CT Clean Energy Corps

By Clean Energy Corps standards, it usually takes two. If we were all psychiatrists, it would only take one person to change the light bulb, but the bulb would really have to WANT to change. Unfortunately none of us are mental doctors used to talking people out of dangerous situations and with all SCA programs, safety comes first! We don't want anything to happen to anyone while they are alone in a strangers home, so we change out the bulbs in pairs. I'm sure you can understand.

In the lighting program we run, we aim to help residents save $100 on their energy bill and reduce their carbon dioxide emissions by 400 pounds. We accomplish this by replacing their inefficient incandescent bulbs with more efficient CFLs. That's compact fluorescent lamp for all of you who are not trained lighting specialists. (Don't feel bad, I just had to look it up again to figure out what the L stood for.) We usually change between 15 to 20 bulbs in each home to help program participants with these reduction goals.

Now I do not know how many of you have tried to change out 20 bulbs AND convince people to also have an energy assessment in their home AND tell them about how to properly recycle burnt out CFLs or clean up broken ones (whatever you do, do NOT sweep them up with a broom or use a vacuum! Use a stiff piece of cardboard and put it all in a plastic bag. Then bring it to Home Depot) AND explain Clean Energy Options (a program where you can require that your electricity supplier purchase your electricity demand from a renewable source) AND do data entry for the bulbs changed out for DOE verification purposes AND find out any community groups the home is affiliated with AND give them information about buying replacement bulbs of appropriate color temperature and wattage in less than an hour, but it can certainly be a feat. This may also be why it takes two people to change out each light bulb.

So I want you to go home and time yourself and see how long it takes you to change all of your bulbs to CFLs. And when you come back, no matter how fast you were able to do it, you will still feel defeated. Because you will then read that Kate and I changed out 37 light bulbs in under an hour. You read correctly - 37 light bulbs in one visit. In less than one hour.

And there is no way you could do that. AND do all the other stuff we do in our lighting visits that I didn't ask you to try. But it is okay. Because we couldn't either. Not by ourselves. And here is the takeaway message.

People want to help you to help them. And they want to learn anything new you can teach them. We are here to serve, so when people ask if they can help us change out their bulbs, we let them. We don't feel bad, because hey! They are getting these bulbs for free. And we have a lot of stuff besides lighting we also have to do, so the faster we can get out of there, the better!(Don't worry, I won't give you another long list, though it does exist.)

They learn what the CFL wattage equivalent is for each incandescent bulb and why we can't change their outdoor lights. We explain that we put a bulb with higher light output in their bed lamp so they have enough light to read at night. We get them excited about the future of lighting when they find out that LEDs will be cost competitive by the time their new CFLs burn out.

The beauty of letting people help is that it becomes a family affair --the mom gets involved, the dad gets involved and the kids wonder why Daddy isn't watching Rudolf with them for the 100th time and come to find out what is so cool about the curly Q lights.

They ask us questions and we are able to make energy use a little less mysterious. We tell them that the local church they belong to is one of our coalition partners and $25 will go back to the church once they complete their energy assessment. They feel good about saving money and helping out their community. They realize we genuinely care about the work we do and even though they didn't pay us, they sure got a heck of a value. They tell all of their friends about how awesome we are and then the entire town signs up for our program. They all have energy assessments, get insulation and install solar panels. Our program is a raving success and gets rolled out on a national level. Everyone in the country reduces their energy waste by 20 percent. We no longer have to worry about not having power for weeks because energy distribution becomes localized. There are no more wars ever and asthma rates reduce dramatically.

Okay, so maybe this doesn't all happen overnight. But this is what we are trying to do here. And it all starts by changing out a few light bulbs.

November was a bit of a crazy month. If we didn't know how before - this was the month to learn how to "roll with the punches" in such a dynamic campaign as Neighbor to Neighbor. With major power outages across large portions of the state and national holidays, we had fewer days to work on our campaign than most months - but we sure made those days count!

Jeff and I spent election day in East Hampton, where we acheived 83 program sign-ups, including 58 for home energy assessments. (That's a huge deal!)

Aside from Election day, the most rewarding day for me was our SCA service day spent doing Habitat for Humanity. (You can read more about that in our all-corps article.) It was great to do something for our local community. We finally felt like a REAL SCA Corps being out of the office working with hammers and power tools!

November also meant a lot of outreach, including 3 community group presentation, 4 new supporting community groups, the scheduling of 3 educational energy workshops, and the development of a winter campaign for East Hampton. I'm excited to see how December pans out with these new opportunities and the holidays!

SCA is a partner in a groundbreaking project funded by the Department of Energy that brings nine nonprofit agencies and 14 Connecticut communities together to decrease energy consumption and increase use of renewable energy sources. The 14 communities, located throughout central Connecticut have signed on to the Neighbor to Neighbor Energy Challenge. The Connecticut Neighbor to Neighbor Energy Challenge is a nonprofit community savings program that engages residents in 14 Connecticut towns to reduce their home’s energy use by 20%. As residents join and take actions to help their household, they earn points that can be redeemed for community rewards.

Connecticut is a small northeast state with areas ranging from urban centers, to oceanfront, to rural farms and communities. The communities include: Bethany, Cheshire, East Haddam, East Hampton, Glastonbury, Lebanon, Mansfield, Portland, Ridgefield, Weston, Westport, Wethersfield, Wilton and Windham.

SCA's CT Clean Energy Corps members are serving directly with community members, municipal leaders, and others to decrease energy consumption and increase the amount of that energy that comes from renewable resources. This on-the-ground program develops and implements outreach, education and action programming to increase awareness of the program in participating communities. The team host public events, utilize social media and work with community members one on one to get the word out and increase participation in the Neighbor to Neighbor Energy Challenge. This is a new, cutting-edge program that is charting new territory in terms of sustainable energy and reduced consumption.

Hi, my name is Chamae Munroe and I’m proud to be part of the CT Clean Energy Corps and the greater Neighbor to Neighbor Energy Challenge. I grew up in Manchester, CT, went to school at Trinity College in Hartford, CT and am excited to now be living and working in Wethersfield, CT. I love serving with AmeriCorps on this project because it give me a chance to give back to the local communities that have made me who I am today. I studied Environmental Science in college, so this project is a great opportunity for me to pursue my passion empowering people to be part of the solution to one of our most imminent environmental concerns: energy waste and the resulting ecological and health problems. When I am not out changing people’s light bulbs for CFLs I enjoy night kayaking on Andover Lake, hiking in Cotton Hollow, going to Zumba classes, motorcycle riding and embarking on new CT adventures. I am looking forward to the next phase of this program as a chance to improve my organizational and management skills. Most importantly though I am excited to help people reach their 20 percent energy reduction goal through home improvements, especially those who qualify for the income-eligible energy assessments and will greatly benefit from money saved this winter heating season.

Hey, my name is Bijal Patel and I’m from South Windsor, CT. I was born and raised in CT and I am excited to be working with 14 diverse communities in my home state. I studied biology and anthropology at the University of Connecticut and graduated in May 2011. In college, I was on the board of Asha for Education at UConn for three years, I was a process tutor for three years, and I was a member of the Collegiate Health Service Corps for one year. I believe education is the forefront of change and that’s why I love being a member of the Clean Energy Corps. Educating people on the importance of energy conservation and clean energy is the first step to achieving our program’s goals.

Hello everyone, my name is Katelyn Hope and I am a member of the CT Clean Energy Corps for the Neighbor to Neighbor Energy Challenge. I grew up in New Fairfield, CT and attended the University of Connecticut where I studied environmental health and minored in wildlife conservation. I am very excited to return for my second year working on this project, and I look forward to helping residents in my home state reduce their energy consumption!

Hello! My name is Jefferson Crawford and I am part of the Clean Energy Corps. I am a part of the greater Neighbor to Neighbor Energy Challenge, a coalition of non-profits trying to reduce energy consumption in Connecticut. I am originally from Barren Springs, Virginia located in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains.. I received my B.S & B.A in Environmental Studies and Geography at Emory & Henry College. While volunteering in rural West Virginia, I became invested in the injustices surrounding mountain top removal. Understanding energy efficiency could help combat some of these problems, I researched jobs in the field. Luckily I found the Neighbor to Neighbor Energy Challenge!
While working for SCA I have traveled through out New England. I have enjoyed the diversity of the area including the many opportunities for outdoor adventures. I have climbed, hiked, camped, and biked extensively for the past year.

My name is Jenna Zelenetz and I am the SCA data and clean energy intern for the Neighbor to Neighbor Energy Challenge. I’m originally from Bellows Falls, VT and majored in Sociology at Smith College in Northampton, MA. I’m excited to return to this program in a new role for my second year, and look forward to contributing to the information collection that will make this program scalable and replicable around the country.