VERO BEACH — SELF is a community-based lending organization that focuses on residential energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy alternatives. SELF has been operational for nearly 3 years in St. Lucie County, and recently expanded into 4 additional counties, including: Martin, Indian River, Okeechobee, and Brevard.
SELF works with local homeowners to identify cost effective energy solutions and provides low interest rate financing to qualified applicants to complete these recommended improvements.
SELF finances more than 2 dozen different types of proven energy saving products, including: weatherization, insulation, high-efficiency air conditioners, solar water heaters, and more.
To date, SELF has performed 838 energy audits and helped 229 families finance $2 million of energy retrofit projects. SELF clients have cumulatively reduced their energy consumption by more than a million kilowatt hours (kWh,) which is an average of 22.6% per household, and are using the resulting energy savings, rebates, and tax credits to help pay off the loans over time.
SELF clients are also enhancing their quality of life (e.g. comfort and livability,) making much needed home improvements, and increasing the market value of their properties. In the process, the resulting work is also stimulating local employment and economic development activity in one of the hardest hit job sectors in Florida (i.e., the construction industry.)
“We are extremely pleased with the program. The program helped us make home improvements and significantly reduced our energy bills in the process,” said one of SELF’s recent clients, Mrs. Janice Williams of Fort Pierce.
“We are very pleased to be helping local residents reduce their energy costs and improve their quality of life and value of their homes,” SELF’s Regional Program Manager Julian Nazario added.
For more information about SELF, please call (772) 468-1818, visit the website at www.SolarEnergyLoanFund.org, or visit www.Facebook.com/SolarEnergyLoanFund.
