Break Up with Fossil Fuels in 2023
Newsletter January 2023
If one of your goals this year is to find ways to reduce your reliance on fossil fuels, read on! We are excited to share our latest resources to help you make the switch to clean energy and lower your carbon footprint in ways large and small.
As the Inflation Reduction Act kicks into gear this year, we are offering a number of opportunities for Central Coast residents to learn how to take advantage of new and existing financial incentives to upgrade your home or vehicle, plus additional tips on how to lower your carbon footprint.
Bookmark Our Latest Blog: How to Get Fossil Fuels Out of Your Life
Michael Chiacos, the Community Environmental Council’s Director of Climate Policy, and his family have drastically reduced their reliance on fossil fuels over the last decade by making changes in their daily lives. An expert in climate policy and clean energy, Michael shares 10 critical steps we can take to reduce our carbon footprint, save money, and make our homes healthier. Even if you can’t take every step, this blog is chock full of resources for anyone looking to make concrete progress on getting fossil fuels out of their lives.
Breaking Up With Fossil Fuels Series
Electrify Your Life: Top Ways to Ditch Fossil Fuels
Thursday, February 16, 2023
12:00 - 1:15 p.m. PT
Virtual
Building off of the resources shared in his “How my family is getting fossil fuels out of our life — and how you can too” blog, CEC’s Michael Chiacos will join us live to share details on how his family kicked 95% of their daily fossil fuel habit—and how you and your family can too. He will be joined by April Price of 3CREN and Emily Gottlieb of Ecology Action, who will provide accessible resources to help you make impactful changes to create all-electric homes, commutes and communities that are safer and healthier. Curious about the advantages to electrifying your home and incentives that can help? Need more information about making the switch to drive electric? We’ll share all this and more, along with local, state, and federal programs that provide incentives, rebates, and other benefits to support both renters and homeowners in making changes that fit their lifestyle and budget. There will be an extended Q&A period at the end of the webinar to help answer your questions live. Co-presented with Ecology Action and 3CREN.
Incentives to Get You Started On Your Fossil-Free Journey at Home
Want to bring the latest clean energy technologies and appliances into your home? Looking for a good solution to heat your home in winter and cool it in the summer? It’s an exciting time to make upgrades that can increase comfort, improve health, and get carbon-intensive fossil fuels out of our homes. By accessing two local incentive programs, as well federal Inflation Reduction Act tax credits, you can slash the costs of home energy upgrades:
3C-REN Single-Family Home Energy Savings Program: This program reduces the cost of cutting-edge home energy upgrades. Single-family homeowners in Santa Barbara, Ventura and SLO Counties can receive discounted retrofits for all-electric heat pumps, efficient home appliances, climate-friendly water heaters, and a variety of other money-saving energy efficiency upgrades by signing up with the local government agency’s Single Family program.
Central Coast Community Energy (3CE) Electrify Your Home Program: provides cash incentives for home energy upgrades that switch gas-powered water heaters and HVAC equipment to all-electric options. Incentives are available to help cover appliance costs and costs related to electric panel upgrades or replacements.
Inflation Reduction Act: The largest clean energy investment America has ever made currently provides 30% tax credits on heat pumps, up to $2,000 per project, along with credits for insulation, energy-efficient windows, electric panel upgrades, and more. Use Rewiring America’s IRA Benefits Calculator to see how much money you could save by going all-electric at home.
Electrify Your Single Family Home
Need help to get started? Connect with a representative at 3C-REN Single Family Home Energy Upgrade Program here. 3C-REN is a partnership between the Counties of San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura established to deliver energy-saving programs and trainings that help reduce energy use, strengthen local job markets, and support efforts to achieve climate goals.
If you are a contractor who would like to offer 3C-REN incentives to your customers, sign up to participate here.
Electrify Your Multi-family Residential Housing
At CEC, we know that climate change disproportionately impacts vulnerable populations that contribute the least to its causes. That’s one of the reasons we are committed to leaving no renter behind in our journey to promote a fossil-free future for everyone on California’s Central Coast. Want to learn more about the monetary incentives and access technical assistance to bring cutting-edge energy retrofits and solar to your multifamily property?
Get more info about the 3C-REN Multi-family Home Energy Savings programs on their agency’s website
See if your multifamily residential property is eligible to install solar through California’s Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing (SOMAH) program and learn more about SOMAH’s benefits.
Are you a multifamily property manager or property owner who would like to lead the way to an all-electric future? Contact us so we can help!
Tell Governor Newsom and California lawmakers to hold the line on climate investments
Governor Gavin Newsom’s recently proposed budget intends to cut $6 billion in climate and clean energy programs over the next several years. Learn more from our partners at The Climate Center and use their action alert to let decision makers know we’re in the middle of a climate crisis. Our planet and our communities can’t afford these cuts.
Support Critical Work Like This
Recognized as a 2020 California Nonprofit of the Year and a City of Santa Barbara Climate Hero, CEC is led by CEO Sigrid Wright, 2022 Congressional Woman of the Year. See our most recent impact report to learn how we are serving California's Central Coast by advancing rapid and equitable solutions to the climate crisis.
Learn more about CEC's Campaign to Protect Our Climate and make a gift to fuel our work at cecsb.org/donate You can also text CEC to 801801 to make a donation today.