Grant-Funded Program Encourages Energy Efficiency in Ossining

"It sounds too good to be true," but Ossining residents can still apply for energy efficiency assessments for their homes, according to newly-elected Village of Ossining Trustee Victoria Gearity.

"The money is there now," she said at Tuesday's Board of Trustees work session. "It's not going to be there forever."

Energize Ossining, "a community-based energy efficiency program funded through Department of Energy (DOE) and New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) grants," according to its website, works with the Village's Environmental Advisory Council, the Town's Environmental Advisory Committee and Green Ossining to offer energy efficiency assessments and upgrades for residents.

These services, Gearity shared, are "for little or no out-of-pocket expenses."

Energize Ossining was rolled out under the 2011 Energize New York initiative. Other Westchester County municipalities participating include Bedford, Cortlandt, Croton-on-Hudson, Lewisboro, Mount Kisco, New Castle, North Salem, Peekskill, Pound Ridge and Somers.

The now-trustee blogged about Energize Ossining's launch on Patch last March, and noted Westchester County Legislator Catherine Borgia and Village Trustee John Codman volunteered to have a contractor conduct energy efficiency assessments at their homes.

Gearity said the service is available for all Ossining residents that have up to four units.

"You can upgrade your home to make it more energy efficient or you can just do the comprehensive home energy assessment to find out where the inefficiencies in your home exist and then you can do nothing with that information if you choose to," she pointed out.

Coming up on Wednesday, Jan. 16, Energize Croton will launch at the Stanley H. Kellerhouse Municipal Building at 7 p.m. Visit www.energizeossining.org for more information.