Arlington Seeking Coach For Energy Efficiency Program

ARLINGTON, MA – The Town of Arlington is seeking a volunteer Coach to help lead HeatSmart Arlington. HeatSmart is a state-sponsored, community-run program that makes proven, energy-efficient home heating and cooling technologies more affordable for homeowners. Modeled after the successful Solarize Arlington campaign, in which Arlington participated in 2012, HeatSmart Arlington will promote air source heat pumps (which provide highly efficient heating and cooling). The campaign may also promote one or more of the following: geothermal heat pumps, rooftop solar hot water systems and central wood pellet boilers (it will be up to you, as Coach, and other volunteers to decide which technologies to promote – there are several local experts who can advise you – you need not be an expert in any technologies).

Like Solarize Arlington, the HeatSmart Arlington campaign will recruit homeowners interested in installing clean heating and cooling technologies. Those homeowners will then be grouped together to take advantage of bulk installation discounts from the installer.

If we can find someone willing to serve as HeatSmart Coach, Arlington will apply to the Mass. Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) for several thousand dollars in funding to help publicize the campaign and attract residents. Up to $1,000 of that funding can go to the Coach as a stipend. The Town’s application deadline to the state is September 16. The application deadline to become the Coach is this Sunday, August 26.

Time commitment is up to 1-2 days per week over a 6 month period (this is the amount of time spent by Arlington’s volunteer Solarize Coach in 2012). Note that the time commitment could be less depending on the number of additional volunteers we are able to recruit.

Arlington may be able to join with Winchester to submit a joint, two-community HeatSmart application. Each town would have its own Coach, but we could share ideas, language, graphics, and installers which would simplify the process. In addition, the HeatSmart Coach will be supported by 1-4 additional volunteers from Arlington, as well as by the Town’s Energy Manager, Ken Pruitt.

More information is below. To apply, please send an email expressing your interest by no later than Sunday, August 26, to Ken Pruitt, Arlington’s Energy Manager, at kpruitt@town.arlington.ma.us. In your email, please indicate your available volunteer time, whether some or all can be during business hours, why you would like to be selected as HeatSmart Coach, and include/attach any other information you wish. Feel free to contact Ken via email or by phone at 781-316-3115 if you have questions before applying.

Additional Background

The HeatSmart Website is here (http://www.masscec.com/heatsmart-mass-0).

The main role of the HeatSmart Coach is to be the primary contact between MassCEC, the Department of Energy Resources (DOER), the Town of Arlington, and the installer. Communities composed of multiple municipalities will require a separate HeatSmart Coach for each municipality. The HeatSmart Coach will manage the outreach and education efforts of the core volunteer team and additional volunteers. Responsibilities will include:

• Reaching out to local Community organizations, potential partners, and volunteers;
• Organizing volunteer distribution of information and marketing materials;
• Organizing and mobilizing Community networks over the course of the Program;
• After the Meet the Installer session, serving as point person for questions on Program
mechanics and basic clean heating and cooling information;
• Developing communication tools unique to the Community (i.e. Facebook page, Google group,
etc.); and
• Participating in check-in calls every other week with MassCEC and the installer.

Image via Shutterstock