CLEER developed Garfield Clean Energy’s programs to make it easy for a rural region to tap resource efficiency as an economic development strategy. Our energy coaches have helped over 1,200 households and 350 businesses reduce their energy costs while increasing comfort and safety. Staff also help local governments, schools and other institutions increase the efficiency of their buildings and other facilities. The money saved on energy – $7.5 million to date – boosts the local economy and reduces costs for taxpayers.
To drive long-term progress on reducing emissions from buildings, CLEER works with municipalities to update their building energy codes and organizes professional trainings on efficient building techniques and best practices.
Good data is key to this work – as the old saying goes, “You can’t manage what you can’t measure.” That’s why CLEER conducts energy and emissions inventories for local governments to establish a baseline for setting goals and tracking progress. And it’s why we developed the Building Energy Navigator, now installed in more than 150 institutional buildings across western Colorado. This web-based portal is a powerful tool for building managers to track real-time energy use and solar production data.