City’s Climate Action and Outreach division is funding more projects allowing community members to make sustainable renovations to their homes and workplaces at lower costs since launching its Energy Efficient program two years ago.

As part of Phase 2 of the Accelerating Iowa City Climate Action Plan, the division began offering grants related to upgrading electrical systems, heating pumps, lighting, and other building improvements to encourage locals to decrease their energy consumption in 2021.

The Iowa City City Council approved agreements to supply funding to two businesses, Bluebird Diner and Neumann Monson Architects, implementing energy-efficient changes to their buildings during a formal meeting on March 21.

For Bluebird Diner, the awarded grant of $22,046 will cover half the cost of renovating the restaurant’s HVAC system, replacing storefront windows, and transitioning to all LED lighting. While the HVAC and lighting projects are complete, the diner is currently waiting on the shipment of its new windows.

Annie Aasen, owner of Bluebird Diner, said making the sustainable upgrades to the establishment’s Iowa City location was necessary for bringing the older building into the 21^st century. Other updates to the diner included the installation of new booths and flooring, repainting, and cleaning up the bathrooms.

“We’re really trying to get this place up to speed in terms of making better choices for the environment and supporting our world and our future,” Aasen said.

Aasen added that taking such measures to decrease the diner’s energy use will save them money in the future.

“Just the windows alone, we’re looking at energy savings of at least 12 percent,” Aasen said.

Aasen estimated all renovations to the diner will be finished by the end of the summer or early fall. The diner is currently open for business.

RELATED: Iowa City to provide grants to help businesses boost energy efficiency

Neumann Monson Architects also received approval for grant funding from the city council. In their $1.3 million project to update their downtown Iowa City office space in the Plaza Towers, the architectural services group was awarded $100,000 to go towards replacing the building’s mechanical and electrical systems and lighting.

With the funding, Neumann Monson will replace the office’s gas-powered boiling and cooling system with electric energy to reduce the company’s production of greenhouse gasses. According to the council’s March 21 agenda, the combined impacts of the mechanical and electrical replacements will allow the studio to “use 51 percent less energy per square foot than the average office in the United States”.

Nathan Griffith, an architect for Neumann Monson, said the studio’s ability to make renovations is also an energy-efficient method.

“We’re choosing to stay where we’re at, which is to renovate the existing space, rather than build new,” Griffith said. “The most sustainable building that you can have is the one that you’re already in that’s already been built.”

Griffith said he is excited to work with the city towards the common goal of sustainable design.

“The opportunity is amazing that Iowa City is willing to support their businesses in this way and cares about the climate,” Griffith said. “We feel super grateful to be a part of their efforts to do those things and to have them partner with us and have their financial help with our renovation and to achieve our goals as a company as well.”

Most recently, the program celebrated its first year of a grant aimed at covering the entire cost of adding more insulation into the homes of income-qualified Iowa City residents.

Iowa City Climate Action Coordinator Sarah Gardner wrote in an email to The Daily Iowan that energy efficiency is fundamental to decreasing emissions. The City of Iowa City hopes to reduce its carbon emissions by 45 percent by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

“We know from our annual greenhouse gas inventories for Iowa City that the energy used to heat, light, and provide energy for our buildings are the largest sources of emissions, accounting for 78 percent  or 612,062 tons of CO2e in the most recent tally,” Gardner wrote. “Energy efficiency really is the unsung hero of climate action.”

Although public knowledge on the benefits of increased insulation may not be as widespread as initiatives for solar panels or tree planting, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency states that proper insulation saves homeowners money on heating and cooling bills and can prevent structural damage caused by frozen pipes, ice dams, or condensation within walls while reducing emissions.

In a memorandum released by the City of Iowa City on Feb. 8, Gardner reported the insulation grant funded a total of 21 projects since its start in early 2022, with an additional 68 approved and awaiting completion. Gardner later told the DI in the time since the publication of the memorandum, the grant has funded 15 more projects and has 61 now approved and awaiting completion.

“We have spent more on projects the first three months of this year than in all of 2022,” Gardner wrote.

Gardner added she hopes to expand the program’s outreach and the types of grants available in the future. While Iowa City residents at or below 80 percent of the area median income are currently eligible for the insulation program, Gardner referenced the capacity of the Inflation Reduction Act, which has energy efficiency incentives providing funding for people at or below 150 percent the area median income.

“One of the things we’ll be thinking about is how our program and the IRA can work together,” Gardner wrote. “Maybe the grant program will become a revolving loan program to stretch those dollars further, or maybe we look for the few technologies the IRA doesn’t cover, like induction stoves. There are a lot of possibilities.”

Those interested in receiving energy efficiency grants can check their eligibility and apply on the Iowa City government’s website.