Energize Denver Energy Navigation Pilot Program

These are defined as multifamily buildings where at least 2/3 of the units are classified as deed-restricted affordable housing. 

In order to verify that your building falls into this category, your application must include:

• A copy of the regulatory agreement OR affordable housing covenant that specifies the number of units in the building that are deed-restricted affordable housing.

See an Example Affordable Housing Covenant(PDF, 175KB)

These are apartment buildings where at least 2/3 of residential units have rents at or below 80% of the HOST rent limits.(PDF, 203KB)

In order to verify that your building falls into this category, your application must include:

• A rent roll that lists the following for all rental units:
  • Unit number
  • Monthly rent
  • Number of bedrooms
  • End-date of current lease

See an Example Rent Roll(PDF, 23KB)

These are residential condominiums where at least 2/3 of unit owners meet one of the following criteria:

1. A household income at or below 80% of Denver's area median income(PDF, 203KB)
2. Enrollment in a public assistance program

In order to confirm that the building falls into this category, one of the following is required for each unit owner that meets the above criteria:

• Cover page of the previous year's Form 1040, line 9
• Your Form SSA-1099 
• Proof of enrollment in Xcel Energy income-qualified demand side management program
• Proof of enrollment in Xcel Energy’s income-qualified Community Solar Gardens program
• Proof of enrollment in the Denver Property Tax Relief Program
• Proof of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)
• Proof of Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
• Proof of Old Age Pension (OAP)
• Proof of Support from any of the following:
  • Aid to the Blind (AB)
  • Aid to the Needy Disabled (AND)
  • Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
  • Section 8 Housing
  • Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
  • Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF)
  • LEAP (Utility Bill Assistance)

See an Example of Form 1040(PDF, 279KB)

Condominium buildings can also qualify if they are located in a census one of the census tracts identified in the image below*:

*If you cannot see the map above, please reach out to us at energizedenver@denvergov.org, and we will verify which census tract your building is located in.

Buildings that meet this additional criterion will also be required to self-certify that they meet the following two secondary criteria: 

• No part of the building is owned by a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) 
• A minimum of 80% of the building’s individual units (non-common areas) are occupied by the owner (i.e. not rented to non-owner tenants)
  • If less than 80% of units are owner-occupied, rented units must be at or below HOST rent limits 

Nonprofits must meet both of the following criteria:

• Have a 501c(3) Letter of Determination from the Internal Revenue Service
• Offer critical services in the City and County of Denver, such as, but not limited to:
  • Advocacy organizations (such as Community Advocacy, Social Service Advocacy, or similar)
  • Affordable housing or housing service providers
  • After-school providers, childcare centers, or family support organizations
  • Community financial institutions (like credit unions, non-profit lenders, etc)
  • Disability service providers
  • Domestic violence centers, women's centers, or children's centers
  • Emergency service organizations
  • Food pantries
  • Homeless shelters, transitional housing, or supportive housing
  • Hospitals, healthcare facilities, mental or behavioral health facilities, clinics
  • Immigration service providers
  • Job training and workforce development services
  • Law/legal centers (non-profit and pro-bono services to income-qualified communities)
  • Libraries (not owned by the City and County of Denver) or community centers
  • Places of worship
  • Rehabilitation providers
  • Senior centers (not owned by the City and County of Denver)

In order to verify that your building falls into this category, your application must include:

• Your 501c(3) Letter of Determination from the Internal Revenue Service
• A written description of what your nonprofit organization does. Narratives should include:
  • Number of people served annually
  • Types of critical services offered
  • Neighborhoods you serve
• If you do not own your building, you must include a copy of your current lease agreement which explicitly states that you as the tenant are responsible for all physical building upgrades (e.g. lighting upgrades, HVAC upgrades, etc.). Please highlight the section of the lease that outlines this responsibility.

See an Example Letter of Determination(PDF, 54KB)

We will consider commercial buildings with operating revenues less than $800,000 in the previous tax year.

In order to verify that your building meets this criteria, your application must include a copy of the previous year’s tax return that details the building owner’s total operating revenues, typically a Form 1040 Schedule C. Personal info such as social security number should be redacted.

If you do not own your building, you must include a copy of your current lease agreement which explicitly states that you as the tenant are responsible for all physical building upgrades (e.g. lighting upgrades, HVAC upgrades, etc.). Please highlight the section of the lease that outlines this responsibility.

See sample Form 1040 Schedule C(PDF, 157KB)

Building Type: Nonprofit

Building Size: 9,645 sq. ft.

Energize Denver Compliance Pathway: LED Lighting

The Challenge: In 2023 CCJRC purchased a 120-year-old building to expand their operations. Given the building’s age it needed significant upgrades to get into compliance with Energize Denver. The CCJRC staff had a steep learning curve to determine:

• What needed to be done to improve their building
• The most cost efficient equipment upgrades
• How to access technical guidance needed to reduce their energy use and comply with Energize Denver. 

The Solution: CCJRC engaged Larry Martinez, a consultant who was dedicated to finding the best solutions for the building. To achieve this goal, Larry sought assistance from Denver’s EDEN program administrator, SRS. SRS developed cost-benefit analysis for alternative energy improvements to help select the best projects for the building. Larry said, "[the building] was in desperate need of some love and care, as well as some serious upgrades. The [cost-benefit] report really did a lot of the work for us." 

Getting into Compliance: Supported by the SRS report, CCJRC opted to pursue the LED lighting compliance pathway for Energize Denver. They were able to upgrade their lighting for about $10,000. Better yet, they covered a majority of the cost of the new lighting with incentives and rebates. Moreover, lifetime operating cost savings from the new LED lighting will save CCJRC over $17,000 on their utility costs.

Going Beyond Compliance: In addition, SRS's report provided CCJRC a variety of energy efficiency projects that would improve building comfort, energy efficiency, and cost efficiency. As a result, CCJRC went beyond what was required to comply with Energize Denver and installed heat pumps for space heating and cooling. Furthermore, CCJRC is investigating a new roof and rooftop solar PV system.

Project Cost to Achieve Compliance: $10,012 (LED lighting retrofit)

Compliance Project Rebates: $5,006

Compliance Project Utility Cost Savings: $17,142

Compliance Project Cost Offset by Utility Savings and Rebates: 221%

Additional Improvement Project Costs: $163,979 (solar PV, windows, air sealing, DHW, heat pumps)

Additional Improvement Project Rebates: $44,039

Additional Improvement Project Utility Cost Savings: $198,367

Additional Improvement Project Cost Offset by Utility Savings and Rebates: 148%

Read the full case study 

Building Type: House of Worship

Building Size: 21,648 sq. ft.

Energize Denver Compliance Pathway: LED Lighting

The Problem: Built over 112 years ago, this iconic Denver church had not updated its lighting fixtures since the 1950s. The building has extremely high ceilings, so it required energy intensive lighting that burned out frequently and was expensive to replace. The Facilities Manager, Antonio Cabrera, shared, "Sometimes I would go up there, change [the lights], come back the next day, and some others had burned out."

The Solution: Antonio worked with the EDEN program to find a lighting contractor who was up for the challenge of retrofitting the lighting in the large church sanctuary with LED lights. The new lights last much longer (we hear Antonio still hasn't had to change one), while shrinking their electric bill to a fraction of what it once was.

Getting into Compliance: Thanks to incentives and rebates that covered  ~22% of the project, the Cathedral Basilica's lighting upgrade will cost ~$40,000. However, they will save ~$156,000 in electricity costs over the lifetime of the new LED lights.

Antonio reported that prior to the installation of the new LED’s their monthly electric bill was over $1,200. Since the new LED’s were installed the monthly electricity bill has dropped to ~$100 . Antonio enthusiastically shared, "It's all over with, it looks great, and it was worth it."

Project Cost to Achieve Compliance: $39,843 (LED lighting retrofit)

Compliance Project Rebates: $12,487

Compliance Project Utility Cost Savings: $156,575

Compliance Project Cost Offset by Utility Savings and Rebates: 415%

Read the full case study

Building Type: Residential Apartment

Building Size: 5,254 sq. ft.

Energize Denver Compliance Pathway: 15% Energy Use Reduction

The Problem: The building owner knew that he was going to need to achieve compliance with Energize Denver’s energy performance requirements in the next couple of years. However, his bigger worry was that his four tenants lacked cooling – a growing concern as Denver summers become hotter.

The Solution: The owner worked with EDEN program administrator, SRS, to evaluate alternative space cooling systems. That effort identified a heat pump system that would not only provide more efficient space heating, but for the first time, provide space cooling for the tenants and reduce total energy costs by almost half.

Getting into Compliance: While a heat pump is a large investment for any building owner, it can cost less to operate while providing both space heating and cooling to the building. This often makes heat pumps a smart choice when space heating systems are at, or near, the end of their useful life. This project enabled MLK 5055 to be the city's first building to achieve compliance via Energize Denver’s 15% Energy Use Reduction pathway.

Project Cost to Achieve Compliance: $84,075 (Heat pump retrofit)

Compliance Project Rebates: $63,968

Compliance Project Utility Cost Savings: $6,930

Compliance Project Cost Offset by Utility Savings and Rebates: 84%

Building Type: Retail Store

Building Size: 8,175 sq. ft.

Energize Denver Compliance Pathway: 15% Energy Use Reduction

The Problem: Wax Trax records is an iconic family-run business located in an owner-occupied building in the heart of Downtown Denver. The building needed to upgrade its lighting and HVAC to improve its energy efficiency, comply with Energize Denver, and ensure that the business can continue for future generations. 

The Solution: Wax Trax's owner, Pete Stidman, worked with EDEN to evaluate the cost-benefit of new LED lighting and all-electric heat pumps.  After review of business case analytics, Pete replaced the store's lights with LEDs (including a funky antique light at the center of the store). He is also in the process of installing a heat pump system that won’t interfere with the store's historic and eclectic decor. The EDEN program helped Pete identify rebates and tax incentives that covered nearly 20% of the upfront costs, and find financing options that would help him cover the balance of the project costs.

Getting into Compliance: After retrofitting the lighting and adding the heat pump system, the energy use intensity (EUI, a measurement of how much energy the building uses per square foot) for Wax Trax Records has decreased by ~75% bringing the building into compliance with Energize Denver.

Going Beyond Compliance: With efficient new lights and an all-electric heating and cooling system in place, the next step for Pete will be to install a roof-top solar PV system at Wax Trax. As Pete told us, "What is exciting is that we'll be able to run our [store] with very little energy cost in the future and I look towards the next generation of ownership of Wax Trax because everybody in the city tells me they never want it to go away."

Project Cost to Achieve Compliance: $154,086 (Heat pump retrofit)

Compliance Project Rebates: $36,800

Compliance Project Utility Cost Savings: $8,130

Compliance Project Cost Offset by Utility Savings and Rebates: 29%

Additional Improvement Project Costs: $220,012 (solar PV, LED lighting)

Additional Improvement Project Rebates: $80,412

Building Type: House of Worship

Building Size: 24,949 sq. ft. 

Energize Denver Compliance Pathway: LED Lighting

The Problem: Chris Davey knew that the Energize Denver compliance deadline was approaching. He found out about  the EDEN program, which would help him reduce the church’s energy costs. However, he still did not know the best pathway to compliance Energize Denver. Chris also wanted to find the most cost-effective way to achieve these savings. 

The Solution: To meet this requirement, the EDEN program evaluated the energy efficiency benefits of LED lighting and all-electric heat pumps. The cost-benefit analysis determined that an upgrade to LED lighting would be the most cost efficient pathway to satisfy the Energize Denver requirements.

Getting into Compliance: Thanks to LED incentives and rebates, Highlands United Methodist Church, was able to cover half of the LED retrofit costs. Their out-of-pocket costs came to about $3,400. The project, which took six weeks to complete, brought the church into compliance with Energize Denver well ahead of the deadline. Better yet, the new lighting will save the church more than $30,000 over the lifetime of the new lighting.

Project Cost to Achieve Compliance: $6,789 (LED lighting retrofit)

Compliance Project Utility Cost Savings: $30,885

Compliance Project Cost Offset by Utility Savings and Rebates: 505%

Compliance Project Rebates: $3,395

Building Type: Nonprofit

Building Size: 23,368 sq. ft.

Energize Denver Compliance Pathway: LED Lighting

The Problem: CCH, which was concerned about their building’s energy costs, was looking for a way to comply with Energize Denver while also reducing energy costs. As the deadline for compliance was approaching, they needed to act quickly. 

The Solution: The EDEN program collaborated with CCH to identify the energy improvements that would both reduce energy costs and comply with Energize Denver requirements. Ultimately, CCH installed LED lighting and an all-electric heat pump system. These upgrades reduced the building's energy use intensity (EUI, a measure of how much energy the building uses per square foot) by nearly 40%. 

Getting into Compliance: The nonprofit was able to offset the full cost of their LED upgrades by working with Energy Outreach Colorado, who work to make energy costs more affordable for low-income Coloradoans. Over the project’s lifetime they will save nearly $180,000 and exceed Energize Denver compliance requirements well ahead of their December 2025 deadline. 

Going Beyond Compliance: The EDEN program helped CCH identify incentives and rebates that would make a heat pump system financially viable to install. The building now has LED lighting, all-electric heating, improved cooling, and much higher energy efficiency.

Project Cost to Achieve Compliance: $0 (LED lighting retrofit, cost covered by Energy Outreach Colorado)

Compliance Project Rebates: N/A

Compliance Project Utility Cost Savings: $179,885

Compliance Project Cost Offset by Utility Savings and Rebates: N/A

Additional Improvement Project Costs: $171,258 (heat pump retrofit)

Additional Improvement Project Rebates: $191,881

Additional Improvement Project Utility Cost Savings: -$117,781

Additional Improvement Project Cost Offset by Utility Savings and Rebates: 1%