Santa Clarita residents who are considering going eco-friendly have quite a few options.
Energy efficiency in residential homes can start with making sure their windows are environmentally friendly, said Laura Jardine, a project technician with the city’s environmental services division.
GreenSantaClarita.com has an energy efficiency tab on the website for residents who are looking to remodel their home for preservation.
“We always encourage people to look at their whole house as a package and look at the things they can do to increase their efficiency from the inside out,” she said. “If you don’t have energy-efficient windows, then you would be losing energy already right there. So window
replacement might be a significant improvement.”
Solar panels are also obtainable with a list of retailers, available under the Green Store tab, Jardine said. As long as residents obtain the proper permits to use a solar panel, they can purchase from the approved list of retailers with the state of California’s Go Solar program, she said.
The city has a variety of projects to amp up its eco-friendliness in the upcoming months. Recycling capabilities on multi-family properties are being vetted to keep waste out of landfills, Jardine said. The city is also looking at installing more electric vehicle charging stations to invite more electric cars into the city.
The environmental services division encourages residents to look at GreenSantaClarita.com for more ideas and procedures on installing eco-friendly utilities.
Mayor Laurene Weste said the city’s efforts to be environmentally friendly have greatly increased since its incorporation in 1987.
“We strongly believe in greening up Santa Clarita,” Weste said. “We have multiple recycling programs for everything from oil to plastics to food waste and grease picked up from restaurants so it doesn’t get into the river. We’re very much a city of the future.”
