2012: The Year of the Home Energy Invasion
It seems that nothing could keep us out of your neighborhood. Day after day, our home energy staff headed out with blower doors, infrared cameras, yards and yards of weather stripping, box loads of compact fluorescent and LED lights, programmable thermostats and water aerators and so much more. We traveled across the state in our cars, our vans, and even on bicycle to bring home energy conservation to a total of 7,617 households. That’s an astonishing accomplishment, and it went a long way toward household savings and climate change prevention.

We didn’t stop with houses—we tried to replace cars, too, with car sharing! HOURCAR continued to grow across Minneapolis and Saint Paul, adding four cars and reaching 36 total vehicles by the end of our fiscal year. We ran the numbers and learned that a typical HOURCAR member who avoids car ownership saves from $2,000 to $5,000 or more each year, every year. We think you’ll agree that that’s not chump change.

We’re expanding HOURCAR as fast as we can and plan to serve thousands more Minnesotans with convenient, modern, green and local car sharing. Wouldn’t you love to see our Twin Cities leading the nation in sustainable transportation options?

Finally, we disbursed $613,946 in home improvement financing to 129 homeowners across Minnesota. These low- and moderate-income homeowners received funds to improve and stabilize their homes, primarily through insulation and air sealing, plus new furnaces, boilers, and water heaters. We brought these families savings, safety, and our sensible brand of environmentalism. That’s the NEC in a nutshell.

As our customers and friends you mean a lot to us. We hope you are pleased with the work we’re doing, and we would love to have your support in 2013. We’re counting on your help on Give to the Max Day!

Thank you!

P.S. Follow us on Facebook so you can share in the excitement.

Nice things people have to say about our programs:

“At a time when most home values are still falling and ‘retail’ financing of all kind is difficult to obtain, this program fills a critical void for those of us who wish to continue to make modest improvements in our homes. I realize NEC is a nonprofit organization dependent upon outside funding and the continued partnership of Xcel Energy. Please share with your funders/partners my heartfelt appreciation for the availability of the program. Again, thanks to you and colleagues for the important work you do.”
— Jane C.

“HOURCAR was a trailblazer in the Twin Cities...before $4.00/gal gas, before the popular city bike share program got going, this small organization put its money where its mouth was and got an incredibly sensible program up and running to the delight of city dwellers who are trying to do their part by sharing a necessary but expensive, polluting resource. Bravo for HOURCAR!”
— Heidi M.

“Thanks to the two people that came to my house today and wrapped our water heater, installed a new shower head and weather stripped our front door! I can already feel the temperature difference in my living room! They also provided great info on the loans for new furnaces or insulation, etc. We'll be calling you for that one, desperately need a new furnace!”
— Juli P.

“HOURCAR encourages a sense of community and shared values. As part of HOURCAR's car sharing plan, you are part of a pro-active effort to solve some of our current social, economic, and environmental issues that will have a long term effect. That makes me feel good every time I drive one and it more than makes up for the small sacrifice in personal convenience.”
— Nanette D.

“The Energy Squad was efficient, knowledgeable, and courteous. I was really impressed with how quickly they did work that would have taken me many trips to the store and lots of frustration. Plus, the materials are high quality.”
— Alice T.