Planning & Funding Energy Efficient Commercial Buildings

 

The City of La Crosse and the Sustainability Institute are offering a free workshop to help commercial building owners in La Crosse learn how they can adopt technologies that are available now, will make their buildings more energy efficient, and reduce their energy bills. The workshop takes place on Thursday, May 9, 2024, from 10:00 am to Noon and will be held at the Coleman Center, Room 133, on the Western Technical College campus. This is the second in a series of workshops the City is sponsoring to help businesses learn how they can incorporate sustainable practices that also make sense from a business perspective.

Local experts from Xcel, Trane, Solar Connections, and Focus on Energy will cover information ranging from simple actions to heating and cooling options. In addition, throughout the workshop information about associated incentives and rebates will be provided to help companies attending learn how to reduce the cost of investing in the new technologies.

People can register using the “Reserve your Spot” link on the La Crosse Climate Action Plan website or register on Eventbrite. Registration is limited to 25 participants.

Speakers and topics incude:

Tax Incentives & Rebates with Will Hutchens/Xcel Mid-Market Representative  and Christine Hau/Focus on Energy Energy Advisor. Will and Christine will be participating throughout the workshop, providing information about any incentives and/or rebates that apply to the technology being discussed.

Building Automation/Smart thermostats with Mayra Reyes/Trane Controls Sales Support Engineer. Learn about low-tech solutions you can implement today that can have an immediate impact, lowering your energy use and energy bills.

High-Efficiency Heat Pumps with Dan Gentry/Trane - Marketing Engineer. A heat pump uses technology like that found in a refrigerator or an air conditioner. It extracts heat from a source, such as the surrounding air, then amplifies and transfers the heat to where it is needed. Because most of the heat is transferred rather than generated, heat pumps are far more efficient than conventional heating technologies such as boilers or electric heaters. Learn how heat pumps can be a potentially easy way to lower your energy costs.

Solar with Josh Barbara/Solar Connections - Energy Consultant. Installing solar panels at your business is easier and more affordable than it's ever been. Solar fixes your electricity costs over the life of the system and protects your business from energy inflation. And, with tax credits and other incentives, a commercial solar system will pay for itself in 5-10 years. Since solar panel equipment is projected to last 30 years or more, your business could have more than 20 years of free electricity.