Community  |  Advanced Energy and Efficiency Programs

Community

Energy and Efficiency

Contact

Office of Community Assistance
Energy Section
(614) 466-6797
energy@development.ohio.gov

Energy Efficiency Program Contact

Manny Anunike
Energy Specialist
(614) 466-4092
Manny.Anunike@development.ohio.gov

The state of Ohio has a comprehensive energy policy focused on providing a diverse mix of reliable, low-cost energy sources. Part of this strategy is improving the energy efficiency of Ohio businesses, communities, and schools.

The Energy Efficiency Program helps businesses, manufacturers, nonprofits, schools, and local governments reduce energy use and improve energy efficiency – resulting in lower energy costs.

The program consists of four phases:

  • Identification of energy use and costs
  • Development of an energy plan
  • Low-interest loan and small grant financing to implement energy efficiency measures
  • Measurement and verification of energy savings

Eligible Entities

Small businesses, small to medium-sized manufacturers, school districts, nonprofits, and local governments are eligible to apply for the program. Manufacturers applying for the program will participate in energy planning specifically for manufacturing.

How to Apply

The Energy Efficiency Program doesn’t have an application for the first two phases of the program. If you are interested in participating, you should call a participating audit contractor. They will outline the steps in the process, and help you determine the most efficient and cost-effective measures for your facility.

The Development Services Agency also helps train graduate-level engineering students at Ohio universities and community colleges in energy efficiency assessments, and provides real world experience administering cost-effective energy efficiency assessments to commercial businesses, municipalities, universities, schools, and hospitals.

What if we’ve completed an energy audit?

If your business, school district, nonprofit organization, or local government has completed an energy audit and needs additional assistance implementing the efficiency measures, the Energy Loan Fund is available. For more information on the Energy Loan Fund and how to apply, click here.

Participating Energy Audit Contractors for Manufacturing Sectors:

Participating Energy Audit Contractors for Non-Manufacturing Sectors:

Participating Energy Audit Contractors for Ohio K-12 Public Schools:

Before you conduct an energy audit, here are a few easy tips from the U.S. Department of Energy to improve your energy use:

  • Turn off lights when not in use or when natural daylight is sufficient. This can reduce lighting expenses by 10 to 40 percent.
  • Maximize daylighting. Open or close blinds to make the best use of natural daylight and take advantage of skylights or other natural daylight sources to reduce lighting during daytime hours.
  • Enable the power management function on office computers, which automatically puts monitors to sleep when not in use. To learn more, visit www.energystar.gov/powermanagement.
  • Activate sleep settings on all printers, copiers, fax machines, scanners, and multifunction devices so that they automatically enter a low-powered sleep mode when inactive.
  • Plug electronics into a "smart" power strip that lets you designate which electronics should always be on, and which ones do not need power when they're not in use.
  • Perform monthly maintenance of heating and cooling equipment to guarantee efficient operation throughout the year.
  • Set back the thermostat in the evenings and other times when the building isn’t occupied.

More tips can be found at the ENERGY STAR webpage.