Civic Works - Project Lightbulb

After Maryland deregulated its utilities, electricity prices increased 70 percent for BGE residential customers in Baltimore and natural gas prices rose by more than 5 percent. One of the most obvious ways to counter rising energy costs is to reduce consumption. However, consumers may need information on simple cost-effective ways to reduce the amount of energy they use, from replacing light bulbs with energy-efficient models to cleaning vents of appliances. For low- and moderate-income households, installation of energy-saving devices, combined with information on energy conservation, may be critical to their ability to manage overall housing costs in the face of energy price increases.

Aware of Civic Works’ strong track record of neighborhood stabilization, community service and skills development, the Foundation approached the organization about funding for a new energy-efficiency program. Civic Works researched a program in Colorado implemented by the Youth Conservation Corp with funding from the Governor’s Office of Energy Management and Conservation. With a start-up grant of $67,375 from the Abell Foundation, the Colorado model was modified into a pilot program for Baltimore called Project Lightbulb.

The project is designed to be easy to implement, immediately addressing the five things in the house that can quickly and most cost-effectively reduce energy consumption and lower household energy costs. The project focuses on lightbulb replacement, with removal of up to 15 incandescent bulbs within the house and replacement with CFL light bulbs. The Maryland Energy Administration provided 1,600 CFL bulbs for the pilot and BGE, the local utility company, provided 1,000 CFL bulbs. In addition, Civic Works tests thermostat settings for the furnace and air conditioner and tests temperatures of hot water heaters and refrigerators. They replace one kitchen and one bathroom faucet with aerators and replace the showerhead with a low-flow version to reduce consumption of hot water. As a safety measure, Civic Works provides a carbon monoxide detector and makes referrals to the Fire Department for smoke detectors in houses where there are none. Importantly, they provide education on conservation by giving the resident tips on additional energy-saving measures such as washing clothes in cold water and cleaning dust off refrigerator coils. They provide printed information with each resident on the energy conservation items installed and tips for additional savings.

Project Lightbulb began as a pilot program in two neighborhoods, Belair Edison and Coldstream-Homestead-Montebello, in November, 2007. Each of the neighborhoods was chosen for its demographics of low and moderate income households most likely to be affected by energy prices, the predominant housing type of the two story rowhouse with some built-in energy efficiency advantages and for the strong neighborhood organizations with marketing capability.

Civic Works trains AmeriCorp workers and deploys them in teams of two to visit each home. By the end of February, 2008, Civic Works had visited 330 homes, installing 4,060 CFLs, 287 kitchen aerators, 258 bathroom aerators, 219 low-flow shower heads and 330 carbon monoxide detectors and provided 164 names and addresses to the Fire Department for smoke detector referrals. They found that in the majority of homes, residents had very limited knowledge of energy conservation and most did not have thermostats, freezers and water heaters set at the recommended temperatures. Civic Works conservatively estimated that in the first year the 300 participating households will save $27,000 in combined electricity costs and 3.2 million gallons of water, not including any reductions from adjusted thermostat settings or hot water usage.

Using data provided through BGE under agreement with each participant, Civic Works compared actual electricity usage from February and March, 2008 to February and March, 2007. They determined that the average monthly savings for all households is 53 kilowatt hours per month or $8, which represents approximately a 10 percent savings in monthly electricity costs. Although the homeowner does not pay the cost of the installation, at current rates, the homeowner savings cover the cost of the program in a little over two years. Based on the results of the pilot program, the Abell Foundation awarded a subsequent $213,000 grant to Civic Works to continue the program for one year to address an additional 1,000 households.