Go Electric Colorado offers free coaching, contractor guidance to help household electrification

Go Electric Colorado volunteers described a free coaching program intended to help Englewood homeowners switch household systems from fossil fuels to electric appliances and vehicles.

The presentation to the Englewood City Sustainability Commission emphasized the group’s one-on-one consultations, ongoing technical help and outreach work. Julia Romstick, a volunteer with Go Electric Colorado, said the organization provides “free home electrification consultations” and will “go to [a homeowner’s] home” when needed, supplementing phone sessions that sometimes last “an hour or 2.”

The group explained why homeowners seek help: heat pumps, heat-pump water heaters, electric vehicle charging and energy-bill concerns. Romstick said the organization does not perform blower-door energy audits but aims to be “more comprehensive than an energy audit,” covering equipment selection, EV charging and solar in a coordinated way.

Commissioner Christine Brinker, who described electrifying her own house, said, “It is awesome. I love it. I have a heat pump,” and described the equipment as quiet and effective in both winter and summer. Romstick and other volunteers also walked commissioners through common technical pitfalls: oversized heat pumps, incorrect contractor installation and the need for cold‑climate heat‑pump models in Colorado. Romstick said many installations she’s seen were “not installed correctly,” a problem the organization tries to surface and fix through coaching and contractor education.

Speakers discussed costs and incentives. Romstick noted that solar plus electrification can make exact savings hard to disentangle and that incentives from utilities such as Xcel Energy have recently grown; she urged residents to check current rebates and to plan for upfront costs. Commissioners and volunteers also discussed financing options mentioned in the presentation, including proposed state bills that would allow electrification upgrades to be paid back on monthly energy bills.

Go Electric Colorado also described workforce development and public events (green-home tours, tabling at EV shows) as part of a broader strategy to scale adoption and improve installation quality. Romstick said the group is volunteer-run, has multiple chapters (Boulder, Denver, Fort Collins) and is seeking to expand coaching and to hire paid staff if funding allows.

The organization asked the commission to share its coaching link, identify local outreach opportunities (school presentations, Earth Day events, community tabling) and consider contracting or sponsoring targeted work. Romstick directed interested homeowners to goelectriccolorado.org for coaching signups and follow‑up resources.

The commission thanked the presenters and discussed ways to publicize the coaching program and to invite the group to local events.

Ending — Next steps: commissioners agreed to share Go Electric Colorado’s materials in local outreach (newsletters, Earth Day/park events) and to follow up with staff about scheduling presentations and workforce‑training contacts.