“It was easy to look for contractors, get the banking information, and [learn about] the terms themselves.”

While reading up about his utility company’s latest programs, Diwakar “Walker” Ramanathan came across the Residential Energy Upgrade Loan Program (RENU) program. He saw this as an opportunity to improve his home’s energy efficiency and comfort levels, especially in rooms with high traffic.

Since natural gas is more expensive in the winter when he uses heat more regularly, Walker thought that finding an efficient way to heat his home would be ideal. After doing substantial research and using his background knowledge of heat pumps, Walker came to the conclusion that the mini-split hyper-heating pump was the best option for his home in Timnath, CO.

He then presented his ideas to American Air, a RENU-authorized contractor, to bring his project to life. He expressed his gratitude for their support during this project. “I live in a very small town and it was nice to work with a company close by. American Air was local, and gave good information which made it easy to go down the path with them,” Walker said.

It has been about a year since the heat pump was installed and Walker has had no issues to date. He appreciated how easy it was to find authorized contractors and provide information to participating RENU-lender, Elevations Credit Union, to apply for financing.

“First and foremost it always comes down to ease of use in terms of getting the information,” Walker said. “We generally look favorably on credit unions, so when we heard RENU was partnered with Elevations Credit Union, we were happy. It was easy to look for contractors, get the banking information, and [learn about] the terms themselves.”

After his experience with the contractors and financing through the RENU program, Walker assessed that he would recommend this process to his neighbors. He shared how you can get a bigger bang for your buck by investing in efficient heating solutions when you live in a colder place.

CCEF is thrilled to have helped Walker install a new energy-efficient heat pump through RENU. We look forward to helping more homeowners achieve their clean energy goals across Colorado. In partnership with Colorado-based credit unions, this statewide residential loan program offers low-cost, long-term financing on a variety of energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements.

Thinking about what your next home energy upgrade project will be? Check out the Residential Energy Upgrade (RENU) Loan Program and see what measures are eligible here.

Image credits: American Air