Frequently asked questions

  General Questions

ComEd, Nicor Gas, Peoples Gas, and North Shore Gas have partnered to help customers take control of their energy use, save money and support the environment. These offerings include free and discounted energy improvements for qualifying customers. 

 

 

The Multi-Family Energy Savings offering provides technical and financial assistance to help property owners and public housing authorities make energy efficiency improvements. Eligible properties may qualify for free or incentivized comprehensive energy-saving improvements in common areas and tenant spaces.

Properties that meet qualification guidelines may receive:

  • Free energy assessments performed by one of our energy advisors. The assessment is a free visual inspection that helps determine ways you can save energy throughout your property. The energy advisor will identify savings opportunities in your property’s common areas and examine your equipment including domestic hot water and space heating and cooling systems. They will also assess a sample tenant space with you to identify more energy-saving opportunities. Following the assessment, the energy advisor will provide you with a personalized report that contains energy-saving tips and additional ways to save money and energy. The report also identifies the free energy-saving products you may be eligible for and information on available incentives and rebates available for energy efficient upgrades. You will be assigned a project lead as a single point of contact, who will guide you throughout the entire process.
  • Installation of free or discounted energy-saving products, such as ENERGY STAR® certified LEDs, WaterSense® certified showerheads and faucet aerators, smart or programmable thermostats (depending on eligibility), advanced power strips, and more, in tenant units. You may elect to either have the products delivered to maintenance staff for their installation or installed by our program team. Weatherization services, LED lighting, thermostats, boiler tune-ups and more are free or discounted for common areas and will be installed by an approved program contractor.
  • Incentives for larger projects, such as boiler upgrades, steam trap testing, repair and replacement, variable speed drive (VSD) motor upgrades, select appliances and other HVAC improvements. Installations are completed by participating contractors.

  Eligibility Questions

To qualify for the Multi-Family Energy Savings offering, the property must have three or more units and be located within an area served by ComEd and/or Nicor Gas, Peoples Gas or North Shore Gas. See below for more detailed eligibility qualifications based on program path.

There are three ways that a property may qualify for income-based incentives. Customers are encouraged to call the Multi-Family Energy Savings program directly to speak with a representative to determine whether your property is eligible.

1. Properties may qualify based on where the building is located (census tract). The census tract must have a median household income less than or equal to 80% AMI for that metropolitan statistical area (MSA) or county (using a 50% density threshold). This map from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) gives a general sense of where many of the income eligible properties are located. Many buildings, however, qualify that are outside of income-eligible regions on this map.
2. If the tenants or the property receive any housing financial assistance (e.g., Section 8 vouchers, Chicago Low Income Trust Fund, Tax Credits), the property may qualify. See a full list of the financial subsidy programs here. Note, vouchers should be applicable to 25% or more of units.
3. If at least 25% of rents charged for tenant units is less than the market rate, the property may qualify. These resources for Chicago or non-Chicago buildings can be used to compare the rent charged.
 
If your property does not meet income eligibility, it still may qualify for other incentives in the offering through the market-rate path.
 

To qualify for public housing incentives, any building owned and/or managed by a public housing authority in the associated utility service area is eligible for service under the Multi-Family Energy Savings offering. In addition to residential buildings with three+ units, the following public housing building types are also eligible:

  • Common area buildings (e.g., daycare centers or administrative offices)
  • Exterior spaces (e.g., parking lots)
  • Single family homes, commonly known as “scattered sites” and duplexes (i.e., two-unit residential buildings)

Tenants who live in multi-family residences are encouraged to inform their landlords or property managers of the Multi-Family Energy Savings offering's saving opportunities.

 

  Assessment Questions

The multi-family assessment is a free inspection of your property’s energy usage. An energy advisor will walk through the tenant units and common areas of the building and will collect data on energy-saving opportunities, including lighting, domestic hot water and space heating and air conditioning systems. To identify opportunities for energy savings in tenant units, the energy advisor will also need access to five percent of the property’s living units.

Following the assessment, the energy advisor will provide you with a personalized report that contains energy-savings tips and additional ways to save money and energy. The report also identifies the free energy-saving products you may be eligible for and Information on available incentives and rebates available for energy efficient upgrades.

Smart thermostats may be available for free or at a discounted price and can be installed in your tenant units or common areas. Your energy advisor will review this option with you after your assessment appointment. 

Additional energy efficiency recommendations and incentives for completing suggested improvements within common areas are also available and will be reviewed with you once your initial assessment is completed. 

A building representative must be present during the assessment to accompany the energy advisor, answer questions about your property, and provide access to individual tenant units and common areas, including centralized space heating and cooling and water heating equipment.

An energy advisor will perform the assessment. All energy advisors are approved program contractors and will have a program badge to identify themselves. While in your home, our energy advisor will wear appropriate personal protective equipment, including a mask, eye protection and gloves, and will maintain a distance of six feet, if possible, from anyone inside the home. 

The assessment typically lasts 30-60 minutes and may vary depending on the size of your building.

Energy advisors perform assessments all year long to identify energy efficiency improvements and install energy-saving products. Every day is a good day for you to start lowering your energy use and saving money.

Individual cost savings are not guaranteed and may vary based on weather, usage habits and energy rates. 

  Self-Verification Questions

5% of the total units installed need to be verified. The Multi-Family verification portal will provide this information automatically. You can also get this information from your energy advisor. You will need to provide one photo of each type of measure installed in each unit. In addition to in-unit, you will need to upload a picture of each measure type installed in the common areas.

Please round up to the next whole number. When you use the Multi-Family verification portal, this calculation is done automatically.

Contact your energy advisor and they will arrange a pick-up of unused products.

Contact your energy advisor and they will arrange to pick-up and dispose of these products in accordance with state law.

Your energy advisor.

Property name is not a required field. You can leave it blank. 

Since all properties we serve are in the state of Illinois, we are trying to save you a bit of time.

The documentation should be uploaded within five business days of project completion.

Yes, please reach out to your energy advisor to schedule an in-person verification. 

Approximately five minutes per unit. 

Verification can be provided within 48 business hours. 

Per our procedures the program team is required to pick up and properly dispose of any products containing mercury. 

This system requires a separate entry for each location. 

Call 855-993-0940 or email MFES@franklinenergy.com

Terms and conditions apply. Offers subject to change.
This program is funded by ComEd, Nicor Gas, Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas customers in compliance with state law.