Community Energy Partnership: Special Projects
Through Special Projects, the Community Energy Partnership enhances traditional utility-consumer relationships by developing innovative projects that facilitate partner collaboration, reach people in new ways, and illustrate the power of energy efficiency. Recent projects:
Grandma’s House – San Bernardino
The three month "make-over" of the 1920's Craftsman home of Houfemia Arredondo and her six adopted children combined dozens of energy efficient retrofits which lowered her electricity, natural gas, and water use by 25-30%. Energy-saving items installed included: compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLS), energy saving light fixtures, an Energy Star® refrigerator and clothes washer, a tankless water heater, dual-paned windows, weather-stripping, a swamp cooler, new exterior paint (off-white to reflect the sun’s heat), a dual-flush toilet and shade trees.
This project was a collaboration between CEP partners and numerous others, including the City and County of San Bernardino, Lincoln Elementary School, Toto USA, Takagi Industrial Co. USA, Sears, The Home Depot, and El Cajon High School student volunteers.
Hanks’ Residence – Palm Desert
Sixteen agencies, including local companies and community groups, collaborated on the Dennis & Erma Hanks’ Residence to demonstrate a variety of residential energy efficient technologies and upgrades. The Hanks’ mobile home was upgraded and beta-tested with a thermal energy storage unit, an emerging residential technology, which freezes water and stores it to cool the home during the day. Other upgrades included a 22-panel solar array, double-paned windows, efficient fluorescent lighting, new doors, HVAC duct replacement, a weather-based irrigation controller and an Energy Star® refrigerator.
The couple now achieves reductions of up to 39% on their Southern California Edison bill, and up to 74% on their The Gas CompanySM bill!
Samohi Student Environmental Task Force
The Santa Monica High School (Samohi) Student Environmental Task Force (SETF) is a community action pilot project focusing on environmental awareness and reducing energy use in Santa Monica. Samohi students learned how to conduct energy audits and honed their skills by auditing their school buildings and local small businesses. They also created an Energy Faire event on campus and held a torchiere lamp exchange, teaching their peers, families and communities about smart energy management and creating awareness of the environmental impacts of energy use.
Irvine's 60,000 CFL Campaign "Leading the way to a brighter future"
In the spring of 2007, the City of Irvine expanded their Community Energy Partnership efforts with a gift of 50,000 compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) from Southern California Edison. As a result, the Community Energy Partnership will be distributing a total of 60,000 CFLs throughout Irvine at community events, Irvine’s eight community centers, and various partner organizations. Residents will also be educated on the significant energy savings of CFLs and proper disposal.
If you would like to learn more about any of these Special Projects, please contact us at partnership@energycoalition.org or (949) 701-4646
This program is funded by California utility ratepayers and administered by The Gas Company and Southern California Edison, under the auspices of the California Public Utilities Commission.