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This article is brought to you by Entergy.

The costs of keeping Louisiana homes and businesses comfortable can add up quickly. Air conditioners often run for most of the year, while older buildings, insufficient insulation and inefficient equipment can drive electricity consumption even higher.

Entergy is helping residential and business customers address those challenges through programs that identify sources of wasted electricity, recommend practical improvements and provide financial incentives to make upgrades more affordable.

Energy Smart is a longstanding program for Entergy New Orleans customers, while Entergy Solutions is available for Entergy Louisiana customers. Both programs offer customers a free energy assessment, recommendations for efficiencies and connections with certified contractors who can make improvements.

“People often know their energy usage is increasing, but don’t know what to address first. They might know their air conditioner needs cleaning, or an appliance is getting older. They may not necessarily think about insulation and ductwork. Those are all things we can help with,” said Heather LeBlanc, a manager of energy efficiency with Entergy Louisiana. “Our certified energy assessors identify the areas that can benefit most from upgrades and guide the customer toward improvements that will yield the most savings.”

Since launching in New Orleans in 2010, Energy Smart has helped more than 176,600 residential and business customers, awarded more than $86.7 million in incentives and helped the community save more than 569 million kilowatt-hours of electricity. Those are tangible impacts, especially in a city that faces unique energy challenges.

Nate Wolf, Entergy New Orleans energy efficiency project manager, said the city’s infrastructure frequently creates a heat island effect. That means certain areas – particularly ones with dense buildings, little greenspace and minimal tree cover – can be 8 to 10 degrees hotter at times. Meanwhile, building codes have evolved significantly, leaving many older homes without the modern standards required to drive energy savings.

Energy Smart addresses these challenges with solutions tailored to the local climate and housing stock.

“Once the assessment is complete, we send recommendations to area contractors who meet our program criteria. They have gone through our vetting process and are our on-the-ground experts,” Wolf said. “Beyond making efficiency improvements, they are trained to look for potential health and safety issues. For example, they won’t do anything that exacerbates other problems, such as moisture or mold.”

Energy Smart, created by the New Orleans City Council and administered by Entergy New Orleans, is inclusive by design, and all Entergy New Orleans residential, commercial and industrial electric customers are eligible to participate, regardless of income. All customers can receive cash incentives and rebates to cover significant portions of upgrade costs. Customers with household incomes at or below 80 percent of the Area Median Income can access additional benefits.

Common Energy Smart upgrades include smart thermostats, power strips, energy-efficient air conditioners, ENERGY STAR-certified appliances, attic insulation and air sealing.

“I think there’s still sometimes a misperception that not everyone can participate in Energy Smart, but it is open to everybody,” Wolf said. “Energy affordability is at the heart of what we do. We know rising costs are a real burden. That’s why we want to help all customers reduce their energy consumption and thus lower their monthly energy bills.”

On the commercial side, Wolf said Energy Smart has helped entities from small businesses to large industrial facilities. Businesses receive a free comprehensive assessment, and can receive cash incentives for upgrading HVAC systems, lighting, refrigeration and other equipment.

“We can do prescriptive improvements, or custom improvements based on the specifications of each building or system,” Wolf said. “There can be huge savings to business owners, depending on the size and scope of their facility.”

Entergy Solutions offers energy-saving opportunities for Entergy Louisiana customers, including homeowners, renters and businesses. Following a detailed assessment, customers can receive financial discounts and incentives for upgrades such as air conditioner tuneups, air sealing, duct sealing, improved insulation and smart thermostats.

“A lot of residential customers get the most savings from AC tuneups and duct sealings,” LeBlanc said. “In a lot of homes, we find little to no attic insulation, or holes or leaks in the ductwork. We also do a lot of high efficiency AC tune-ups that cleans the outside and inside units. South Louisiana temperatures mean that ACs can run daily for more than half of the year. That makes it important to keep those units clean and in top condition.”

LeBlanc said Entergy Solutions contractors are fully vetted and trained to prioritize improvements that will make the most impact. They also offer recommendations on everyday habits that can improve efficiency, such as setting the thermostat higher when a building or home is empty, closing blinds, turning off lights and fans when possible, unplugging items that aren’t in use and cleaning appliance vents and filters regularly.

“Once the Entergy Solutions upgrades are made, the savings are almost immediate if a customer is paying a monthly bill. If they are on Level Billing, it may take a little more time because a customer’s bill is based on their rolling twelve-month billing average,” LeBlanc said.

Over the last 11 years, Entergy Louisiana has given back over $65.5 million in customer incentives for energy efficiency upgrades in customers’ homes and businesses.  These upgrades have an estimated 1,338,742 GWh of lifetime savings.  The Entergy Solutions program has an additional $100 million in customer incentives available for customers to apply for over the next four years.

Through myEntergy and the Entergy mobile app, customers can access billing information, review energy usage and explore payment options. LeBlanc said monitoring that data can help customers see the impact of energy efficiency measures. Customers with advanced meters can access usage information through their online accounts or the Entergy mobile app.

“It’s important to watch that kilowatt-hour usage each month to see how it fluctuates, especially in conjunction with your billing,” she said.

In New Orleans, Wolf said a new program helps customers compare their energy usage to homes that are similar in size, age and location.

“That gives people some context and insights,” he said. “We’re always looking for opportunities to help customers gain more information and take more steps toward efficiency.”

Entergy New Orleans customers can learn more about Energy Smart at energysmartnola.info or call 504-229-6868.

Entergy Louisiana customers can contact Entergy Solutions at 844-829-1300 or email entergysolutionsla@entergy.com for information about available assessments, incentives and energy-saving services.