DATE: December 10, 2015
TO: Council Sustainability Committee
FROM: Director of Utilities & Environmental Services
SUBJECT
Title
Briefing on the 2015 California Youth Energy Services Program
End
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
That the Committee reviews and comments on this report.
Body
SUMMARY
California Youth Energy Services (CYES) is a program that trains and employs young adults to provide energy and water conservation assessments and installations for local residents in their community, at no cost to the customer. The City of Hayward hosted CYES this past summer and this report provides an overview of the program structure and highlights the energy and water savings achieved as a result of the program.
BACKGROUND
Rising Sun Energy Center (Rising Sun) is a Bay Area nonprofit workforce development organization established in 1994. Through the East Bay Energy Watch Local Government Partnership with PG&E, Rising Sun has operated the CYES program, which trains and employs young adults to provide energy and water conservation assessments and installations to local residents at no cost to the customer. This service, called a Green House Call, is offered to both homeowners and renters, and checks homes for efficiency, installs equipment, and provides personalized recommendations for further savings. The City of Hayward has hosted CYES in 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014 and most recently, in the summer of 2015.
Rising Sun operates the CYES program by setting up satellite offices in partner cities. The program commences with Rising Sun, along with the partner city, conducting a community marketing and outreach campaign in the spring to generate a list of interested residents that can be served by the summer program. Rising Sun also conducts a youth and manager recruitment campaign in the spring to hire local Youth Energy Specialists from the partner cities. Once staffed, the CYES program implementation begins with training, including a week-long youth training in late spring. Youth Energy Specialists then conduct Green House Calls for six weeks following training. These Green House Calls provide residents in single-family and multi-unit dwellings with free energy and water conservation assessments, equipment installation, and education.
A CYES Green House Call typically consists of:
• A walkthrough energy and water assessment of the home with the client
• Direct installation of free energy and water saving measures, including:
o Efficient-flow faucet bath and kitchen aerators & showerheads
o Screw-in compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs)
o Retractable clotheslines in qualifying homes, or a power strip
o Fluorescent floor lamps, in exchange for halogen floor lamps
• Checking for adequate attic insulation, pipe insulation, and a water heater blanket
• Testing gallon per minute (GPM) flow rates on shower, kitchen, and bathroom water fixtures
• Assessment of toilets for leaks and flush volume
• Assessment of refrigerator and water heater temperature settings
• Energy and water conservation education, including personalized recommendations and information about the City’s water conservation rebate programs.
• Customized report to the client documenting work completed and ways to further capture energy savings after the CYES appointment
DISCUSSION
Attachment I provides a summary of the accomplishments of the CYES program in 2015. The 2015 CYES program in Hayward provided employment and training to nine young Hayward residents varying in age from fifteen to twenty-two years old. CYES targets “hard-to-reach” populations and in 2015, they served 289 households, of which 68% were renters, 85% were low-moderate income households, and 80% of the households spoke a language other than English at home.
Youth Energy Specialists installed the following equipment in Hayward homes in 2015:
• 1,865 CFL light bulbs
• 280 LED light bulbs
• 73 LED night lights
• 28 CFL torchiere lamps
• 158 efficient-flow showerheads and aerators (provided by the City at no cost)
• 171 power strips (to reduce phantom power usage)
• 36 retractable clotheslines (to reduce usage of dryers)
• 34 feet of water heater pipe insulation
Annual water savings is estimated to be 2.6 million gallons. Youth Energy Specialists also conducted three solar assessments for single family dwellings. Furthermore, over 1,000 pounds of electronic waste were collection from local homes and recycled responsibly.
After each Green House Call, a pre-stamped comment card is left with the client to solicit feedback about the program. The average customer feedback rating of clients who responded was 3.85 out of a total of 4 points, which indicates a 96% satisfaction rating.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
CYES provides services to all community members, regardless of income, but the program is designed to serve “hard-to-reach” residents, including renters, low-moderate income households, and non-English speaking households. Youth Energy Specialists are also hired locally, providing professional training and employment opportunities to young adults in the community. While the energy and water savings tend to be the focus of the program highlights and accomplishments, the workforce development aspect is also an integral component of the program’s success and the value it provides to the local community. Youth Energy Specialists also provide clients with a customized report with recommendations for further energy and water savings, which include behavioral changes that can also lower their monthly utility costs.
FISCAL IMPACT
CYES is part of the program offerings of the East Bay Energy Watch, which is a local government partnership with PG&E and cities in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. PG&E provides partial funding for the CYES program and Rising Sun also utilizes other grant funding to cover some of the program costs as well. Rising Sun has reported that the average total cost of running of a CYES satellite office is approximately $120,000 per year. This cost includes youth salaries, manager salaries, site set-up and breakdown, outreach and marketing, equipment and materials, transportation, planning, coordination, and all overhead costs. The cost to the partner cities is $20,000, which the City paid from the Water Enterprise Fund. In addition to hard costs, there is also an in-kind contribution request of office space (which has been provided by the Hayward Unified School District for the past three years), water conservation devices (i.e. aerators, showerheads), and staff assistance with marketing and outreach.
NEXT STEPS
Utilities and Environmental Services staff has prepared a proposal to host CYES again in 2016 and will begin working with Rising Sun on a contract in the beginning of the calendar year. The cost and in-kind contributions will be the same as in 2015. Upon completion of the program, staff will report back to the Committee with the results and accomplishments of the program.
Prepared by: Jennifer Yee, Sustainability Technician
Staff contact
Recommended by: Alex Ameri, Director of Utilities & Environmental Services
end
Approved by:
Fran David, City Manager
Attachments:
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Attachment I |
CYES City of Hayward 2015 Report |