Kirkland Cleaners, a local Cambridge business, has taken major steps to reduce its carbon emissions and is helping the city meet its goals to reduce annual electricity and water consumption by 10% city-wide. They are the first business in Cambridge to reap the benefits of a new energy efficiency program administered by the Cambridge Energy Alliance (CEA).
Owners Patricia and Mark Birchem are saving money on their utility bills and reducing their business's CO2 emissions thanks to a free comprehensive energy audit and a new high-efficiency hot water and new high-efficiency washer recently installed at the Kirkland Street dry cleaners and laundromat.
Kirkland Cleaners had an energy audit last spring that recommended the Birchem’s replace old washing machines with high-efficiency front loaders, install automatic switches to shut off lights, and replace an inefficient 25-year-old hot water system.
The Birchems saw an opportunity to save money while saving the planet. In November 2008, the Birchems replaced their aging hot water system with three high-efficiency tankless water heaters. As a result, the dry cleaners have already saved 20% on their monthly gas bill, and have reduced CO2 emissions by 8.5 metric tons per year. The new boilers will take about four years to pay back with the estimated energy savings, depending on the price of natural gas.
In addition to reducing their energy bill Kirkland Cleaners is saving approximately 100,000 gallons of water per month, enough to fill 3,000 bathtubs. These savings have been achieved by replacing 13 washers with new, high-efficiency front loading models. Kirkland Cleaners has also replaced their lighting in 2004 with energy efficiency lighting fixtures. These investments have helped them save money and also serve as a steward of energy and water resources.
“Managing all the legwork required for this type of project is difficult when you’re running a business,” Patricia Birchem said. “We’ve always been interested in energy efficiency, but sometimes you don’t even know where to start. The Cambridge Energy Alliance made it easy for us to incorporate energy efficiency into our business.”
The CEA program offers comprehensive energy audits for Cambridge businesses, in most cases, for free. Many Businesses in Cambridge can save money and join Kirkland cleaners in taking action to reduce carbon emissions. The program also offers low-interest loans to help pay for the installation of energy and water conservation measures.
Because the CEA has developed a working partnership with the City of Cambridge, NSTAR and different energy companies, the organization is able to deliver one-stop customer service that allows business owners and residents to be involved with the process without having to manage it themselves. “Instead of the owner working with several different entities to schedule the audit, hire the contractors, pull the permits and apply for incentives, they have one person who handles all of those pieces for them,” said Josh Hassol, CEO of the Cambridge Energy Alliance.
The Birchems take pride in the fact that the energy efficiency improvements at Kirkland Cleaners will have a positive impact on the environment in addition to improving their bottom line, “It's not just the money; it's also trying to run a green operation here in Cambridge,” Birchem said.
Kirkland Cleaners is part of a greater community mission to green Cambridge. The CEA program has a goal of eliminating 150,000 tons of greenhouse gases through a range of measures including cutting peak energy demand across the City of Cambridge by 50 megawatts (MW). This reduction is equivalent to eliminating the consumption of 15,445,823 gallons of gasoline, 316,450 barrels of oil, or the total energy demand of 12,010 homes.
Kirkland Cleaners has found that becoming energy efficient is good for their bottom line. Earth Day is a good time to think about how to improve energy efficiency in the home or business to help Cambridge become a healthier city and lead the way on climate change action.
Local business, Kirkland Cleaners, takes action to reduce carbon footprint.
This week, the Cambridge Energy Alliance (CEA) launched an ambitious community outreach and education program to help Cambridge residents save money and reduce their carbon footprint. Eight dedicated climate heroes arrived in Cambridge Massachusetts after completing a 90 mile bike ride that began in Deerfield, MA. Cambridge is the riders’ the first stop on the Massachusetts Climate Summer tour to raise awareness about climate change by biking from community to community. CEA is partnering with Massachusetts Power Shift on this exciting initiative. According to Lilah Glick, the Community Outreach Manager for CEA, “This grassroots community program is an important tool for educating the public on ways they can take easy steps to become climate leaders and at the same time improve the value and comfort of their homes.”
Over the next month, the climate heroes will bike throughout Cambridge, MA, speaking one-on-one with up to 3,000 residents about energy efficiency programs and services. Climate Summer rider Emily Schweitzer from Northampton, MA has joined the program to advocate for climate change solutions. “Climate change is a real and serious problem, it’s crucial that we become more environmentally aware to secure our future,” said Ms. Schweitzer. The Climate Summer riders will visit Cambridge neighborhoods from the 17th of June to the 7th of July, offering a unique chance for residents to connect to energy efficiency information and resources.
During the door-to-door visits, residents will also learn about CEA’s services and programs. CEA helps Cambridge residents access free and low-cost home energy audits, where an energy professional investigates opportunities to save energy for homeowners, landlords, and tenants. The Cambridge Energy Alliance also assists residents with financing options along with federal, state, and local incentives that are available for efficiency projects. Since last fall, over 400 Cambridge residents have received home energy audits.
Deborah Donovan, CEA’s Executive Director, views the Massachusetts Climate Summer tour as an incredible opportunity to help Cambridge residents through one-stop customer service. “As an added bonus,” said Ms. Donovan, “when residents make energy improvements, it fuels the local economy, stimulates green jobs, and helps our community become less reliant on polluting fossil fuels.”
The CEA-sponsored door-to-door visits will have an immediate impact. Residents visited by the riders will receive a free energy efficient light bulb in exchange for an incandescent bulb from their home. The 5,000 light bulbs were donated by TCP, Inc. of Cleveland, Ohio. The light bulb swap will reduce carbon emissions by over 2.5 million pounds over the lives of the bulbs.
The Cambridge Energy Alliance is debuting a poster art exhibit to inform the public about climate change and its impacts, the carbon emissions of Cambridge, and how local citizens can make a difference. Over 80% of Cambridge’s carbon emissions come from energy use in residential and commercial buildings, so eliminating wasted energy in our homes and workplaces is a priority.
The Cambridge Energy Alliance art exhibit displays many ways people can conserve energy and get connected to efficiency programs and resources. The Exhibit will be on display from Wednesday, February 16th, 2010 through March 20th, 2010 at the Clear Conscience Café located at 581 Massachusetts Ave in Cambridge, MA.
Following the 4-week showing at the Clear Conscious Café, the CEA art exhibit will be rotated to other locations throughout Cambridge. The 2’ X 3’ color series include 12 posters with educational and pointed messages about what citizens can do to decrease their environmental footprints.
Sample images from the CEA Art Poster Exhibit
For larger samples of all the slides visit:
http://cambridgeenergyalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/posters.pdf