Residential Energy Efficiency

While Tempe continues to engage with utilities to diversify our energy portfolio with renewable energy, the city is building out programming to help residents reduce energy related costs while decreasing carbon emissions.

Current Work

Residential Energy Equity Roadmap

The Sustainability and Resilience Division is seeking public feedback to help shape Tempe's first Residential Energy Equity Roadmap, which addresses energy use and extreme heat challenges. The roadmap will outline the direction of programs, policies, and infrastructure recommendations aimed at pursuing funding for the community-identified investments.  

Public meetings will be held in Winter 2025 to present the draft Residential Energy Equity Roadmap and gather feedback.  Following the engagement phase, the finalized Residential Energy Equity Roadmap, including findings and recommendations, will be presented to City Council in early 2025.

View a draft of the Residential Energy Equity Roadmap here. (PDF)

Public Meetings:  

Community Meetings

January 14, 2025 – presentation material (PDF)

Sustainability and Resilience Commission Meeting 

January 13, 2025 – presentation material (PDF)

Online Survey

Add your voice to the roadmap!

• Tempe Forum Link (open Jan 14th - Feb 28th, 2025)
  
  

Climate Justice Advisory Group

The Sustainability and Resilience Office held a series of bilingual workshops community to provide feedback on energy and extreme heat challenges. Members of the advisory group will:

• Learned about energy and resilience to extreme heat initiatives happening in Tempe and the country.
• Advised the city on the types of investments that should be made to address residential energy efficiency and neighborhood-level urban cooling needs.
• Co-created the city’s first Energy Equity Roadmap that will be used to pursue funding for the community identified investments.
• Advised on the direction of programs, policies, and infrastructure recommendations for Tempe City Council.

Presentation Materials from the Climate Justice Advisory Meetings. 

February 6, 2024 – PDF Here
March 5, 2024 – PDF Here
April 2, 2024 – PDF Here
May 7, 2024 – PDF Here
June 4, 2024 – PDF Here
August 6, 2024 – PDF Here
September 3, 2024 – PDF Here
October 1, 2024 – PDF Here

Available resources to learn more about Energy Equity and Climate Justice:

American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE)

University of California Center for Climate Justice

Upcoming Work

Mobile Home Retrofits

The Sustainability and Resilience Office is receiving one-time funding from the Department of Energy through its Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Program to fund a project that cuts carbon emissions, improves energy efficiency or reduces energy use.

The city will pursue a small-scale mobile home retrofit pilot project to help tenants save on utility costs through improved home efficiency. The program is currently in the design stage and plans for community outreach and program rollout are planned for 2024.

Available resources to learn more about mobile homes, their barriers to cooling and the need for this critical work:

Increasing Heat Awareness in Manufactured and RV Homes (ASU and Maricopa County Study)

Arizona Association of Manufactured Home Owners (AAMHO)

Past Work

Home Energy Efficiency Kit Giveaway

Items included in the energy kits

 Residents arriving to the energy kit pick up site

In the summer of 2023, the Sustainability and Resilience Office distributed 48 home energy kits, containing LED bulbs, smart plugs, air filters and smart strips to help lower home energy costs and utility stipends to help with electric bills.

The kits were distributed to community members from the Victory Acres, Escalante and Alegre neighborhoods because of their low household income and high heat vulnerability, median land surface temperatures and poverty rate.

Tempe’s SRO partnered with Retail, Arts, Innovation and Livability CDC (RAIL CDC) to hold engagement events within the three neighborhoods to find out what energy-efficient items residents would find helpful.

The pilot project feeds into the larger energy equity work the city is planning to do across Tempe. Additional community conversations will be held in 2024 through the Climate Justice Advisory Group to focus on long-term planning around energy equity and heat relief. Feedback from these workshops will inform the city on the types of programs, policies and infrastructure it needs.