Popular AlabamaWISE Home Energy Program

Nexus Energy Center, Huntsville mayor Tommy Battle and the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) were recognized for success in bringing energy efficiency to Alabama homes by the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance Tuesday during an Energy Huntsville meeting.

Ruchi Singhal, executive director of the non-profit Nexus Energy Center, announced the AlabamaWISE program has achieved nearly 1200 energy upgrades to homes across north Alabama since 2010, saving homeowners an estimated $300,000 annually by reducing energy waste by 20% or more, stimulating more than $6 million in energy related home improvements and growing local jobs for the construction workforce. The initial program goal was 400 homes.

Nexus Energy Center founder Ruchi Singhal (center left) receives recognition of AlabamaWISE program success from Cyrus Bhedwar and Kia Ball of the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance at Energy Huntsville Tuesday, Sept. 17. AlabamaWISE program partners Elizabeth Grimes from ADECA and Huntsville mayor Tommy Battle are at right.

AlabamaWISE is a community-based energy efficiency program that connects homeowners to qualified contractors who have training and certifications in home improvements that also saves energy to meet Home Performance with Energy Star standards.Nexus manages the AlabamaWISE program and performs third-party quality assurance, contractor training and offers rebates or low-interest loans to help homeowners make energy-saving home improvements such as insulation, air sealing, high-efficiency heating and cooling upgrades, windows, crawl space and attic retrofits.

“Through the Alabama WISE program, Nexus Energy Center has transformed the residential retrofit market in key communities statewide,” said Elizabeth Grimes, ADECA’s energy program manager. “More importantly, they’ve built local capacity to sustain this kind of work long into the future, thanks to extensive workforce education, contractor and realtor training, an innovative suite of financing options and targeted consumer outreach.”

Ms. Singhal holds a degree in chemical engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology and founded Nexus Energy Center in 2008 after moving to Huntsville from North Carolina. She had been working with renewable energy programs in North Carolina and saw an opportunity to catalyze growth for clean energy in Alabama. In addition to AlabamaWISE, Nexus Energy Center programs include a low-income program, a Solar PV program and workforce development. Planning for a small commercial energy efficiency program is underway.

The program was launched with funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act as a cooperative effort of Nexus Energy Center, the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance, ADECA and Huntsville mayor Tommy Battle. Energy Huntsville is an economic development initiative to leverage Huntsville’s high-tech workforce with new opportunities in energy.

Alabama WISE is part of SEEA’s Southeast Community Consortium – the largest-ever coordinated effort to implement community-based energy efficiency retrofit programs in the Southeast. Collectively, these programs have produced substantial gains for the regional environment and economy, with upwards of 8,000 energy audits conducted and nearly 4,000 retrofits completed.