Climate Resources

There’s a lot you can do to electrify your home and reduce its impact on the climate. We’ve curated a list of resources and organized them by topic below. If you have any questions on any of these, make a request to talk with a Climate Coach!

Looking for recommendations on who to hire? Check out our contractors page.

Getting started reducing my emissions

  1. Understand that it is not hopeless and that you DO have a part to play in fighting climate change. Watch this hopeful video by Kurzgesagt - In a Nutshell about the progress we have already made to stop climate change and how you can be a part of it

  2. See a local example: Oak Park resident and Climate Coach Derek Eder gives a tour of his home so you can see what electrification looks like

  3. Get a plan and start acting on it: Rewiring America has a very useful guide to help you create a plan to electrify

Insulating drafty homes

Installing rooftop solar panels

Signing up for community solar

Switching from gas heating to electric heat pumps

Switching to a heat pump hot water heater

Switching to an induction stove

Upgrading electrical panels

  • Guide to Electric Panel Upgrades: Rewiring America’s guide to electric panel upgrading

  • Electrification Tax Credits: Homeowners who install Energy Star-rated heating and cooling equipment including geothermal), hot water heaters, building products (windows, doors, and insulation), and solar panels, and undertake electric panel upgrades, may qualify for federal income tax credits

Preparing for and purchasing an Electric Vehicle (EV)

Charging

Native gardening for your lawn or parkway

Reducing basement flooding

  • Ensure gutters are clear at least 2-3 times a year and that your system can appropriately handle rainfall.  You will know if it cannot if the water is spilling over gutters, coming down in sheets.

  • Remove all gutters that directly place water into the ground and are buried.  Route the gutters into the yard, a french drain, a dry creek bed, into rain barrels, or a rain garden

  • Contract with nature-based, native plant-focused landscaper to manage landscape to handle inundations.  They can put in place rain gardens, dry creek beds or you can DIY.  Wildones.org has some landscaping design plans that incorporate rain gardens.

  • Direct gutters into rain barrels for garden use.

  • Install double sump pump system to ensure backup. (Used Forte Plumbing)

  • Install a front yard cleanout to ensure water can be pushed into the mixed water sewer system

Recycling and composting

  • The National Resources Defense Council’s guide to composting basics, from the why and how to tips on composting in the community

  • The Village of Oak Park’s CompostAble program offers curbside pickup for single-family and five-flat households using Village refuse and recycling services; everyone can drop off their organic waste at 5 collection sites throughout town

  • Two commercial compost pickup services are currently serving Oak Park rental and condo buildings: Urban Canopy and WasteNot Compost.

  • The Village of Oak Park’s recycling program is provided to single-family households and multi-unit buildings of up to 5 units. Basic recycling must also be provided to residents of larger buildings through their own contracted waste service.

  • The Village’s waste service also provides on-demand pickup service for household hazardous waste. Residents of buildings not covered by the municipal service have several options for household hazardous waste disposal. Watch for communications from the Village for notices of occasional collection events for hard-to-recycle materials such as Styrofoam.

  • Many hard-to-recycle products and materials not accepted for recycling by the major waste haulers serving Oak Park are accepted by nonprofit SCARCE in Addison, IL, which diverts some reusable items to their Reuse Center for teachers and nonprofits. SCARCE’s website also offers information about how to recycle items they do not accept: household hazardous waste, electronics, and more

  • For clothing and household textiles that cannot be reused, the Village of Oak Park offers a textile recycling option with pickup service through the company Simply Recycle.

  • Plastic bags, bubble wrap, dry-cleaner bags, and similar materials, which are not accepted in regular recycling services, can be dropped for recycling in designated containers at the Jewel supermarket in River Forest and at Fresh Thyme Market in River Forest.

  • The web service Earth911 offers a handy searchable database of local collection sites for many hard-to-recycle products, such as batteries and medications, along with guidance for sustainable consumption.

Available grants and rebates

Commercial federal income tax credits are available for energy efficiency upgrades in commercial buildings