Free virtual home energy visits, new from Home Energy Squad
Posted by Stacy Boots Camp | Date April 25, 2020
The Home Energy Squad has a new virtual home energy visit to help customers find their biggest energy savings. The visit is conducted online and costs nothing. Customers can use this new offering to discover low- and no-cost 
energy-saving opportunities, or to help identify future projects to pursue when the time comes.
Since the creation of the Home Energy Squad 10 years ago, the program has been constantly evolving and innovating. Our current situation is no exception. To meet the needs of customers, clients, and partners, CEE rapidly ramped up training and technology in a matter of weeks so that HES could offer free, virtual visits in April.
We are grateful to have had swift support from CenterPoint Energy and Xcel Energy for this new program offering. Home Energy Squad is provided by CenterPoint Energy and Xcel Energy, supported by participating cities, and delivered by CEE.
Each virtual visit typically lasts 1–2 hours. By participating in a virtual home energy visit, customers will receive the following:
- a pre-visit questionnaire — allowing the energy experts to learn about your concerns and interests in advance
- virtual audio/video home walk-through with two energy experts
- a customized report with recommendations and next steps
- post-visit consultation with an Energy Advisor
HES schedulers have begun reaching out to customers about this new virtual service. Participating in a virtual HES visit will not disqualify customers from pursuing an i
n-person visit in the future. In fact, after the consultation, homeowners may find that they could benefit from free, energy-saving products being installed when we return to normal operations.
As you can imagine, it has been no small undertaking to transform an in-person service originally designed to be delivered in customer's homes into an entirely virtual experience. Plans were put into place quickly to do what CEE does best — innovate to meet our customers’ needs in this ever-changing marketplace.
To perfect this service before offering it to the public, HES field staff have performed dozens of trial virtual visits with family and friends. Alongside field staff, other teams like schedulers, the Energy Advisors, outreach staff, and IT have revamped the pre -and post-visit process to meet customer needs and deliver a meaningful virtual visit. One of the initial trial participants shared of their experience with the virtual visits, “I was surprised at how thorough it was. The technicians were very knowledgeable and the visit was customized to my home. The whole experience was very dynamic and fun.”
Offering a virtual home energy visit has been a strategic goal for CEE for some time. When life quickly changed for everyone due to COVID-19, we were presented with a unique challenge and opportunity — to fast-track this new virtual HES visit and continue to provide customers with energy-saving solutions that they need now more than ever. CEE staff rose to the occasion, and we are thrilled to be able to serve our community in a new, innovative way at this time.
Related Links
Sign up for a Virtual Home Energy Visit
Xcel Energy
CenterPoint Energy
Energy Advisors
Home Energy Squad