Energy Trust works with Community Partners to offer low and no cost energy-saving opportunities for your home. Community-based organizations play a vital role by providing trusted resources and support to community members like you. Resources can include energy upgrades that enhance the affordability, comfort, and safety of homes for residents in rural areas, income-qualified customers and communities of color.
By working with a Community Partner, you can receive deep discounts on energy-efficient upgrades that improve the comfort of your home and save you money. Get started by connecting with your local Community Partner and scheduling an Assessment of your home. Home Energy Assessments are designed to verify your eligibility for incentives offered by Energy Trust. A Community Partner will assist you in navigating the process as well as making recommendations for the upgrades that are best for the comfort of your home. The Home Energy Assessment is a great opportunity for you to express the concerns you may have about non-functioning systems, health, and safety of your home.
Our friend Francisco reached out to Verde of the Portland area to schedule a home energy assessment. Check out this video to hear Francisco share his testimony about how working with Verde to get a new ductless heat pump has impacted his life. Francisco shares how prior to installing a ductless heat pump, he relied on space heaters, avoiding his cadet heaters due to high energy bills. This important detail he shared during the assessment help Verde determine what system would be best for his situation.
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Contact a participating Community Partner to schedule your in-home energy assessment
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A trained Community Partner representative will visit your home for a 30–60-minute walkthrough to learn how effectively your home is using energy and identify areas for energy-efficiency and comfort improvements.
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Your Community Partner will help guide you through the process to determine cost and identify resources to help you complete the needed improvements.
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Your Community Partner will help you select a trusted local contractor that will work with you to install recommended improvements and access Energy Trust discounts, and any other available resources. Your partner applies these discounts to the contractor estimate and will help you review the recommendations.
The charts below represent approximate project cost after Energy Trust discounts. Actual project costs will vary based on specifics of your home, equipment installed and contractors chosen to perform the work. Additional funding may be available through community-based organizations in your area, check with a Community Partner near you to determine actual final cost and to learn how they can help to complete home improvement projects.
| Highest discounts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Energy Trust discounts* | Final discount coverage for your home | |
| Ductless heat pump Must replace electric resistance heat (like an electric furnace, baseboard heat or wall cadets) in a primary living space. | $2,900 - $4,800 | 60%-100% |
| Ducted heat pump For homes upgrading from an electric furnace. | $4,000 - $10,000 | 40%-100% |
| Attic/ceiling insulation For homes with less than 5–6 inches (R-18 or less) of existing attic insulation. | Varies on square footage | 60%-100% |
| Floor insulation For homes with less than 3–4 inches (R-11 or less) of existing floor insulation. | Varies on square footage | 60%-100% |
| Wall, rim joist or knee wall insulation For homes with minimal insulation (R-4 or less) in the walls, rim joists and/or knee walls | Varies on square footage | 60%-100% |
| Heat pump water heater For homes replacing storage tank water heaters. | $900 (bought through a participating vender)-$3,000 | 10%-100% |
| Other available discounts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Energy Trust discounts* | Final discount coverage for your home | |
| Windows Must install windows with an eligible energy efficiency U-value rating. | $6.92–$9.75 per square footage | 30%-100% |
| Smart thermostat Select models qualify. Homes must be primarily heated with a forced air furnace (electric or gas) or an electric heat pump. | $250 | 80% |
| High-efficiency gas furnace Minimum 95% Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE). | $1,600 - $2,900 | 30%-50% |
* Approximate final costs are estimates and include the Energy Trust discount only. Actual costs will vary and Energy Trust discounts are subject to change.
** The actual cost for floor insulation projects can vary greatly depending upon your home. Ask a community partner for details.
Anyone who works directly with an enrolled Community Partner in their region, are a customer of a qualifying utility company, and lives in a rural area, is income qualified, and/or communities of color may be eligible for these incentives. The Community Partner will perform an in-home energy assessment and submit project paperwork to Energy Trust on your behalf. You cannot apply for community partner incentives directly with Energy Trust.
Energy Trust incentives and services, including Community Partner incentives, are only available to Oregon customers of Portland General Electric, Pacific Power, NW Natural, Cascade Natural Gas and Avista. You can verify your utility provider(s) Oregon Department of Energy’s Find Your Utility page.
Single-family homes, manufactured homes, and some small multifamily properties (side-by-side townhomes, duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes) may be eligible. Larger multifamily properties with 3 or more stacked units are not eligible for these incentives. Renters are eligible but must have permission from the property owner or manager to complete projects.
If your home receives service from one of the five participating utilities, it is eligible to receive an in-home energy assessment. However, most Energy Trust incentives are only available for homes heated by electricity or natural gas. If your home is heated by a source other than electricity or natural gas, please contact a community partner near you to learn more about your eligibility. You may also be eligible for the State Home Oil Weatherization Program. Contact The Oregon Housing and Community Services to learn more.
Each Community Partner may have different income requirements. Check with community-based organizations in your area to learn about their program requirements. Some incentives from Energy Trust require households be at or below 60% of state median income.
Please work with your local Community Partner to determine if your project will qualify for Energy Trust Community Partner incentives and to determine what other resources are available.
If you can’t find a Community Partner in your area, you may still be able to access resources from Energy Trust through a program called In-Home Energy Services. Please fill out the In-Home Energy Services eligibility form to see if this service is available in your area.
Energy Trust is constantly enrolling new Community Partners, so if you know of a community-based organization in your area that may want to enroll they can contact us at communitypartners@energytrust.org.
During the application process you will be asked to authorize the assessment of your home, this will include your name, date, address, phone number and email. From there you will have an option to fill out a Demographic survey. The Demographic Survey is optional, however any information you are willing to provide will help Energy Trust gain a deeper understanding of those participating in the offers. This will help us navigate on how to maintain and grow Community Partner funding. Information will remain confidential and not be shared with the public.
You must be a client of an enrolled community partner. Please confirm with your Community Partner that the contractor you choose has been vetted by the community partner organization or Energy Trust. Your Community Partner is required to sign-off on your Home Energy Assessment and energy upgrade paperwork to enable incentive payments.
No. Incentives for Community Partner projects are paid to the contractor or community partner who provides an instant upfront cost reduction.