A collaboration between San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, 3C-REN’s goal is to offer approaches to reducing energy consumption that provide long-term savings for residents, develop the region’s workforce and build environmental resilience
VENTURA, CA – 3C-REN, the Tri-County Regional Energy Network – a partnership to transform building efficiency to develop economic and environmental resilience in the region – is offering a range of programs during October in recognition of National Energy Awareness Month. 3C-REN’s ongoing, year-round programming offers residents and professionals in the building industry opportunities to learn about and adopt energy efficiency practices that save money, reduce energy use, and protect the environment.
The goal of 3C-REN is to reduce energy consumption through actions that encourage energy-efficient building modifications and construction in the counties of San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura, which have been traditionally underserved by programs focused on the larger urban areas of California. 3C-REN brings ratepayer dollars back to for residents and professionals in the tri-county region.
Supporting Energy Savings at Home:
Residents in San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura Counties are encouraged to sign up for home energy-saving assessments through 3C-REN, with a special promotion of a $10 grocery gift card referral bonus. Residents can receive up to five $10 gift cards for referring friends, neighbors, and family that complete home assessments. Certain qualification criteria apply for assessments.
The home energy assessments are being offered virtually and in-person and include free energy-efficiency upgrades for your home. More at: 3c-ren.org/home (Spanish: 3c-ren.org/casa).
Supporting Local Construction, Real Estate and Design Industries:
3C-REN offers expert instruction, technical trainings, soft skills development and certifications on the latest energy efficiency methods and technologies, as well as the energy code and green building standards. Contractors, real estate agents, and others who interact with building energy use are invited to attend.
Among the business and industry-focused educational webinars being featured by 3C-REN in October include:
- CALGreen Requirements for Residential and Nonresidential Projects: Designed for building department staff, designers, contractors, energy consultants, builders, and other related fields. Approved for ICC continuing education units.
- Solar PV: Technology and Valuation, and Carbon Free Homes: Features, Benefits, Valuation [SLO]: Developed for those in real estate and home valuation industries to learn more about valuation of “high performance homes.” Approved for 3 hours of continuing education units for DRE and BREA.
- Passive House Retrofits: Intended for all building professionals to learn how Passive House building principles apply to retrofit applications. AIA continuing education units in progress.
3C-REN offers programs and new learning opportunities each month. Looking to November, a forum will be held on Taking the High Road: Preparing our Region’s Workforce for Quality Jobs in Energy Efficiency. For a full list of educational and training programming, and to register for the events:3c-ren.org/calendar.
The month of October is designated Energy Awareness Month by the Federal Energy Management Program. The 5th annual Energy Efficiency Day (Oct. 7) is hosted by a separate organization and raises awareness of how energy efficiency can save money, cut pollution and create jobs. According to Energy Efficiency Day data points, energy efficiency also supports more than 2.4 million jobs nationwide in manufacturing, construction and other fields.
To learn more about ongoing 3C-REN programs, resources, and events:
3c-ren.org.
