The Baker-Polito Administration announced Friday that the Town of Winchester has been selected to participate in the 2019 HeatSmart Mass Program. A partnership between the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC), HeatSmart Mass is a community-based education and group purchasing program for clean heating and cooling technologies. It is modeled after the successful Solarize Mass program, for which Winchester was a pilot community in 2011.
“The HeatSmart program is a great opportunity for Winchester residents to learn about clean heating and cooling technologies and also to potentially save money on their utility bills.” said Winchester Town Manager, Lisa Wong. “We are pleased to receive this state grant and technical support. We are also looking forward to partnering with our neighbor, the Town of Arlington, to bring even more homeowners and businesses together for the best possible group pricing.”
HeatSmart Mass uses a group purchasing model to help drive down the cost of installation and to increase deployment of residential and small-scale commercial installations of clean heating and cooling technologies including air-source heat pumps, ground-source heat pumps, modern wood heating, and solar hot water. Arlington and Winchester will jointly promote all four technologies, and will each receive grant funding to help publicize the program. The other communities selected for participation in the 2019 HeatSmart Mass program are Belmont, Hudson and Stow (joint program), and Marshfield.
According to the Mass Clean Energy Center, energy used for heating contributes to over a quarter of the Commonwealth’s greenhouse gas emissions. In the average Massachusetts home, 75% of the energy used is for space and water heating. These costs are a significant burden for Massachusetts homeowners. Half of all homes in our state rely on high-cost heating sources such as oil, electricity for baseboard heating, and propane.
Winchester has selected HeatSmart Coaches to help spearhead the campaign in Town: Fritzie Nace and Alan Field. Fritzie and Alan will be coordinating the work of a group of volunteers committed to supporting this program. Winchester’s Energy Conservation Coordinator, Susan McPhee, will also be supporting the program. More information about how you can participate in HeatSmart as a volunteer and about opportunities to install clean heating and cooling technologies in your home or business will be made available soon. In the meantime, feel free to contact HeatSmart Coaches Fritzie Nace and Alan Field now at: HeatSmartWinchester@gmail.com with questions or to be added to a HeatSmart email list.