The Community Energy Partnership recently trained 25 Santa Monica Police Activities League (PAL) students, ages 14 to 16, to be “energy efficiency surveyors” to enable them to conduct a service learning program promoting energy efficiency to Santa Monica businesses in the Pico Neighborhood.
In the course of the training, the students learned how to approach business owners and use light meters and electronic ballast “flicker checkers to check energy efficiency levels in order to identify energy-saving steps.
The program also provided a means for the students to engage adults in their own neighborhood in conversation about energy efficiency.
The students also signed up 25 businesses for free “energy efficiency tune-ups” to be performed by licensed contractors. The PAL team earned $20 for each business that it signed up. The money will fund PAL Youth Advisory Council activities.
The tune-ups will lead to changes that will reduce their energy costs. Funding for the tune-ups comes from the state via the Public Utilities Commission. Residents will not be asked to pay for or buy anything.
The changes include fixing or replacing old incandescent light bulbs or older fluorescent tube lighting, improving heater and hot water pipe insulation, plugging leaks around windows, and a variety of safety measures.The Community Energy Partnership is led by Southern California Edison and The Gas Company and facilitated by The Energy Coalition, a non-profit corporation that promotes smart energy management for a healthy energy future.
