Celebrating a Year of Achievements and Growth
As we start a new year, we want to take a moment to reflect and celebrate our community and the remarkable achievements in advancing energy efficiency across our region in 2024.
3C-REN hosted 150 events, engaging over 2,700 attendees. Highlights included youth education at high schools and trade schools, training for building officials, and workshops on heat pumps and DIY toolkits.
The Building Performance Training program led 129 trainings, including 27 at schools, and offered certifications for Passive House Tradespeople and Designers/Consultants, Green Designation for Realtors, and 3C-REN’s High-Performance Fundamentals.
Energy Code Coaches addressed 142 inquiries, sharing blog content on key code topics like CalGreen accessibility requirements, water submetering requirements for ADUs, and code exemptions for agricultural buildings.
Energy upgrade incentives supported projects at 13 multifamily properties serving 1,319 units, and over 500 single-family home projects were completed, lowering the cost of energy-saving upgrades like heat pump HVACs, heat pump water heaters, induction cooktops, variable speed pumps, LED lighting, and more.
Proudest Achievements from Program Teams
- Home Energy Savings Multifamily: 2024 was our biggest year yet, delivering more than $1 million in incentives to generate upgrades worth twice that much. Notable projects included replacing gas furnaces with heat pump mini-splits at a 60-unit property and fully funding a comprehensive energy efficiency overhaul at a 130-unit affordable senior living community.
- Home Energy Savings Single Family: Among the 500+ completed projects, 321 included implementing heat pumps, reducing costs for residential customers while providing direct incentives to contractors based on metered energy savings. Additionally, three contractor events attracted over 90 attendees, connecting program managers from state, local, and regional heat pump incentive programs to help contractors access all available funding for residential electrification projects.
- Energy Code Connect: 2024 was our most impactful year yet for Title 24 Energy Code support, providing expert guidance to jurisdictions, industry professionals, and residents. Our Energy Code Coaches assisted 103 individual users, helping our local building community navigate compliance and implement energy-efficient solutions.
- Building Performance Training: From launching our partnership with SunWork—an “earn while you learn” program that pays contractors for onsite installations—to hands-on trainings with contractor associations across the tri-county region, we have provided invaluable opportunities to master heat pump water heater installations.
- Commercial Energy Savings: This program launched in 2024, addressing a critical need for energy savings among small-to-medium businesses. In just a few months, we have built a strong partnership with local Green Business Programs while successfully recruiting and enrolling a diverse network of highly trained/approved contractors.
- Energy Assurance Services: 3C-REN partnered with the Arroyo Grande Police Department and the Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara to conduct energy audits, helping them enhance energy efficiency and ensure critical services are prepared to provide energy continuity during power outages.
- Agriculture Energy Solutions: Throughout 2024, significant effort went into designing a program tailored to the unique needs of farmers across the tri-county region. By year’s end, the program successfully launched, offering specialized technical assistance to support local farmers in improving energy efficiency at their operations.
Energy Savings are Back!
3C-REN’s Home Energy Savings incentives for single-family homes are back and fully funded!
Contractors enrolled in the program can pass on generous incentives to their customers. They can also earn bonus incentives when their projects demonstrate measurable energy savings. AND incentives are stackable for even more savings!
Stack it up: For heat pump projects, you can stack 3C-REN incentives with HEEHRA rebates and incentives from TECH Clean CA and Central Coast Community Energy. For many customers on CARE or FERA utility rates, these incentives translate to free projects! More details on available incentives can be found here for water heaters and here for HVAC projects.
Our Commercial Energy Savings program, helping small to medium-sized businesses take control of their energy expenses, is also accepting projects. This program has opportunities for businesses to save money on energy upgrades and for contractors to earn bonus incentives for quality work.
Don’t miss your chance to participate in these programs!
Still have questions about how the various programs work together? We can help! Get in touch with us at info@3cren.org.
What's New?
- Our 3C-REN team is growing! Please join us in welcoming our newest team members: Chloe Swick, Danica Resurreccion, Ariel Namm, and Julianna Joss. Learn more about them here!
- In July 2024, CALGreen requirements for Electric Vehicle (EV) charging increased for both residential and non-residential projects. Read our blog to learn more.
- This just in! $5,000 incentives are now available for contractors installing their first heat pump water heaters at multifamily properties through the Home Energy Savings program. Read more.
Code Coach Corner
Q1 Calendar is Live!
High-Performance Buildings: Designing for Utility Costs & Carbon Emissions
February 20 @ 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Virtual
Register Here
Inflation Reduction Act Part 1: Funding Overview of Programs (Real Estate focus)
February 27 @ 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Virtual
Register Here
Nail the Sale: Getting Past Heat Pump Objections
March 11 @ 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm
Virtual
Register Here
All 3C-REN programs and services are free to participants in the tri-county region.
3C-REN offers ICC CEUs and AIA LUs for many of our educational events.
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