A Look Back on Our Open Houses
The shift toward sustainability is no longer a vision for the future—it’s happening right now. As Oak Park seeks cleaner, greener ways to power our homes and businesses, adopting all-electric heating and sustainable infrastructure is a priority. This March and April, OPCAN hosted Open Houses in a few of our neighbors’ homes to showcase what sustainable living looks like. Thank you to all the homeowners for hosting, our local contractors, and our volunteers who created such an informative experience.
These 100-year-old homes have completely modernized and showcase several cost-saving and climate-friendly amenities. This year, OPCAN showcased homes with rooftop solar, heat pump HVACs, hot water heaters, electric appliances, nature-based solutions, and other home improvements. Attendees were able to ask questions about what the renovation experience was like, and representatives from Energy Matters and Ailey Solar explained the technical aspects.
Many of these renovations are undetectable, but the savings are very noticeable. One of the homes with complete insulation, solar panels, electric heating, and appliances has a 75% decrease in their energy costs and no gas bill to worry about. The Climate Coaches, who have done a variety of these kinds of retrofits, are ready to share how they navigated through these choices, who they’ve consulted, contracted work from, and what they prioritized.
If you’re considering transitioning to all-electric heating or adopting other sustainable practices, now is the time to take action. Start by checking out OPCAN’s Resources page, which details the changes you can make in your life and your home. Also highlighted is the several rebates, grants, and incentives available, including Oak Park’s own Energy Efficiency Grants Program. For trusted contractors, check out our list, which many of our Climate Coaches have already worked with.
Aaron Stash, founder of The Electric Home Company, got some great footage of the homes toured and not only talked about renovation processes but also things to consider when embarking on home electrification.
If you missed this Open House, we’ll have another later in the year and you can get all the information and register in one of our blog posts. Our most sustainable Oak Park residents are eager to answer all your questions with transparency and with all the information you need.
