2021 Quick Start Grant Recipients

Franklin Energy

Read about this program and its findings:

Overview

Franklin Energy will complete home repairs in the Northern Bay Area where conditions have prevented electrification in an existing Marin Clean Energy (MCE) low-income retrofit program. It will also gather data on the most prevalent remediation needed and typical costs associated with repairs.

Market Barrier

Franklin Energy currently implements Marin Clean Energy’s (MCE) Home Energy Savings (HES) program, which provides home energy retrofits at no cost to low-income single-family households in disadvantaged communities. The program provides measures like air sealing, insulation, and mini-split heat pump HVAC and HPWH installation. However, home conditions—such as the need for small electrical repairs or subfloor resizing—prevent many customers from taking advantage of heat pump incentives.

Proposed Solution

QSG funding will allow Franklin to make necessary repairs and complete deep retrofits in homes that would otherwise not be able to participate in the HES program.

Theory of Change

In addition to its practical impacts in improving home conditions, this program will also collect data on the types and costs of repairs that are commonly required to enable electrification of homes for low-income Californians, bringing critical insight into planning and budgeting for future low-income electrification efforts.  This data collection effort will complement a similar dataset collected through the San Joaquin Valley pilots, highlighting needs in a different region.

Project Status:

Complete

Housing Type:

Single-family, income-qualified

Technology:

HPWH and ASHP

Location:

Northern Bay Area (Marin Clean Energy territory)