Public Power - July/August 2008 - (Page 35)

ing to promote the contest. The relationship forged between the sponsors will have long-term benefits. Not only did the endorsement from GRU help sponsors increase sales during the $86,000 in-kind media blitz, it also built relationships between the sponsors. These strategic alliances between contractors who specialize in different aspects of the energy-efficiency industry will further develop competitive advantages for those who participated. Looking forward, GRU is evaluating each component of the contest. The timing is right, said Binion. Summer is Florida’s peak season and the time when most customers take advantage of rebate programs. The utility will be able to measure the continuing participation in the Home Performance with Energy Star program. “We anticipate that the combination of the virtual tour and our highest consumption season will show our customers just what they could do with their own wholehouse energy makeover,” said Binion. By tracking the winning home’s consumption over the next year, GRU will be able to integrate additional hard numbers into its next cycle of marketing, she said. With this first contest now behind them, Binion speaks enthusiastically about the campaign. From her marketing perspective, in particular, she anticipates making great use of the virtual tour. “This project was great, but what was really unique is the virtual tour portion. Not only can we take it on the road for speaking engagements—not everyone has seen a tankless water heater or a hybrid HVAC system with a heat pump and a natural gas furnace—but our sponsors can use it in their marketing efforts too.” The contest was designed to be easily duplicated by other utilities and may become an annual event. GRU plans a few tweaks to the contest as it goes forward. One—and here’s advice for other utilities that undertake such a contest—is to have a third party function as a general contractor during the actual installation. With a whole-house makeover and so many participating vendors, Binion says having a professional contractor focus on the many www.APPAnet.org Take the virtual tour To take the virtual tour of the winning makeover, visit GRU’s Web site at http://www.gru.com/YourHome/Conservation/Energy/Makeover/default.jsp. For more information about the Home Performance with Energy Star program or the Home Energy Makeover contest, contact Josie Binion at 352/393-1492, or at binionjk@gru.com. details involved would have simplified the installation. The other change Binion envisions is to grow the contest a bit. For instance, rather than having a single winner, she would like to see first, second and third place winners. “It was very hard for us,” she said, “to have just one winner. We’d love to be able to spread the benefits to more customers.” From its implementation to its ongoing benefits, Johnson is happy the Home Energy Makeover contest proved so successful. “We’re all about turning energy conservation theory into real savings in our customers’ lives. This is a great way to make the concepts approachable and doable for all of our customers.”❚ The winning Energy Makeover home now has an Infinity Hybrid 16 SEER heat pump with a variable speed/twostage gas furnace. JULY-AUGUST 2008 35 http://www.gru.com/YourHome/Conservation/Energy/Makeover/default.jsp http://www.APPAnet.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Public Power - July/August 2008

Public Power- July/August 2008 Contents Perspective 10 Questions Solar Energy Rising Sacramento's Solar Shares Gainesville Crowns a Conservation Idol By the Numbers Curbing Costs of Outages Reliability Green Energy Hometown Connections Customer Service Parting Shot

Public Power - July/August 2008

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