Solarize & Weatherize Campaign
Project Description
A Solarize Campaign involves a community organizing a focused roll-out of homeowner solar through working with a specific contractor and conducting community outreach and education to support increased adoption. Sometimes, Solarize Campaigns also include a bulk purchase discount on panels, as such a high volume of homeowners are installing projects at the same time.
A Weatherize Campaign involves a community organizing a focused roll-out of homeowner insulation and air sealing to improve home energy efficiency through working with a specific contractor and conducting community outreach and education to support increased adoption. Sometimes, Weatherize Campaigns also include a bulk discount on insulation and air sealing as such a high volume of homeowners are completing projects at the same time.
The two primary pathways through which both types of campaigns support increased adoption is by:
Pre-identifying a trusted contractor. This removes a complicated step for homeowners, but homeowners must have trust in the group organizing the campaign and completing contractor selection.
Providing clear information to support homeowners through the process of considering and completing projects, including information about cost, available financing and incentives, and what to expect for project steps. The process of solarizing or completing efficiency upgrades can feel overwhelming; focused campaigns streamline information and provide support through the process.
If the contractor agrees to a bulk purchase discount, the other pathway through which the campaign increases adoption is through that cost-saving.
Why This Project Matters
Home energy use is an important part of the puzzle in terms of community greenhouse gas emissions. Improving the efficiency of buildings and transitioning to renewable energy are both critical climate solutions.
Along with emissions reduction, home ownership of solar and home progress in energy efficiency can both save money for the homeowner. Solar ownership can insulate homeowners against rapidly rising electrical bills. Improved efficiency can increase home comfort. Participating in solarizing and weatherizing a home builds energy literacy in the homeowner.
Finally, distributed solar projects have an important role to play in the transition to renewable energy. We need largescale projects, but we also need projects that are scattered throughout the local distribution grid. When paired with battery storage, these projects can help balance supply and demand along the grid. Bringing these projects online often leads to improvements along the often underserved distribution grid and these improvements can build local resilience in the distribution grid. These distributed, locally-owned projects can significantly increase local energy resilience and bring the financial benefits of solar generation into the local community.
Key considerations:
Community readiness
While Solarize and Weatherize Campaigns include a significant amount of community education and engagement activities, these campaigns will be most effective in communities where there is at least a base level of openness to homeowner solar energy. Weatherize Campaigns can be particularly well received in communities that are feeling the pain of high energy bills and looking for a solution. It can be helpful to identify existing champions in your community: homeowners who have already installed solar or improved their home efficiency and can speak about the benefits to other community members.
Cost
It is possible to run a Solarize and/or Weatherize Campaign at minimal or no cost if you have a dedicated and educated group of volunteers prepared to run the campaign. It will be essential for those volunteers to have a high enough level of energy literacy to manage contractor selection and communicate effectively about the campaign in outreach. See notes below under “People Power”. It can be helpful to have a small budget for outreach, to fund printing and hanging flyers for events, a website landing page for the campaign, and, if possible, small road signs like the type used during political campaigns. These signs can be placed at the end of the driveways of participating households and are a great way to spread the word about the program.
Time Requirement
The campaign steering committee or manager will have the most significant time commitment. If working with a campaign steering committee, consider delegating roles, with members assigned to the different task areas in the “How To” section below. Campaign planning will likely take 1-2 months, if the steering committee has already built higher energy literacy. Contractor selection will take another 1-2 months. The campaign itself should be run over the course of about a year, giving plenty of time to cultivate interest, but not too much time for interest to spread and diffuse.
People Power
You will need a steering committee or a manager to run the campaign, whether served by volunteers or as a paid position. This is not a full-time position, but will require steady attention weekly, with exact hours depending on the size of your community and your goals within your campaign. Consider organizing your steering committee with members delegated to focus on the different areas under the “How To” section below.
It will be important to build an adequate level of energy literacy to support effective contractor selection and communication/education throughout the outreach period. Consider reaching out to organizations like A Climate to Thrive or others who have experience with Solarize and/or Weatherize campaigns.
Contractor availability - it is important to note that Maine, like much of the nation, is experiencing a shortage of both solar and insulation and air sealing contractors. You might consider taking stock of the situation in your surrounding area before planning your campaign to ensure you will be able to find a contractor and when those contractors will be available to handle a higher volume of customers.
How to:
Assemble your steering committee or identify a campaign manager
If assembling a committee, seek individuals with outreach skills, energy experience, and good connections within the community
Develop your campaign plan and identify your campaign budget
Build out your plan for the campaign, including timeline, outreach plan and pathways, schedule of outreach events, and goals around participation. Identify key outreach partners and consider how you will connect with vulnerable populations within your community. Develop an understanding of the contractor selection process and plan your approach. Take inventory of local contractors and consider having some initial exploratory conversations to determine their availability and interest in a campaign of this nature. Develop your campaign budget, including what you anticipate spending on outreach materials and where the needed funding will come from.
Develop your outreach plan
Develop your Request for Proposals for contractor selection
Develop a Request for Proposals (RFP) (template included below) that matches the specific needs of your campaign. Be sure to identify who will collect proposals and include their contact information within the RFP. Share the request broadly with potential contractors and through contractor network channels. Clearly communicate the deadline for proposals and expected timeline associated with your campaign and consider specifying whether or not you are flexible in your campaign timeline depending on contractor fit (would you adjust your campaign timeline to be able to work with the right contractor)?
Review proposals, conduct interviews, and select contractor
Review submitted proposals and schedule interviews with potential contractors.
During interviews, important aspects to focus on include:
Contractor ability to serve as an educational resource. Is the contractor well-spoken and able to make the process and benefits of homeowner energy efficiency upgrades and/or solar accessible for community members?
Contractor ability to serve a high volume of clients in your geographical area during the timeframe of your campaign. Does the contractor anticipate any challenges with serving this volume, including managing consistent responsible communication with interested homeowners?
Is the contractor able to offer a bulk discount? This does not need to be a make-or-break, but important to understand up-front to determine whether or not this can be part of your campaign.
How does the contractor interact with available rebates and incentives? Many insulation and air sealing contractors will help homeowners fill out the required paperwork and will upfront the cost of the rebate, with the rebate payment then going to the contractor. For solar tax credits, if available, does the contractor provide any support for the homeowner in filing out the necessary paperwork?
Please find a template for interview questions in the resources below.
Select contractor and develop and sign contract.
Establish a consistent meeting schedule with the selected contractor; you will likely want to meet weekly or at least every-other week to check in on progress.
Develop enrollment process.
With input from your selected contractor, determine how you will track interested homeowners. Many campaigns utilize a shared google sheet that both the community group running the campaign and the contractor have access to edit. It will be important to establish a system that tracks names and contract information, dates of contact and initial contractor visits, any follow-up information, whether or not the interest translates into a contract for work, and when work is completed.
Begin outreach campaign
Working closely with your selected contractor, begin hosting information sessions about your campaign. Consider hosting sessions at trusted community locations like libraries and community centers. Work with local service providers to reach diverse and vulnerable populations in your community. Submit press releases to ensure news of the campaign is covered in the local media. Consider hosting at least one virtual information session to reach homeowners with mobility challenges.
Begin enrolling interested homeowners and roll out your campaign
Be sure to keep the line of communication flowing with interested homeowners. If the contractor is not able to communicate with enough frequency, you might serve that roll, explaining, for example, if you have a high volume of interest and preparing homeowners for anticipated wait times.
Continue outreach during your campaign, especially if interest levels are initially low. Consider inviting early participants to assist with later outreach by sharing their story of involvement in the campaign.
Finish your campaign with a press release and a survey
Be sure to spread the news about the impact of the campaign and to survey anyone who expressed interest in the campaign to learn about their experience, even if they ultimately did not enter into a contract to have work completed.