Mass Energy is collaborating with local heat pump installers, running the Greater Boston Heat Pump Program. Heat pumps are a great way to efficiently heat and cool your home.  Installing energy efficient heat pumps can help the City of Cambridge win the $5 million dollar Georgetown University Energy Prize!

Copyright: MassDOER

Mass Energy has partnered with highly qualified installers like Fisher-Churchill Co. and Genove Oil & Air Co. to offer homeowners competitive price for the installation of high efficiency, air source heat pumps (ASHP). ASHP systems circulate air from the outside via a heat exchanger and compressor to either heat the house or cool it by transferring hot air to the outside or inside, as needed. The increased efficiency can reduce your energy bill and actually save you money over time, ASHPs also improve indoor air quality, while operating more quietly than the typical Cambridge radiator.

Not only has the Greater Boston Heat Pump Program offered incredible prices for this project, the state has a variety of state and federal incentives to make ASHPs even more affordable. For anyone interested in purchasing an ASHP, sign up for a no-cost, no-obligation assessment for your home here. Continue to look on our Facebook and Twitter for more information in the future!

On April 20th, the City of Cambridge took part in the Cambridge Science Festival, a multi-day event within the city that celebrates science, technology, engineering, art and math in Cambridge and New England, as well as their impact on the global community. The city of Cambridge was proud to work in conjunction with MIT, Harvard, the Museum of Science, and the Cambridge Public Library to host the event. At the event, the city was able to inform citizens about two of its initiatives, the ongoing Georgetown Energy Prize Campaign and Sunny Cambridge, a new collaboration with Energysage that helps homeowners use online technology to find the most affordable rates for installing solar power.

While at our event outside of the Cambridge Public Library, we showcased our new energy efficiency bicycle, a project done in collaboration with students at MIT. The bicycle helped to show citizens the energy use associated with different lightbulbs by allowing us to light them through pedaling. An 8 watt LED bulb, which you can purchase for your home for an affordable price, quickly turned on, while a 60 watt incandescent bulb, which many people in Cambridge still use, proved to be too difficult for most people to light up! With the bike, understanding the need to purchase new lightbulbs to help the environment and help citizens with their energy bills becomes as simple as showing them! Keep an eye out for the bicycle as we table for other events around the city of Cambridge! Don’t forget to sign up for a free home energy assessment to learn how you can save energy in your house through ways besides light bulbs!

The City of Cambridge has launched Sunny Cambridge, an exciting new program to help residents of Cambridge learn about solar and receive online quotes from local installers through an easy-to-use online platform! Sunny Cambridge is focused on helping residents that have any kind of property, including single-family homes, condominiums, rental properties, and commercial properties. The program website is www.sunnycambridge.org and is offered in partnership with local solar marketplace provider, EnergySage.

For those curious about the benefits of solar, there are a number of great reasons to go solar in Cambridge today, including:

• Reduce or eliminate your electricity bill
• Increase the value of your property
• Reduce your carbon footprint
• Help create local green jobs
• Earn solar renewable energy certificates (SRECs) from producing solar energy and generate income from your panels!
• Help Cambridge to achieve its zero energy goals and to win the Georgetown Energy Prize competition to win $5 million for Cambridge!

Some residents may think that solar is confusing and that the whole process will take a lot of time. The Sunny Cambridge program was designed to help simplify this experience; to make it easy by using an online marketplace from EnergySage. The City worked with EnergySage to line up specific solar installers who specialize in serving Cambridge homes and businesses. Building owners can get multiple online solar quotes from solar installers that have been vetted and hand-selected to give consumers confidence in their options, with support every step of the way.

In order to participate, simply sign-up at www.SunnyCambridge.org by entering your address and some basic information about your electricity usage. You don’t even have to share your phone number and, while your email address is used for communications and to access your account, it will not be shared directly with solar installers. This process puts you in charge of shopping for solar! In no time, you’ll have a few online solar quotes! You can compare them easily using helpful comparison tables and informational resources. You can also speak with Solar Advisors to help you make a confident decision. Check our Facebook and Twitter pages for more information, as Sunny Cambridge will be a year-long initiative for our city. Go solar today!

It has been incredibly quick, but the Georgetown University Energy Prize (GUEP) is now at the halfway mark, leaving just one year left for the City of Cambridge government and residents to reduce its total energy use through the Win It Campaign. In the past year, we have accomplished many projects and initiatives designed to help us win the GUEP!

– Block Captains: The City of Cambridge organized 3 community leaders and 11 volunteers to help citizens sign up for free home energy assessments to reduce total home energy use. Block Captains will continue to work throughout the year to inform citizens on reducing their energy bills for free. As the Block Captains will be an ongoing campaign, you can sign up to be part of this amazing initiative here!

– CPS Outreach: Cambridge Energy Alliance (CEA) partnered with the Cambridge Public School system (CPS) and the Department of Public Works to create activities around energy savings in school. In addition to implementing energy-saving actions such as turning off classroom lights and equipment, schools are provided free classroom and seminar instruction on energy efficiency through nonprofits ACE and “e”-inc. Email the Cambridge Energy Alliance if you are interested in hosting such an event at your school!

– Glocal Challenge: For the past four years, the Cambridge Community Development Department, Rindge and Latin High School in conjunction with EF Education First have organized the Glocal Challenge. Glocal (a combination of the words “Global” and “Local”) challenges Cambridge high school students to tackle global and local challenges with solutions that can be implemented at the local scale. The city worked with Glocal on the GUEP campaign, resulting in multiple winning projects that created energy efficiency kits for low-income housing units in partnership with organization Nest.

– Municipal Improvement Plan: The City of Cambridge committed to spending $5 million per year for 5 years to upgrade its facilities to improve their energy performance.

– Community Brainstorm: The City of Cambridge has routinely developed meetings to engage with local community leaders, educational institutions, businesses, and NGOs to brainstorm on further ways to enhance the Win It Campaign. In the late spring and early summer 2015, the city met with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Microsoft, Industrial Economics, Inc., and the Venture Café Sustainability Collaborative to discuss barriers to energy efficiency implementation. At the start of 2016, CEA developed the Steering Committee, a group of organizations that routinely meet to discuss the next steps for the Win It Campaign.

In addition to all of these activities, Cambridge will continue to provide outreach to citizens to make them aware of the progress of the Campaign. Currently, there is a sign posting throughout Cambridge that will update citizens on how many home energy assessments we’ve achieved. Check our Facebook and Twitter accounts for constant updates, and visit the Win It website to learn more and sign up for a free home energy assessment! We’ve got plenty still left to do!

Keep on the lookout for more posts this week as we continue to cover our GUEP progress!

It is 2016, and we are now entering the final year of the Georgetown University Energy Prize, a country wide competition to get cities in America to reduce wasted energy. In order to be the city that reduces its energy use the most, Cambridge is encouraging residents to sign up for no-cost home energy assessments through its Block Captains Initiative. As you know, the Block Captain is a friendly face that works with people in their social networks to help them sign up. These networks can include family, friends, neighborhoods, co-workers, classrooms, and schools.

During the assessment, a professional home energy advisor evaluates the health, safety, and performance of heating and cooling systems in your home and provides no-cost instant savings measures such as LED light bulbs, water saving devices, and smart power strips. The advisor will follow up with a report of further opportunities to save energy and money in your home while taking advantage of opportunities through the MassSave program.

The Initiative was kicked off on Tuesday, January 12 at 344 Broadway on the 4^th floor conference room. Eleven Block Captains were in attendance, where CEA conducted a meet and greet, program training, and brainstormed with the audience on effective strategies for success. These captains, and others in the future, will be working actively within the city for the foreseeable future.

Look to hear from your Block Captain during the 2016 year, and also consider becoming one yourself! Signing up is easy and activity is based solely on your level of availability, with contributions towards the Prize being as big or small as you want. Sign up here!

As we all continue helping Cambridge Win It during the year, keep an eye out for the Cambridge yard sign posted in front of City Hall and circulating throughout the city. It tracks our progress in reaching our goal of 5,000 home energy assessments!

The City of Cambridge is seeking out motivated individuals to join our team of Block Captains to catapult the City into first place as the largest energy saver in the country. Cambridge is a semi-finalist in the $5 million Georgetown University Energy Prize and we need help from you to get over the goal line. If you are interested in helping your neighbors and your City save energy through Mass Save no-cost energy assessments, please fill out this brief interest questionnaire. The Energy Efficiency Block Captains will be responsible for implementing an organized effort to enable energy saving assessments at the neighborhood level. Responsibilities include:

• Sign neighbors up for no-cost MassSave energy assessments
• Track participation and follow up with neighbors to help complete assessments and track resulting energy-saving actions
• Organize optional activities such as lightbulb exchanges, solar house parties, and other energy-saving initiatives
• Report activities to the Energy Efficiency Block Captain Coordinator and participate in competitions between neighborhoods to achieve as many assessments as possible

CEA seeks volunteers of all ages with strong communication and community organizing skills and a desire to conduct energy efficiency outreach activity in Cambridge neighborhoods. Enthusiasm for environmental and civic issues, along with determination and a positive attitude, are key traits. Time commitment of multiple hours per week over a 2-3 month period to conduct and follow up on outreach activity. More questions? Email Jessica at jnahigian@cambridgema.gov.

The Georgetown University Energy Prize is a $5 million, two-year competition between 50 cities across the country to encourage innovative approaches to energy savings. Cambridge is In It to Win It and we need the whole community to get involved! The competition is judged based on electricity and gas bill savings in the residential and municipal sectors, along with the innovative nature, replicability, inclusiveness, and long-term impacts of the approaches. Energy assessments through the MassSave program are central to our strategy because they give residents a customized evaluation of energy use and energy saving opportunities in their homes, with instant savings measures along with incentives for further action. So far, Cambridge has had 2,200 energy assessments performed.

For more information about the Georgetown Prize, see www.cambridgeenergyalliance.org/winit.

The questionnaire can be found here.

It’s getting cooler outside, but Cambridge’s competition in the Georgetown University Energy Prize is heating up! The schools are back in session and they’re In It to Win It—on September 30th over 500 CRLS students participated in the Alliance for Climate Education assembly to learn about why climate change is important to them and how they can take action to reduce energy use and emissions in Cambridge. And the Education First Glocal Challenge has over 150 students signed up for teams to find solutions to wasted energy in Cambridge.

Adults can get involved, too— We need your help at Cambridge City Hall Annex on October 19th! Join Cambridge Energy Alliance and other climate groups across Cambridge in a collaborative phone call party that will target folks who have already expressed interest but have not yet completed a Home Energy Assessment.

RSVP HERE.
http://www.evite.com/event/026ALO325BZFJM7YEEPFLSBB4NOQ5A

We’ll all get together for an hour or so, make some phone calls, enjoy refreshments and get to know each other a bit more. A call list and brief script will be provided, though you are welcome to bring your own list.

This will be the first official meeting of the Cambridge Neighborhood Committee for GUEP!

Energy Efficiency Block Captain Coordinator Volunteer Internship

The Cambridge Energy Alliance is recruiting a part-time volunteer for internship level work. We are looking for a volunteer to help CEA and the City of Cambridge win the $5 million Georgetown University Energy Prize. We need to reduce our energy use the most, and we have a little over a year to do it! This is an exciting opportunity to build community involvement in this city-wide initiative to reduce wasted energy by coordinating action at the neighborhood level. Projects will be organized by CEA staff in the Cambridge Community Development Department, but most of the volunteer work can be carried out remotely.

The Georgetown University Energy Prize

The Georgetown University Energy Prize is a $5 million, two-year competition between 50 cities across the country to encourage innovative approaches to energy savings. Cambridge is In It to Win It and we need the whole community to get involved! The competition is judged based on electricity and gas bill savings in the residential and municipal sectors, along with the innovative nature, replicability, inclusiveness, and long-term impacts of the approaches. Energy assessments through the MassSave program are central to our strategy because they give residents a customized evaluation of energy use and energy saving opportunities in their homes, with instant savings measures along with incentives for further action. Our goal is for every home in Cambridge to take advantage of this opportunity which costs nothing, saves money on energy bills, and leads to healthier and more comfortable homes.

For more information about the Georgetown Prize, see www.cambridgeenergyalliance.org/winit.

Position Summary

The Energy Efficiency Block Captain Coordinator will be responsible for implementing an organized effort to enable energy saving activities at the neighborhood level. Responsibilities include:
• Assist in the creation of an energy efficiency block captain toolkit with materials necessary to educate block captain volunteers to achieve the following goals:
o Sign neighbors up for no-cost MassSave energy assessments
o Track participation and follow up with neighbors to help complete assessments and track resulting energy-saving actions
o Organize optional activities such as lightbulb exchanges, solar house parties, and other energy-saving initiatives
• Recruit, train, and supervise block captains in all Cambridge neighborhoods, using CEA website as communication interface
• Coordinate with Next Step Living and MassSave to ensure timely completion of energy assessments and track results
• Track block captain activity and report regularly on results
• Assist with design, implementation, and outreach around competitions between neighborhoods to achieve as many assessments as possible

Skills and Qualifications

CEA seeks a person with exceptional communication and community organizing skills, both written and in-person, with a desire to lead Cambridge residents in energy efficiency outreach activity. Must be able to successfully organize and supervise a diverse group of volunteers working towards a common goal across the City. Enthusiasm for environmental and civic issues, along with determination and a positive attitude, are key traits. Seeking part-time commitment from fall 2015 through December 2016.

To Apply

Inquiries, nominations or referrals, and resumes and/or brief letters expressing interest should be directed in confidence to: winit@cambridgema.gov.
Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until position is filled. No phone calls, please.

If you are interested in contributing to this initiative but can’t commit to the full Coordinator position, let us know if you would like to volunteer as a Block Captain and look for that posting soon!