A mother and her three children sleeping in their only air-conditioned room. A mom of six who couldn’t afford to fix her central air. A couple who relied on processed and microwavable food because they hadn’t had a working stovetop in more than 15 years.
These are the people Orlando, Florida’s Energy Savings Program helps by providing free heat pump plug-in air conditioners, heat pump water heaters, portable solar panels and batteries, and induction cooktops, said Mike Taylor, sustainability initiatives manager in the city’s Office of Sustainability & Resilience. The program, launched in 2024, helps Orlando’s low-income residents, who spend 130% more of their monthly income on energy bills than the national average. Because 62% of Orlando residents are renters, he said, “we wanted to create something that they could utilize, too.”
So far, the Energy Savings Program — a 2026 Smart Cities Dive Community Project Award winner — has provided energy-saving devices to 95 households, said Ashley Perez, the city’s sustainability project manager. Program participants also get baskets stocked with energy-efficient items such as LED bulbs, weatherstripping, low-flow plumbing fixtures and even glow-in-the-dark star stickers to encourage youngsters to turn lights off…