Batlimore Office of Sustainability
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BNEC Pilot Delivers Impressive Savings
With the help of over one hundred dedicated volunteers, the Baltimore Neighborhood Energy Challenge has successfully concluded its initial pilot period. Our participants have stepped up to the plate and made exciting steps in saving energy.
While the average Baltimore household spends more than $2,000 on energy annually, significant opportunities to conserve energy remain. The Challenge is designed to help Baltimore residents take action to improve the energy efficiency of their homes and save money. By combining education and tailored resources with the support of trained volunteers and an AmeriCorps team, the Challenge provided residents with the extra boost needed to take action on energy efficiency.
The participating neighborhoods for the initial pilot were Fulton Avenue, Baybrook, Reservoir Hill, Park Heights, Roland Park, Mt. Washington, Ten Hills, Neighborhoods of Greater Lauraville, and the CARE Neighborhood in Banner Neighborhoods. In each neighborhood, volunteers were trained as Neighborhood Energy Captains. With the help of these captains, we:
- Trained over 129 Neighborhood Energy Captains at 11 trainings
- Distributed over 1,300 Energy $avers Pledge Kits
- Led 10 BNEC energy education events
- Provided energy education at 62 meetings, fairs, festivals, farmers’ markets, and community events
- Gave energy efficiency information to more than 700 households at two large community service canvassing days
- Were featured in more than 10 media outlets, including the Baltimore Sun, WBAL-TV, and WJZ-TV
BNEC approaches the steps of increasing home energy efficiency as a ladder, beginning with basic steps like lowering the temperature of the hot water heater and switching to compact fluorescent bulbs, and moving to more aggressive and expensive home energy retrofits. Different residents started at different places on the ladder, but those who took action saw very real reductions in their energy usage and bills. This positive reinforcement can provide households with the incentive they need to continue to take subsequent, larger steps to further reduce their energy use.
With the help of BGE, the Challenge collected energy consumption data for all participants. After collecting baseline consumption information for residents of the target neighborhoods, the data was analyzed to understand how the energy usage of BNEC participants diverged from the usage of their neighbors. Beyond the changes in energy consumption patterns experienced by all their non-participating neighbors (often the result of weather or economic changes), BNEC participating neighborhoods used an average of 1.8% to 12.8% less electricity this winter than they did last winter. The average decline experienced by our neighborhoods was 6.6%.
Our first phase is coming to a close, but the Challenge continues. This summer, we will be doing outreach at a variety of community events. In the fall, we will continue to do work with our existing neighborhoods, as well as add new neighborhoods and work to support communities of faith, schools, and social service organizations with energy efficiency information.
For additional information about program impact and data regarding energy consumption patterns of our participants, please check out our Results Report of BNEC Pilot.
For other information about BNEC, please visit us on the web at www.baltimoreenergychallenge.org, or contact us at info@baltimoreenergychallenge.org.