Swap ‘N Go
Many residents of Peabody Terrace did something unusual as they prepared to leave their apartment on the morning of March 6, 2010 – they unscrewed their incandescent light bulbs.
Sound like an odd thing to do? Not for participants in Peabody Terrace’s first Bulb Swap. An incandescent bulb was their ticket to a better planet and free prizes. Residents received one free compact fluorescent light (CFL) for every incandescent bulb they turned in. During the swap, residents also learned about other ways to reduce their home carbon emissions and could sign up for a two-month long competition to see who can reduce the most. Winners are eligible for several enticing prizes including Smart Strips, credit at Zip Car, gift certificates from the Clear Conscience Café, and gift cards donated by Shaw’s and Harvest Co-op Market.
Maximizing Partnerships
The concept of this event arose through discussions between HRES’ sustainability team and two local grassroots organizations: the Home Energy Efficiency Team (HEET) and the Cambridge Energy Alliance (CEA). A planning team consisting of personnel from HRES and the two community groups coordinated the event in a little under a month’s time. HEET recruited volunteers for the swap, and both HEET and CEA obtained prizes from local businesses. HRES managed event promotion and purchased bulbs to supplement those donated by CEA.
Site-Specific Strategy
Peabody Terrace, an HRES property comprising 495 units, is unique because residents provide their own room lighting fixtures, and electricity data is available for individual units. This offered a rare opportunity to implement an occupant engagement project with quantifiable results. The planning team adapted the HEET model for neighborhood energy efficiency events to fit the unique parameters of an apartment complex. Posters, emails, and door tags were distributed to promote the event. On the big day, participants could go to any of four stations around the complex to exchange bulbs and learn energy tips. Volunteers at each station offered to demonstrate how to change computer power settings, how to use a Kill-a-Watt meter, and how to use a power strip as a central shut off for multiple devices. Competition results will be monitored for two months, with a mid-way progress report to residents by email.
Preliminary Results
By the end of the swap, 84 apartments had registered for the competition and over 200 efficient CFLs found new homes. “We were surprised at how many 100 Watt bulbs were turned in,” said Audrey Schulman, HEET President. “Going from a 100 Watt incandescent to a 13 Watt CFL makes the carbon reduction even better than we’d hoped.” The new light bulbs could avoid up to 5.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MTCDE) each year. Justin Stratman, Assistant Director of Property Operations at HRES, is also hopeful. “If the results are good, we could see doing this kind of event at some of our other properties,” he said. HRES already provides one CFL in a welcome bag for new residents each year, but a concerted effort to engage occupants through a swap paired with a competition might unlock even more greenhouse gas reductions.
The Cambridge Energy Alliance (CEA) and NSTAR launched a commercial outreach effort today in the Cambridge small business community to promote energy efficiency measures and accompanied incentives. Over the course of the next three weeks, CEA is partnering with Northeastern University’s Summer Discovery program to visit small businesses establishments throughout Cambridge.
Volunteers from the Northeastern University’s Summer Discovery and the Mayor’s Summer Youth Employment programs will be key participants in making this canvass a success. Volunteers will visit over 1,000 businesses in the Cambridge community, and will in turn receive valuable, hands-on community outreach and energy efficiency experience that will aid them in future endeavors.
The Cambridge commercial canvass helps businesses save money on their utility bills through energy efficiency improvements, by connecting businesses to NSTAR’s Direct Install, Small Business Program.
"Our Direct Install Program for Small Businesses helped save 30 million kilowatt hours of electricity in 2009 alone," said Penni Conner, NSTAR Vice President of Customer Care. "This initiative provides free energy assessments and incentives for qualifying businesses, including discounts of up to 70% on certain efficiency measures. We believe energy efficiency is one of the best ways to reduce energy use resulting in lower customer energy bills -- a true win-win situation."
In addition to helping businesses become more energy efficient, business owners can also become eligible for participation in the Energy Business Leader program. “This summer’s Commercial Canvass will be a great opportunity for local businesses to reduce their costs and help the city reduce its carbon footprint” said Lilah Glick, Director of Community Outreach at CEA. “Energy Efficiency not only makes good business sense, but the Energy Business Leader Program provides an opportunity for businesses to demonstrate their commitment to doing their part to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.”
The targets for this canvass are Cambridge’s main commercial squares including: Harvard, Central, Porter, Inman, Kendall, East Cambridge, and Huron Village. This canvass, organized by CEA, is a collaboration of many institutions. CEA is working closely with NSTAR,the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce, and participating Business Associations.
Terrence Smith, Director of Government Affairs, Cambridge Chamber of Commerce shared that, “We are excited about this important initiative and are eager to see the results from businesses taking steps to reduce their carbon footprints. Energy Efficiency improvements are an excellent way for businesses to improve their bottom-line during these tough economic times.”
Other benefits to this program include using less energy, saving money, catching up on neglected maintenance, and even improving the comfort and productivity of staff and customers. Working with the CEA means that businesses will have easy access to rebates and incentives, access to financing options, and free guidance through the energy assessment process. The Cambridge Energy Alliance is also connecting businesses to other valuable resources in the community including the city’s Façade Improvement and Better Retail Practices programs, Sustainable Business Leader Program, and New Generation Energy.
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.
Sunday- Community members traveled door to door in the Riverside neighborhood of Cambridge distributing free energy efficient compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs and efficiency resources to hundreds of homes. This community event, organized by the Cambridge Energy Alliance (CEA) and the Home Energy Efficiency Team (HEET), was held in order to help residents lower their home energy consumption and cut carbon emissions in Cambridge. Jason Taylor, a HEET Team leader, enthusiastically remarked, "Changing light bulbs will put money in your pocket. And it helps the Earth." The Riverside light bulb exchange is part of a broader effort by HEET to help Cambridge residents lower their carbon footprint by implementing efficiency measures in homes with support from volunteers.
Twenty-four volunteers met traveled on foot door-to-door in the Riverside neighborhood, exchanging CFL bulbs for incandescent bulbs. The CFL bulbs were generously donated by TCP, Inc., and Metro Pedal Power provided the carbon-free delivery for the CFLs to the Cambridge Community Center—making it a carbon free event. Four hundred and forty-two CFL bulbs were exchanged today, saving 132,000 pounds of CO2 emissions from being emitted per year. If a resident were to exchange 20 light bulbs in their home it would save approximately $1200 dollars over the life span of the bulbs. The exchange will help Riverside residents decrease their energy consumption, combat climate change, and also save money on their energy bills. After the canvass, a community party was held at the Cambridge Community Center to celebrate the volunteers’ outreach efforts. Lilah Glick, Community Outreach Manager for the Cambridge Energy Alliance considers the event to be a great success and shared, “this demonstrates how a small group of committed individuals can make a real difference in their community and lead the way for a more sustainable, healthy future”. The Riverside light bulb exchange is a continuation of CEA’s summer canvass program, connecting Cambridge residents to efficiency programs and services to help them save money and save the planet. Ms. Glick views changing out light bulbs as a great first step toward reducing energy use and recommends Cambridge residents get connected to CEA’s energy audit programs and services to help identify deeper savings opportunities that create more sustainable, healthier, and comfortable homes.”
