RPU and Minnesota Energy Resources have teamed up with the Center for Energy and Environment to offer Rochester homeowners the Neighborhood Energy Challenge (NEC), a full-service residential energy audit program.
The Neighborhood Energy Challenge includes:
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Free Energy Workshop. Attendance to our free "Saving Energy 101" workshop is mandatory to participate in the program – and a great opportunity to learn new no- or low-cost strategies to stop energy waste, all while visiting with your neighbors. Workshop attendees receive a complimentary reusable bag with outlet insulation gaskets. Free childcare is provided.
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Home Visit and Installation of Energy Saving Materials. At the workshop, you will have the opportunity to sign up for a home energy visit, where a trusted, experienced energy auditor will visit your home for approximately two hours to run diagnostic tests (like a blower door to test air leaks), check the insulation levels, install energy-saving materials, and find your home's best opportunities for improving comfort, saving energy, and reducing your utility bills.
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Help With Next Steps. If there are opportunities for significant savings in your home through installing additional insulation, attic air sealing, or replacing old heating equipment, we can make the next steps easy by connecting you with qualified contractors, financing, incentives, and utility rebates.
The home visit, materials, and help with next steps are all included in a one-time $75 fee.
Materials provided at the energy audit may include:
- Gasket seals
- Safety caps
- LED Bulbs
- Pipe insulation
- High-efficiency faucet aerators
- High-efficiency showerhead
Workshop Dates*
Saturday, February 1, 2025
10:00-11:00 a.m.
Northrop Community Education Center: Room 308
201 8th St NW
Rochester, MN 55901
Saturday, March 15, 2025
10:00-11:00 a.m.
Northrop Community Education Center: Room 308
201 8th St NW
Rochester, MN 55901
Wednesday, May 7, 2025
6:00-7:00 p.m.
Northrop Community Education Center: Room 308
201 8th St NW
Rochester, MN 55901
For questions regarding the Neighborhood Energy Challenge, or to sign up, contact Stacy Boots Camp at
Stacy Boots Camp is the Outreach Manager at the Center for Energy and Environment (CEE). She has been with CEE since 2009 and had worked in the field conducting energy audits for three years before moving on to do outreach for CEE’s residential programs. Stacy has over a dozen years of community and environmental organizing experience. She holds an Energy Auditor certification from Dunwoody Institute.
*Workshop dates and locations subject to change.
At the Neighborhood Energy Challenge workshop, we learned new things and realistic suggestions for our home. It was helpful to interact with other homeowners and learn more from the questions they asked. Our energy auditor was professional and easy to work with. He explained things to us and answered our specific questions, and presented us with options and reasoning to help us make informed decisions. The knowledge we acquired, from both the workshop and energy audit, has aided us in implementing conservation and energy efficiency improvements to our home.
Tony & Lynn Drumm, Rochester Homeowners