town of Stuyvesant, also sang the praises of heat pump technology, which he says, “has rapidly expanded the options for many of us to heat or cool our homes. Now with the available rebates and tax credits, this is a great time to explore your energy options.”

Vendors participating in the campaign include Aztech Global, Choice Heating & Cooling, Rycor, Ridgeline and The Radiant Store. As with the County’s Community Solar drive conducted last year, this campaign is part of the NY Department of Environmental Conservation’s Climate Smart Communities Program and NYSERDA’s Clean Energy Communities Program which assist municipalities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change.