SAN FRANCISCO — Locals will use home loans to finance green improvements now San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has unveiled a new financing program, Green Finance SF.
program (slogan: saving you money, energy and water) will finance projects between $5,000 and $50,000 such as installing low-flow toilets, solar water heaters, solar electric panels and double-paned windows. Homeowners will pay back the costs through property taxes.
SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom unveiled a new financing program to encourage homeowners to make green improvements.The GreenFinanceSF program (slogan: saving you money, energy and water,)will finance projects between $5,000 and $50,000 such as installing low-flow toilets, solar water heaters, solar electric panels and double-paned windows. Homeowners will pay back the costs through property taxes.The initiative is financed via Federal stimulus funding and is one of many similar moves across Amnerica.Local buildings account for half of San Francisco’s greenhouse gas emissions. And excessive water usage in buildings strains California’s water resources. Currently, the largest constraint to San Francisco’s buildings becoming more efficient in their use of energy and water is the large up-front cost of these improvements. Despite government incentives to decrease the up-front cost for energy and water efficiency projects, as well as renewable energy installations, these improvements can still cost several thousand dollars. As a result, many San Francisco building owners find it difficult to make these environmental upgrades to their buildings.
In response to this challenge, San Francisco has developed an accessible financing program that residential and commercial property owners can use to finance sustainable building improvements. This effort coincides with efforts across California and the United States to establish similar financing programs.
GreenFinanceSF is available for interested home and business owners to finance privately-owned energy efficiency, renewable energy and water conservation improvements. The repayment obligation is attached to the property, rather than the individual, and is paid back through property taxes over the life of the financing.
According to the mayor’s office, such improvements can reduce energy and water use by up to 25 percent.
One Response
I’m of the grid. I buildt a really nice home. Solar panels heat the house floor aand the garage floor.
Solar panel for electricty. House all done and cannot seem to get loan to get some of my money out of it to pay some of the bills that I have run up to build.
Ron