The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Energy efficiency upgrades for deed restricted units
By Kendra Walker
The Mt. Crested Butte town council is making moves toward a GreenDeed Program in 2024. Through a partnership with the Gunnison Valley Home Energy Advancement Team (GV-HEAT), which is managed by the Gunnison Valley Regional Housing Authority (GVRHA), a GreenDeed program would provide energy efficiency upgrades for the deed-restricted units in the town of Mt. Crested Butte.
GV-HEAT coordinator Gesa Michel discussed the program with the council during a work session on December 5. The program is intended to ensure that the town’s deed-restricted units remain affordable, safe and comfortable while simultaneously reducing energy use and cost in alignment with the town’s sustainability goals. Michel explained that homeowners pay a $50 enrollment fee for an energy assessment with an energy analyst, followed by an energy efficiency retrofit.
“We provide an energy report with recommendations of what to do to the home based on a savings to investment ratio,” she said. “We recommend upgrades based on what makes sense financially.”
After determining the suggested upgrade measures, GV-HEAT then schedules contractors to complete the energy efficiency retrofits up to $5,000, such as installing LED lightbulbs, programmable thermostats, efficient sink aerators and water saving devices, air sealing and insulation, and refrigerator and appliances. GV-HEAT also conducts a secondary analysis at the end of the retrofit to measure its effectiveness.
There is no specific income qualification for homeowners to participate in GreenDeed, but the home must be a deed restricted unit. “With GreenDeed, everybody who lives in a deed restricted home or who is an owner of a deed restricted home qualifies,” Michel explained. “We will only serve those homes that are compliant,” she said, noting that GVHRA monitors deed restricted units in the valley.
Town staff has earmarked $50,000 into the 2024 town budget to launch a GreenDeed program, which would fund approximately 10 retrofits up to a maximum of $5,000 per deed restricted unit. There are approximately 80 deed restricted units in Mt. Crested Butte. “The goal for 2024 is to complete five to 10 energy assessments and retrofits,” said Michel. “Since this is the first year, we just have to see what the demand is for it. We’ll see how people are responding to it, how interested they are and the types of homes that are being upgraded.”
Michel also explained that there may be additional funding opportunities through Tri-State Generation Transmission, Gunnison County Electric Association (GCEA) and Atmos Energy.
GV-HEAT currently operates a GreenDeed program for the Town of Crested Butte, helping to upgrade 15 homes in 2022. The upgrades on average projected an annual energy cost savings of $220 per home and a decrease in air leakage of 19%. “That’s very significant,” said Michel. “And we’re hoping for similar numbers here in Mt. Crested Butte.” In 2023, the town will have completed 18 additional retrofits and there is currently a waitlist.
The council was amenable to moving forward with a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with GV-HEAT to facilitate the GreenDeed program in 2024. The council will review and consider the agreement at an upcoming meeting.
