Fort Collins Utilities is developing an Epic Homes “toolkit” for on-bill financing and may offer other support to cities in Colorado who wish to replicate the Epic model in their communities.

Fort Collins Utilities is pleased to partner with the Colorado Energy Office (CEO) in support of Epic Homes. Utilities is helping the CEO, in cooperation with the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI), develop an Epic Homes “toolkit” for on-bill financing. CEO may offer financing and other support to cities in Colorado who wish to replicate the Epic Homes model in their communities.

Epic Homes is a partnership between the City of Fort Collins and Efficiency Works that facilitates home and rental property energy efficiency upgrades.

Epic Homes connects Fort Collins Utilities’ customers to:

• Free virtual energy advising.
• Discounted ($60) home energy assessments.
• Rebates.
• Attractive loans (Epic Loans).
• An Epic Certificate with a Home Energy Score.
• Real Estate Ally network that’s trained to promote the benefits of an Epic Home. 

Improved indoor air comfort and air quality, increased safety of the indoor environment, improved energy efficiency, and reduced energy burden (lower energy costs). 

Competitive low-rate loans that allow Fort Collins Utilities customers to borrow up to $50,000 for energy efficiency upgrades as well as solar and battery systems. Customers pay back these loans on their monthly utility bill and money down is not required. 

An Epic Certificate documents the rebated efficiency and solar improvements made to a home and helps give value to those improvements in the market. It also provides a Home Energy Score, similar to the miles per gallon (mpg) of your vehicle, allowing homeowners and buyers to estimate home energy use and compare home performance.

By completing an Efficiency Works Home energy assessment either before or after Efficiency Works Homes upgrades are made. After the upgrades are complete, Fort Collins Utilities provides an Epic Certificate.  

By showcasing the customer’s efficiency and solar investments, the Epic Certificate helps give value to those improvements in the market to differentiate the home at the time of sale. Customers can use the certificate to estimate home energy use and compare home performance. 

Not currently. As of now, this is only available to Fort Collins Utilities residential customers. 

Assessments consist of on-site visual inspections, measurements and diagnostic testing performed by an energy advisor. An energy advisor delivers a customized detailed report of the findings and reviews the report with the customer. 

Inspection & testing of home assets, as well as a detailed report with recommended improvements. 

Most homes in Fort Collins built before 2012 would benefit from an assessment, however all projects that include insulation, air sealing, and windows in their scope will require an assessment to obtain the rebates and qualify for Epic Loans.  

$60 (discounted from the $600 value).

Yes, you can have one Epic Loan per premise.

No, customers can only have one Epic Loan per premise.

No, not at this time.

Yes, the RENU program is one option to help fill any gaps. 

There are many existing tools on the internet to estimate loan payments. You would need to have estimates from the contractors and the rates from our Epic Loans webpage (see the “Rates and Loan Terms” tab) to calculate the estimated monthly payments.

Not currently. Because our billing system is designed for utility bills, on-bill financing with the Epic Loan is a recurring utility bill payment with a set schedule. Any payment toward your utility bill that is in excess of what is owed will become a credit that is then automatically applied to cover the following month’s utility bill. The billing system is not equipped to make separate payments to pay down principal on your loan. You may, however, pay off the loan in it’s entirety if you choose. Please email utilitiesbillinggroup@fcgov.com if you would like to pay off your loan in full.

As soon as you pay an Epic Loan off, you can submit another application.  

Check out the Epic Homes Loan Contractor Webinar recording we hosted in June 2024.

Watch the Webinar

There are two main pathways for Epic Loans:

1.  Rebate projects that are approved through Efficiency Works Homes will qualify for a loan. This includes anything required in the scope to complete the work (health and safety prerequisites, electrical upgrades, etc.).
2.  Similarly, all Fort Collins Utilities approved solar rebate projects will qualify for a loan.

*Loans must be pre-approved before work begins and the customer must submit contractor bids with their pre-approval application. 

By reducing the financial barrier for customers, it allows them to complete more comprehensive upgrades. Epic Loans can also lead to higher closing rates by making your services more affordable.  

The only situation where gas equipment is approved to be funded for an Epic Loan is when an Efficiency Works Homes contractor installs an approved heat pump as the primary source of heating and pairs that heat pump with a gas furnace as the backup.   

• Lower rates - Epic Loans can reduce interest rate costs by hundreds or even thousands of dollars over the life of a loan. 
• Epic Loans also offers on-bill financing. E Source national survey found 2/3 of utility customers prefer to pay for energy upgrades/products on existing bills.
• The eligibility criteria are more inclusive than other loan programs for customers with lower credit scores. Customers who may not qualify for other low-interest loans could qualify for an Epic Loan.
• Epic Loans has no impact on property investor debt to income, making it a great option for rental property owners.  

Direct them to: fcgov.com/utilities/epicloan. Some service providers prefer to include a link in their proposals to this website for Fort Collins Utilities electric customers. Be sure to ask if they are customers.

Customers can find information at: fcgov.com/utilities/epichomes for an overview of the program and fcgov.com/utilities/epicloan to learn about the Epic Homes Loan.

 For additional questions, they can contact us by emailing epichomes@fcgov.com or calling 970-416-4239. 

A bid for Efficiency Works Homes qualifying measures. 

Provide a bid and an invoice to customer for Efficiency Works Homes qualifying measures. 

The Impact Development Fund (IDF) administers the program on behalf of Fort Collins Utilities. Payments for Epic Loan projects are reliable and timely compared to payments directly from customers. The only exception might be when multiple service providers are funded on the same loan. See next question for details. 

Payment is sent once all work covered by the loan has been completed by all contractors involved. For example, if one contractor is responsible for air sealing and another for installing a heat pump, neither will be paid until both projects are completed.