by Lillian Liang

You might have already heard of the Claremont Energy Challenge—it’s an initiative of the city of Claremont, CHERP, Sustainable Claremont and more than 40 community organizations to lead the nation in energy efficiency.

The Claremont Energy Challenge, initiated by Sustainable Claremont and implemented by CHERP, is Claremont’s bid in the $5 million Georgetown University Energy Prize. Its goal is to develop a scalable, replicable and innovative model for city sustainability.

By helping retrofit over 270 homes in Claremont, CHERP has already received national attention for saving residents money, making homes more comfortable  and significantly reducing the greenhouse gas footprints in homes to help fight global warming.

Through the Claremont Energy Challenge, we hope to build on our strong community roots and engage every single Claremont resident in a conversation about what they can do to save energy.

Here’s a summary of what we call the CEC-1-2-3:

Get Started: Go to ClaremontEnergyChallenge.net and click the “Start Here” button to sign up for CHERP Home Energy Analytics to register your support and receive twice-a-month reports that break down your energy use by heating, cooling, plug load, lighting, appliances, pool pumps, etc., and monthly suggestions about where you can save energy. We have received a $50,000 grant to offer this very powerful program to all Claremont residents for free.

1. Easy Energy: Use energy-efficient appliances, power strips, and LED light bulbs. Goal: Lower your energy bill by 10 to 25 percent.

2. Retrofit: Improve insulation, seal air leaks and reduce the load on your HVAC systems to heat and cool homes. Goal: Lower your energy bill 30 to 60 percent and receive up to $6,500 in rebates.

3. Solar: After reducing the energy waste, you can produce enough solar power for your entire home. Goal: Become a Net Zero Hero, with a utility bill less than $100 all year.

At Claremont Energy Challenge, we can connect you with the resources to find a contractor, navigate the many rebates available and truly make this process as easy as 1-2-3. 

To help us spread the message, we’re launching Walk The Town, an educational outreach initiative with the goal to bring the energy conversation to every home in Claremont in the most direct way possible: by walking door-to-door. Volunteers will be knocking on your doors in the coming months in an ongoing effort to reach all 12,000 homes.

We’re also working with community members to help organize neighborhood coffees. At these events, neighbors and friends can meet at a volunteer’s home to participate in an energy discussion with Devon Hartman, executive director of Claremont Energy Challenge, over snacks and beverages.

When a volunteer knocks on your door, look for a CHERP shirt or Claremont Energy Challenge identifier. We’re not trying to sell anything—we’ll be asking you what your energy interests are and bringing information about the CEC 1-2-3 and Sustainable Claremont, and even help you sign up for a free SoCal Gas Starter Kit, which includes a low-flow shower head and two low-flow faucet aerators.

If you’d like to be trained as a Walk the Town volunteer, just attend one of our volunteer information sessions listed on the Claremont Energy Challenge calendar. Perhaps the most important way to participate, though, is to be an engaged resident ready to push towards an even more energy efficient future.

When we meet, we hope you will let us know which issues in energy efficiency you care most about and help us better understand how to become a model for sustainable cities across the nation. So be ready: we’re bringing energy savings to your doorstep.

For information about upcoming events, visit the website at www.ClaremontEnergyChallenge.net.