Energy Efficiency Programs for School Districts and Higher Education

Energy Efficiency Programs for School Districts and Higher Education is sponsored by SoCalREN (Southern California Regional Energy Network). SoCalREN helps school districts and colleges save money and modernize their facilities through comprehensive energy project support. This includes low- to no-cost energy efficiency upgrades, energy assessments, facility audits, and expert technical support.

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Podcast SoCalREN Blog Regulatory Information News Contact Us Advisory Committee Regional Partners Collaborative Annual Report School Districts and Higher Education School Districts and Higher Education SoCalREN helps school districts and colleges save money and modernize their facilities through comprehensive energy project support, including low- to no-cost energy efficiency upgrades for qualifying campuses.

SoCalREN provides energy assessments, facility audits, and expert technical support—helping your school reduce energy use, cut costs, and reinvest in campus services and student well-being.

SoCalREN offers incentives for the following measures, and more: High-efficiency heat pump water heaters Natural gas tankless water heaters Gas dryer modulating valves Demand control ventilation for single-zone HVAC Variable speed drive (VSD) for HVAC fan controls No-cost, direct installation of select measures is available for facilities in underserved zip codes . Don’t see equipment listed above that you’re interested in upgrading?

Don’t worry– SoCalREN will support and help your school identify various energy efficiency opportunities. Equipment Eligibility will be assessed based on the equipment data provided. SoCalREN delivers end-to-end energy efficiency project services tailored to campus needs.

Participating organizations receive: On-site energy assessments Installation of energy-saving equipment Expert project support, from scoping to implementation Financial analysis and financing application support Support in sharing case studies and project successes Energy upgrades are an innovative, cost-effective way to: ✓ Lower campus utility bills ✓ Free up funding to better support student needs ✓ Reduce carbon emissions and align with local sustainability goals SoCalREN provides project management support and coordinates every step of the way to ensure seamless delivery of services.

Want to save energy with SoCalREN? Contact your SoCalREN Project Manager to let them know you’re interested. Flexible Financing Options Let SoCalREN help you stack incentives with additional funding and financing sources!

SoCalREN Cash Incentives: Get quick and easy access to cash incentives for energy efficiency projects, with amounts determined by greenhouse gas emissions reductions–and doubled incentives for underserved agencies. Learn more here. Revolving Savings Fund: Offers an easy process, 0% interest rate, five-year loan term, and relatively quick allocation of funds.

Learn more here. SCE & SoCalGas On-Bill Financing: 0% interest loans for energy upgrades, repaid through your monthly utility bill. California Energy Commission’s Energy Conservation Assistance Act (ECAA-Ed) Loans : Provides 0% interest rate loans, up to $3M max loan, for eligible energy projects at school facilities.

Interested in long-term energy planning solutions? Join the 2025 SoCalREN SEM Cohort! Spots are limited!

No-cost, expert energy management assistance to help you track energy use, optimize energy operations, and unlock cash incentives while making impactful changes to your facilities. Santa Barbara Unified School District Lighting Upgrade Santa Barbara USD completed a large-scale facility upgrade across multiple school sites in December 2024, including LED lighting upgrades for campus facilities. The project resulted in over $1.

1M in lifetime cost savings for the district, cutting campus energy usage in half. El Monte Union High School District—Energy Resiliency Upgrades Across Five Facilities SoCalREN assisted El Monte Union High School District with energy efficiency upgrades across five high school sites, including HVAC modernization measures that help the District save money, enhance thermal comfort, and improve indoor air quality.

The District will save $1. 1M on their energy bills over the life of the projects. Professionalism of consultants and SoCalREN Public Agency Program staff has been high.

The program is more hands on and personal than other programs we have used before. — Alice Rod, Management Analyst, Administrative Services, City of Moreno Valley SoCalREN has done a wonderful job and we both have learned a lot since we began working together. We are happy to be part of a collaborative partnership to save energy and the environment through the SoCalREN Public Agency Program.

— Dave Marshall, Facilities Services Director, Ventura Unified School District With the SoCalREN Public Agency Program, we are able to do things that would not have been done otherwise. Technical expertise has been a huge help. It has been great working with everyone in the SoCalREN Public Agency Program!

— Benjamin Lucha, Sr. Administrative Analyst, City of Palmdale I can truly say we would have not gotten this far this fast in such a cost-effective manner without SoCalREN’s guidance and technical assistance every step of the way. In short, the SoCalREN Public Agency Program is a fantastic program to assist local governments in energy efficiency that will pay dividends for years to come.

— Charles Herbertson, Public Works Director/City Engineer for Culver City Their level of expertise and professionalism has been unsurpassed. They have suggested things that we never thought of, and weren’t even on our radar. They have done significant amounts of work on our behalf that has resulted in substantial savings of both energy and money.

— Rick Freed, Energy Educator/Manager for Conejo Valley Unified School District It’s a great project for Whittier. It’s green and it helps us save energy. We’re getting a lot of bang for our buck.

It’s win-win-win all the way around. — Joe Vinatieri, Mayor, City of Whittier The SoCalREN Public Agency Program provided engineering services, project management, and the resources needed to streamline the Cucamonga Valley Water District’s energy efficiency projects from start to finish. — Mike Maestas, Water Production Manager, CVWD