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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.”
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Community Center Gets Weatherization Facelift

The Cambridge Community Center will receive a major energy efficiency upgrade this Sunday when community members and experts gather to reduce the building’s energy consumption. The community “barn raising” project is a combined effort of the Home Energy Efficiency Team (HEET) and the Cambridge Energy Alliance (CEA) that aims to improve the comfort and efficiency of the Cambridge Community Center while teaching volunteers energy efficiency and conservation skills. Volunteers are gathering at the Cambridge Community Center, 5 Callender St, Cambridge, MA from 12:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on June 28th. The project is expected to draw approximately 60 community volunteers, primarily from the Riverside neighborhood in Cambridge. A team of eight volunteers from Mass Climate Summer will also be joining this neighborhood effort as part of their broader campaign to educate residents on efficiency solutions in partnership with the Cambridge Energy Alliance. Mass Climate Summer volunteers are spending their summer bicycling across Massachusetts to promote climate change solutions in collaboration with community groups in the commonwealth. Community volunteers will learn how to make doors and windows less drafty, seal air leaks in the building, install interior storm windows, and save on electricity through simple changes. They will also receive energy efficiency kits that contain materials to make their own homes more energy efficient and information on community environmental resources and programs. The volunteers will apply these valuable skills and conservation tools to start saving energy and money in their own homes. These community-style energy efficiency barn raisings have garnered remarkable popular support since HEET’s launch in August of 2008. Coming together with neighbors and local energy experts to improve the efficiency of the Cambridge Community Center will have benefits for both individuals and the community. It is a chance to meet neighbors, try out a green job, cut energy bills at the Community Center, and get a free energy savings kit, while learning to save energy and money at home.

CEA and NSTAR begin small business canvass

This summer (July 6-22) CEA and NSTAR will be reaching out to Cambridge’s small business community to promote energy efficiency measures and accompanied incentives. The Cambridge commercial canvass is made possible through a partnership with Northeastern University’s Summer Discovery program which is supplying six volunteers for the duration of the small commercial campaign. After several days of training, volunteers will visit Cambridge’s small businesses establishments, and alert businesses of money-saving opportunities in their buildings. Businesses that implement qualified energy efficiency improvements will be eligible to receive a window sticker certifying them as a Green Business Leader. Benefits incurred from energy efficiency improvements include: using less energy, saving money, catching up on deferred maintenance, and improving comfort and productivity of staff and customers. The Cambridge Energy Alliance (CEA) is a community-based nonprofit organization sponsored by the City of Cambridge that helps residents and business owners invest in making their homes and buildings work smarter and more efficiently-saving energy, water and money. CEA aims to tackle building inefficiencies because 80% of the greenhouse gas emissions in Cambridge are from buildings, and over 60% of those emissions come from the commercial sector. In order to reduce Cambridge energy use CEA helps residents, businesses, and institutions of all sizes make their buildings work smarter and better by presenting them with tips, incentives, and rebates to help them save energy, water, and money. The incentives CEA presents are offered through NSTAR, Cambridge’s local environmentally-forward utility company.

Cleaner Laundry in Cambridge

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.

Site updated: September 12, 2024 Page updated: August 16, 2009

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