Did you know that Wonder Ice Cream has been manufacturing frozen desserts and ice cream in Santa Clara for over 40 years? We bet you’ll be surprised to learn that some of your favorite treats are made right here in our city! Wonder Ice Cream is not only committed to making quality frozen treats, but also to reducing energy consumption, which reduces the company’s carbon footprint and helps the environment. It recently implemented a comprehensive upgrade of its lighting system, replacing old, inefficient metal halide and high pressure sodium high bay fixtures fluorescent T8 and T12 fixtures with LED lighting. Upgrades were made to the production and office areas, as well as the freezers.
Because LEDs last longer, the new lighting will reduce maintenance costs in addition to lowering energy bills. The improved color rendering of LED lighting helps to improve safety in the manufacturing facility, as well. We bet it makes the ice cream look even more tempting! The lighting upgrade saves Wonder Ice Cream approximately $9,000 in annual energy costs. After receiving a rebate of $8,100 through our lighting rebate program, the project will pay for itself in one year.
We offer a variety of rebate programs for businesses located in Santa Clara and are always looking at ways to help businesses reduce operating costs through energy efficient upgrades. Our energy engineers are available to assist in evaluating a project and ensuring equipment meets program eligibility requirements. If you own or run a business in the city of Santa Clara, contact us at 408-615-6650 to discuss opportunities where you can save energy!
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we implemented a variety of programs to help ease the financial burden on customers. Small businesses were especially hit hard as they were mandated to modify their operations or close with Santa Clara County’s Regional Stay-at-Home Order issued on March 16, 2020.
Because of this, we designed and launched the Energy Efficiency Grant Program for Small Businesses to help fund energy efficiency upgrades. We committed $1 million to the program, which launched July 1, 2020 and runs through December 31, 2021. Grants are available up to $10,000 per qualifying business. Energy efficiency upgrades help lower operating costs by reducing electric consumption and they often have other non-energy benefits, such as reduced maintenance costs. The grant program is intended to help lower ongoing operating budgets of participating businesses while providing upgraded equipment such as lighting, HVAC and food service equipment.
When designing the program, we also took into consideration the local contractors and other trade allies who have been partners in implementing retrofit projects that help us meet our energy efficiency goals. These contractors play a vital role in the viability of utility energy efficiency programs. With the revenue impacts businesses have been experiencing due to the pandemic, we knew this would impact customers’ willingness to invest in energy efficiency improvements. In turn, that would impact our ability to meet its energy efficiency and carbon reduction goals. With less work, contractors might be forced to lay workers off and small family-owned contractors might close permanently. We rely on contractors to help us reach out to our small business customers to implement energy efficiency upgrades, so it was important to us to design a program in a way that not only benefitted the end use customer, but also supported the contractors.
This program design was a ‘win-win-win’ where the customers see reduced operating costs, the contractors continue to work, and the utility continues to achieve energy savings and carbon reductions. The judges for the CMUA Resource Efficiency and Community Service Awards thought it was a winner, too! We are pleased to announce that we were recently awarded first place in the Energy Programs category for Large Size Utilities for this program.
We’ve had good participation in the grant program, and we think the best way to share how this program has impacted our customers and trade allies is to share their experience.
Dr. Chao at Chao Dental Studio
Reni Leni, Owner & President of Robertson Machine Company
A Pet Villa
Chao Dental Studio, one of the first program participants to complete a project, implemented a lighting retrofit to upgrade to more efficient LED lighting. The project will save Dr. Chao 10% on her electric costs. “Our practice has provided family dentistry to the Santa Clara community in this location for over thirty years. As part of our goal to remain a fixture in our community for many years to come, we decided to make a number of physical and technological improvements to best serve our valued patients,” said Dr. Chao. “In upgrading our lighting to a modern aesthetic, our offices now provide a better in-person experience to our patients, brighter illumination for our staff to work, and efficiency in lowering our overall energy footprint and electric bill.”
Microsanj is a thermal imaging company founded in Santa Clara in 2007. Lighting makes up a significant portion of their electric costs, so they utilized the grant program to upgrade to energy efficient LED lights. This project resulted in a 47% reduction in their electric bill. Thermal Engineering Associates also benefitted from an LED lighting upgrade and is expected to reduce its electric bill by 25% through this program. Not only are these businesses saving money on their electric costs, but LEDs provide better quality light for their workspace and reduce maintenance costs since they last significantly longer than the old, inefficient lamps.
Malka Nagel, owner of A Pet Villa, is very pleased with her upgraded LED lighting indoors and outdoors, which will save her 22% on electric costs. When asked about the project, she said, “Our parking lot has twice as much light as it ever did and to know that less energy is being used is awesome. The motion sensor lights in all the rooms inside our facility are very nice, and I don’t have to worry about lights being left on for no reason. I am glad I was given this opportunity.”
While lighting retrofit projects have been the most popular projects, funding is available for a variety of energy efficiency measures. Robertson Machine Company’s old air compressor was reaching the end of its life, so continuing to service it didn’t make financial sense. The machine shop had a relationship with Atlas Copco, who told Robertson Machine about the grant program, provided a quote for a new compressor, and even handed the majority of the application process. The machine shop installed a new energy efficient air compressor for its processes and was able to save more than 25,000 kWh annually, which will result in an 18% reduction in their electric bill.
“The grant helped so much because we had a need for a new compressor and we were looking for funding. During the pandemic, we applied for multiple grant programs, and this was the easiest process of any of them,” said Rene Leni, operations manager for Robertson Machine Company. “Machine shops use a lot of energy, so choosing an efficient compressor to reduce our energy use not only saves a lot on our operating costs, but it is good for the environment, and sustainability is important to our company.”
Jeff Krisa, Managing Director for Brighton Energy, one of our Trade Allies, had this to say about the program: “While other utilities in the State defunded efficiency programs in 2020, SVP “leaned-in” to help struggling businesses deal with the loss in customers and revenue by providing them with a path to sustainable on-bill savings. We have seen the impact first-hand that these programs have made on businesses across Santa Clara – as well as our own business. As an SVP Trade Ally, Brighton Energy has been able to shift our Energy Advisors and installers to focus on Santa Clara to support SVP’s small business and non-profit engagement. The strong customer interest in these programs has allowed us to retain our employees and keep our installation crews working steadily.”
We understand our customers have been impacted by COVID-19 in various ways and we are doing what we can to help. In an effort to reduce electric bills for small businesses in Santa Clara, we are offering grants to provide funding for energy efficiency upgrades. These upgrades will help lower business operating costs by reducing electric consumption and may also have other non-energy benefits, such as reduced maintenance costs, better quality lighting and better equipment performance.
Our energy engineers are available to help businesses identify qualifying measures that will have the most impact on reducing their electric bills. We’ve also provided program training to our Trade Ally contractors so they can work with customers to implement projects. Energy efficiency projects that save electric energy may be eligible. Typical projects include lighting, HVAC, HVAC controls, and food service equipment upgrades. Up to $10,000 is available for eligible businesses, with 100% funding for businesses that have been deemed as non-essential under the County of Santa Clara Public Health Department order dated March 16, 2020. For businesses that have been deemed essential, 10% of the project cost must be paid for by the business.
The program aims to provide up to $1 million in grants to eligible customers. Application pre-approval is on a first come, first served basis. If you own or run a small business in Santa Clara, there has never been a better time to look at energy efficiency upgrades! For complete program details, including eligibility requirements and the application process, please visit siliconvalleypower.com/businesses/rebates.
Installing energy-efficiency upgrades can create easy savings for businesses. One of our customers, North Valley Baptist Church, proactively uses the financial savings it has received from efficiency improvements to invest in additional energy-efficiency upgrades. This continuous reinvestment, along with our rebates, helps the church to continue lowering its energy bills while actively reducing its carbon footprint.
The North Valley Baptist Church has been a part of the Santa Clara community since 1975. Two years later, the church also founded the North Valley Baptist Schools. Together they have received over $23,000 from our rebate programs and achieved over 100,000 kWh in savings.
The first efficiency upgrade occurred in the middle school gymnasium in 2012. High-intensity discharge lighting fixtures were replaced with more efficient, high-output fluorescent T5 fixtures. The school utilized the lighting rebate and saved $1,200 on the installation. This project saves the school nearly 10,000 kWh annually and paid for itself in less than two years.
Using the financial savings from its 2012 lighting upgrade, the North Valley Baptist Church has gone on to install a number of additional efficiency upgrades throughout the church and schools. These projects have primarily involved lighting upgrades. The church has installed LED lighting in the sanctuary, bible school halls and classrooms, gymnasiums, the worship auditorium and dormitory hallways. LED lighting is one of the most energy-efficient lighting options. LED bulbs are up to seven times more efficient and last 25 times longer than traditional light bulbs. The church’s savings on these projects are typically very quick, with some even paying for themselves in less than one year after installation.
The church has also used its financial savings to install high-efficiency packaged terminal air conditioners (PTAC) in school dormitories. PTACs are oftentimes found in large multiunit buildings like hotels or apartment complexes because they are efficient, quiet and easy to maintain. The PTACs will more than pay for the cost of the units over their lifetime.
In 2019 alone, the North Valley Baptist Church and its schools have installed four separate lighting upgrades. Financial savings from these projects will allow them to continue actively investing in efficiency upgrades and reduce their utility bills for years to come.
Summer has arrived and we are here to help keep both your house temperature and utility bills down. Here are a few ways you can prepare your home for the summer heat:
Turn off your air conditioner. It’s easy for your summer energy bill to add up when you use an air conditioner. There are other ways to keep your home cool, like drawing window shades during the day to keep the sun from heating up your home, or sleeping with your windows open at night to let cool air in. Fans can also help people feel up to four degrees cooler indoors. Consider installing a ceiling fan, and take advantage of our $35 rebate.
Steer clear of heat‑producing appliances. Your home can produce heat in unexpected ways. For example, 85‑90 percent of the electricity consumed by incandescent lights is turned into heat. You can combat this by upgrading to energy‑efficient lighting or by turning your lights off as much as possible. Ovens can also quickly add unwanted heat to kitchens. Instead, think about cooking with your stove or microwave when possible. Finally, air‑drying clothing outdoors instead of using a clothes dryer will both reduce excess in‑home heat and help to save on energy costs.
Insulate and seal your home. Once your house is nice and cool, you will want to keep that cool air in and the hot air out. One easy way to do this is to seal any air leaks or cracks found in walls, ceilings or floors. You can typically seal these air leaks by weather‑stripping doors, installing foam gaskets or applying spray foam or caulking. Installing or increasing attic insulation can also prevent cold air from seeping out through your attic. We offer an attic insulation rebate of 10 cents per square foot of insulation installed.
Check out our Energy‑Saving Tips to learn more ways you can make your home as cool and efficient as possible this summer. We also offer free home energy audits to our customers looking to reduce energy consumption, improve in-home comfort and reduce energy bills.
are doing what we can to help. In an effort to reduce electric bills for small businesses in Santa Clara, we are offering grants to provide funding for energy efficiency upgrades. These upgrades will help lower business operating costs by reducing electric consumption and may also have other non-energy benefits, such as reduced maintenance costs, better quality lighting and better equipment performance.
customers, 
utility bills down. Here are a few ways you can prepare your home for the summer heat:
WATT MATTERS 