Milwaukee City Wire

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett is encouraging eligible Milwaukee residents to participate in the ME2 program.

Through the program, residents with qualifying properties could be eligible for loans up to $15,000 and a $3,000 bonus incentive to make energy-saving upgrades to their home including insulation, air sealing, furnaces, boilers, hot water heaters, air conditioners and windows, according to a press release.

"Your home could be losing energy and money, but the @ecoCityMKE Milwaukee Energy Efficiency program (ME2) has tips and tricks online to help you improve your home and save money," Barrett wrote in an Oct. 28 Twitter post.

Eligible properties must be within the City of Milwaukee and meet the following qualifications: must be a single-family home, duplex or triplex; the building must be owned by an individual (not a trust, LLC, etc); there must be no delinquent property taxes and the work must be done by an approved Participating ME2 contractor.

Federal law prevents companies from making claims about specific amounts of money that can be saved with their products. However, the Department of Energy calculates that installing energy-saving windows would save the average homeowners up to $500 every year, according to Long Roofing.

Visitors can get pre-approved for a loan online or by calling (800) 236-5560.