City officials have publicly launched the HERO Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program, which enables homeowners and commercial property owners to make water- and energy-efficiency improvements and pay them off through their property tax bill, spread out over five to 20 years.

The launch comes as part of GreenFinanceSF, San Francisco's PACE program, which aims to reduce energy and water usage by making efficiency renovations affordable to most homeowners. Interest on HERO financing is tax deductible, and homeowners see immediate savings on water and electric utility bills.

"San Francisco has always been a leader on engaging the public to be a part of the solution," said San Francisco District 2 Supervisor Mark Farrell. "This program will make it easy for residential property owners to make energy efficiency and water conservation upgrades to their homes, helping to protect the environment while supporting a vibrant local economy."

The HERO Program has now been adopted by more than 300 communities in the Golden State, with 75 Northern California cities active or planning to launch PACE programs this year. Most of San Francisco's neighboring counties have cities with active HERO programs, including Sonoma, Napa, Solano, Contra Costa, Alameda, Santa Clara and San Mateo.

"We're proud to help San Franciscans save water, reduce energy use, and create jobs in the green economy," said Blair McNeill, Vice President of Community Development for Renovate America, the company that administers the HERO Program.

"Homeowners and policy makers across California are embracing bold new approaches to fighting the drought and reducing carbon emissions, and we're excited to be part of the solution to meeting these important goals."

As California's drought drags on, eligible retrofits give homeowners a fast, affordable way to lower their water bill and conserve a desperately-needed resource with products ranging from high-efficiency toilets to drought-tolerant landscaping. A wide variety of energy-saving products are also available through HERO. These include solar panel installations, whole-home heating and cooling (HVAC) systems, energy-saving windows and doors, roofing and insulation.

HERO is the largest energy efficiency financing program in the country. In California, HERO is now available to 10 million households. It has helped fund 31,500 residential efficiency projects, totaling more than $612 million in financing. By stimulating home renovation activity, the HERO Program increases demand for contractor services. In this way, HERO has helped to create 5200 jobs in CA since beginning in earnest in December 2011.

HERO leads the industry with their proactive consumer protection policy. HERO requires participating contractors to undergo rigorous training aimed at ensuring customers are fully informed about the costs and benefits of the program. Funding for projects is made available to the contractor only after the homeowner has indicated full satisfaction with and completion of the project. HERO also staffs a hotline to respond to homeowner queries that is available for 15 hours each day.

Cities and counties need only pass a resolution in order to make PACE programs like HERO available to local property owners. The program has received the Governor's Environmental and Economic Leadership Award, the Urban Land Institute Best of the Best and the Southern California Association of Governments President's Award for Excellence. Taking part in the HERO Program is 100% voluntary for both jurisdictions and property owners. The program is cost neutral to participating local governments.