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HOLLAND, Michigan—Graduates from the University of Michigan, Scott and Jill VanderStoep are more familiar with assigning tasks than completing them. They presently are educators at Hope College.

Nevertheless, they become enthusiastic when discussing the straightforward home-improvement tasks they’ve incorporated into their agenda due to a program known as Home Energy 101.

This program, offered at no cost to Holland residents, has equipped the VanderStoeps and hundreds of other families with accessible resources to utilize and minimize energy loss. Collaborating with local nonprofits, the initiative also instructs residents—at no expense—on how and where to use these resources, including insulating inserts for drafty outlets and foil tape for sealing seams in ductwork.

“There are numerous small crevices and corners, many spots where energy can be conserved,” noted Scott VanderStoep. “When combined, these savings significantly impact overall energy use.”

The initiative is overseen by the city and its community-owned utility provider. Additionally, they’ve involved partners within the community and statewide, including the University of Michigan, to help position the program as a model for other neighborhoods.

The U-M’s Graham Sustainability Institute has developed a guidebook for residential energy efficiency that Dan Broersma, a sustainability manager with the city of Holland, employs to initiate discussions.

“I distribute it at least weekly to a municipality somewhere in the U.S.,” he remarked. “Most are in Michigan, but several have been from beyond as well.”

The VanderStoeps encourage their neighbors and individuals in communities where a similar program may soon be launched to get involved.

“It’s an excellent program,” Jill VanderStoep asserted. “I would definitely endorse it.”

Sustainable impact

Since its launch a few years ago, Home Energy 101—which accommodates homeowners, renters, and landlords—has assisted participating residents in saving an average of over $10 monthly on their utility expenses. The maximum annual savings exceeded $900.

By December 2023, participants observed a median electricity savings that was twice that of nonparticipants. Furthermore, participants are 12 times more inclined to engage in the city’s utility rebate program that aids residents in undertaking more significant energy-efficient home improvements.

“That’s my favorite statistic,” remarked Andrew Reynolds, a conservation programs manager with the Holland Board of Public Works. “That’s exactly what we want them to do as customers. And they’re achieving it at a significantly higher rate after we’ve had this foundational discussion about home energy science and what their home genuinely requires.”

Collaborating with community nonprofits also introduces a level of trust to the program that was lacking in prior initiatives Holland pursued over the last 15 years, aiming for its sustainability objectives.

“It’s not a contractor hawking insulation stating your home needs insulation,” Reynolds noted. “It’s someone from, for example, Habitat for Humanity, saying your home requires insulation and we can assist you in taking that next step.”

When residents sign up for Home Energy 101 via the program’s online platform, they choose the nonprofit they wish to collaborate with. That organization then conducts the home energy evaluation and produces a tailored report and list of resources for each property.

The program also offers training for nonprofits on how to carry out those home assessments and organizes quarterly meetings with them to exchange updates and insights. The Home Energy Fund compensates the nonprofits for their time spent conducting the home energy evaluations.

Thus, residents save money while supporting their preferred nonprofit, and the Home Energy 101 initiative can reach a wider audience while reducing the city’s energy wastage and consumption.

“So there aren’t merely one or two or even three benefactors,” Broersma stated. “The entire community gains from this collective initiative.”

Neighbors assisting neighbors

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Patricia Vera de Murillo mentioned her residence wasn’t in optimal condition prior to her spouse’s passing. Subsequently, she sensed solitude regarding the upkeep of the house, particularly in areas that would yield the greatest advantage for the expense.

“Honestly, I don’t possess much knowledge about home maintenance,” Vera de Murillo stated, conversing with Miguel Delao from Latin Americans United for Progress, or LAUP, who assisted in conducting her home’s energy assessment.

The examination and the kit of materials that arrived a few weeks later aided in sealing energy leaks and reducing her gas expenses, she noted.

“Thanks to God, I am significantly improved now,” Vera de Murillo expressed. “I advise this to others because they indeed provide assistance.”

LAUP is one of roughly ten nonprofits collaborating with Home Energy 101. In Vera de Murillo’s situation, the link to LAUP originated from a reliable source, allowing Delao and his team to discuss it with her and respond to her inquiries in Spanish, her first language.

However, it’s not merely direct recommendations that empower nonprofits to educate their clients about the initiative. These organizations offer various services to their community and, as they become acquainted with individual needs, they can identify when sharing details about Home Energy 101 can be advantageous.

“For me to be present and say, ‘Hey, we’re here to assist you and this will be beneficial,’ I gain the most from that chance because I understand we are doing it to support the client and the community,” Delao remarked.

A trigger for sustainable initiatives

Forging alliances with nonprofits wasn’t the sole benefit of Holland’s enduring dedication to sustainability.

Holland achieved a gold certification from the state-sponsored Michigan Green Communities Challenge, which aids municipalities in monitoring their advancement toward sustainability targets. One of the advantages of this certification is membership in the Catalyst Leadership Circle, or CLC.

Managed by the Graham Sustainability Institute at U-M, the CLC develops a network of communities to exchange ideas, best practices, and more, with backing from Michigan Green Communities and the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, or EGLE. The CLC also offers additional advantages, such as connections to U-M students keen to make a difference in communities.

“With the CLC, our aim is to assist in enhancing local government capabilities by providing them the resources to achieve more,” explained Sarah Lee, a clean energy engagement specialist with Graham’s Center for EmPowering Communities. “On the student side, the educational, real-world opportunity that collaborating with local government presents is extraordinary. It’s an extremely positive experience for students.”

U-M master’s student Michele Appledorn, who finished her studies in 2024, collaborated with the Home Energy 101 team in Holland to create a formal guidebook for the program as part of her capstone project.

Creating the guidebook has yielded two significant benefits. Firstly, it has aided Home Energy 101 in evolving into its optimal form.

“It truly solidified the program,” Broersma noted. “It enhanced its strength because we meticulously examined every detail of the program.”

Secondly, the guidebook serves as a blueprint for other communities contemplating the introduction of a similar initiative. To ensure it fulfilled that objective, the guidebook was developed in partnership with Traverse City Light & Power.

“I assumed an advisory role to offer my insights on what could be effective or ineffective in Traverse City,” remarked Jacob Hardy, a sustainability and key accounts manager with the utility.

Traverse City’s initiative resembles Holland’s but introduces an “energy concierge,” Hardy indicated. With this feature, residents will collaborate with the same individual through various stages of their financial and energy-saving journey—from an initial home assessment to making simple improvements and securing assistance and rebates for more substantial upgrades.

Ryan Yip, a current U-M graduate student, assisted in preparing documentation for Traverse City’s program as part of the CLC Fellowship Program. Like Holland, Traverse City has also achieved a gold certification from the Michigan Green Communities Challenge, offering benefits such as CLC membership.

“Having an extra person to assist in creating items, particularly deliverables, and providing a completely new perspective, it’s remarkable how much that contributes,” Hardy noted.

The link to other communities, nurtured by the CLC, is also a substantial benefit, he remarked. And not solely in initiating these programs, but in facilitating their growth and sustainability into the future.

“We’re all facing similar challenges, so being able to exchange ideas with other utilities and maintain those relationships is priceless,” Hardy stated. “The more of us who can undertake this, the more successful these programs will become.”

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