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Grand Prize winner to be announced later this week

Boulder County, Colo. – Four lucky Boulder County homeowners received a pleasant surprise today when EnergySmart staffers showed up to award them with $10,000 worth of home energy upgrades.

The four homes announced today won equal second-place prizes in EnergySmart’s Home Energy Makeover contest. The prizes include a new energy efficient furnace, home air sealing and insulation upgrades, and $1,500 to use toward a recommended energy upgrade of the homeowner’s choice. Each winning home was randomly selected from all entries of homes needing these upgrades.

Second-Prize Winners

• Cara Owen, Longmont
  • The Owens’ master bedroom was scorching in the summer and frigid in the winter. They bought a space heater and didn’t realize until EnergySmart came in that insulation and air sealing could fix the temperature by using less energy instead of more. They want to leave their home in better condition than when they bought it, so someday another family can be happy there.
• Matt and Katie Birkholz, Boulder
  • The Birkholz family recently moved into their home to be close to the kids’ school. They bike every day and try to be sustainable, but their home is pretty leaky and uses an old heating system. They’re looking forward to being more environmentally friendly and much cozier after these new upgrades.
• LaToya Braun, Louisville
  • When she was shopping for her family house, LaToya loved the neighborhood so much that she didn’t realize how inefficient the house was. The original coal-burning furnace was converted to natural gas, and the original windows add charm, but not much warmth. She’s excited to be staying a lot warmer this winter!
• Wendy Wyss, Unincorporated Boulder County
  • The Wyss family wanted to invest in long-term value, and put solar panels on their home shortly after moving in. When they got an energy assessment from EnergySmart, they were surprised at how leaky the house was, especially around the kitchen can lights. They’re looking forward to tightening up the house and reducing their wasted energy.

The Home Energy Makeover grand prize, valued at approximately $20,000, will be announced later this week. The Grand Prize package includes a new energy efficient furnace, air sealing and insulation upgrades to the attic and crawlspace/basement, an energy efficient water heater, cooling system upgrades, and $4,000 to use for recommended energy upgrades of the homeowner’s choosing.

Contest prizes were largely donated by local contractors:

• Insulation/air sealing: EcoHandyman, ThermalCraft Insulation, EcoSmart Homes, ERC Insulation.
• Furnace installations: Service Experts, SAC Mechanical
• Grand Prize package: Solar City

EnergySmart focuses on improvements that will reduce energy waste, improve comfort, and produce cost-savings for both residential and business participants. Services include energy assessments and expert advisor assistance with finding contractors and all available rebates and financing options for energy efficiency upgrades. Since the program’s launch in January 2011, EnergySmart has helped more than 6,600 residents and 2,200 businesses throughout Boulder County.

EnergySmart is funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act through the U.S. Department of Energy’s BetterBuildings grant program and is sponsored in partnership by Boulder County, the cities of Boulder and Longmont, Xcel Energy and Platte River Power Authority. For more information, visitwww.EnergySmartYES.com or call 303-544-1000 (for homes) or 303-441-1300 (for businesses).

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