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CASE STUDY: LOCAL GOVERNMENT ENERGY EFFICIENCY

Elk River Provides Energy Education andOutreach with Project ConserveWritten by Ryan Sparrow • August 2012

Elk River was named Energy City in 1997 whenthe Minnesota Environmental Initiative chose itfrom over 30 other communities to act as a geo-graphical focal point for the demonstration ofefficient and renewable energy products, services,and technologies.

Given this status, the city is continuously strivingto act as a model for energy efficiency and createnew and challenging energy saving goals. Thecity’s Project Conserve program demonstrates ElkRiver’s commitment to this endeavor. ProjectConserve is an outreach and education programthat encourages participants to save money byconserving energy and making other lifestylechanges that lessen their environmental impacts.

This unique program was supported by an EnergyEfficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG),which Elk River received in 2009 through the U.S.Department of Energy as a part of the AmericanRecovery and Reinvestment Act.

Program Design

Project Conserve has four phases. Phase I beganas a pilot program which ran from the fall of2008 to the summer of 2009. The pilot phaseincluded 35 participants who were selected basedon the following criteria: ability to receive e-mail,house size, family size, type of heating and cool-ing systems in the house, age of the home, andwhether or not the potential recipient had accessto recycling. For the pilot program, the programcoordinators specifically targeted households thathad the highest potential for energy savings inorder to best demonstrate how much money ahousehold can save when energy efficiency meas-ures are implemented and carried out.

The pilot was structured on the basis of four largegroup meetings. The first meeting provided par-ticipants with an introduction to the program fol-lowed by presentations focused on electricity sav-ings. The second meeting focused on reducing

the household’s heating and cooling load and thethird meeting addressed opportunities for wastereduction, recycling, and water conservation. Thefourth meeting concluded with an emphasis onsustainable transportation and organizers show-cased the final results from the program.

As a key component of the first meeting, all par-ticipants were provided a free home energyaudit, funded by Elk River Municipal Utilities andCenterPoint Energy. At first, program participantswere apprehensive about having building inspec-

Project Snapshot

Location:City of Elk River, Sherburne County.

Funding:$50,000 EECBG grant; rebates from Elk RiverMunicipal Utility and CenterPoint Energy.

Community Benefits: This program is focused on community engage-ment through education and outreach aboutenergy efficiency. It helps households save moneyand also has other potential benefits such asimproved safety and comfort.

Estimated Savings: Average of $209 per individual household peryear.

Project Conserve participants liseten to a presentation onenergy efficiency and conservation

CERTs PARTNERS

University of MinnesotaExtension and RegionalSustainableDevelopmentPartnerships

Eureka Recycling

Southwest RegionalDevelopmentCommission

The Minnesota Project

Minnesota Departmentof Commerce, Division of Energy Resources

FUNDING

This project was madepossible by a grant fromthe U.S. Department ofEnergy and theMinnesota Departmentof Commerce throughthe American Recoveryand Reinvestment Act of2009 (ARRA).

tors perform the audit, often concerned that the program and audits would involve code enforcement. However, Program DirectorRebecca Haug assured the households that inspectors were there solely for energy conservation. During the audits, the building inspectorsand the utility workers asked the participants about their lifestyle activities and observed their energy use. The auditors gave advice aboutsmall behavioral and technological changes that could result in substantial savings when combined—changes such as weather stripping,changing filters, installing better insulation, and using power strips.

Residents gained valuable knowledge about ways to save energy and reduce their environmental impact. Rebecca Haug points to oneparticular audit as an example: “One woman had everything in her house connected to extension cords. As soon as she unplugged it all,her bill dropped immensely,” Haug stated. The energy audits not only helped households save money, but also gave residents importantadvice about household safety. Haug reported that many participating households had potentially life-threatening issues that likely wouldnot have been resolved if not for the energy audits. Some examples included venting the furnace into the home rather than outdoors,not having sump baskets sealed, which allowed for radon to enter the home, and identifying high mold areas.

The following three meetings were mainly informational, and gave participants numerous resources and advice to save money on heatingand cooling, garbage and recycling, water, and transportation. The water conservation component was especially compelling. Participantslearned about low maintenance lawns and information about the Elk River Municipal Utilities rebate to install a smart irrigation system,which monitors the forecast using the internet and operates accordingly, automatically watering in times of need and withholding waterwhen rain is predicted.

Results and Looking Forward

The goal for Phase I of Project Conserve was to save participants up to $500-$1,000 in one year. Haug reported that a lot of residentsexceeded that goal in the first year. According to Project Conserve’s website, “in 2008-2009, savings averaged 11.7% for electricity, 11.5%for water, and 5% for heating. This averaged out to a $209 reduction in each homeowner’s energy costs for the year."

Phase II and III followed the same structure as Phase I, but the program was made available to all the residents of Elk River. The programis scheduled to last five years, and anyone is welcome to join. With the energy audits, informational meetings, and the tracking of all theparticipants' energy use, Project Conserve hopes to achieve the following reductions over five years:

• Reduction in electric use by 20%

• Reduction in water use by 25%

• Reduction in home heating fuel by 10%

• Reduction in garbage by 25%

• Reduction of gasoline use by 25%

So far, participants have saved a lot of money through energy efficiency and conservation. Phase III is nearing its end and over 200 house-holds are now involved in the program. Rebecca Haug has big plans for Phase IV, which will focus on low-income households. The entireprocess will be streamlined and tailored for more hands-on assistance. The EECBG funds that supported Project Conserve are no longeravailable, but the city of Elk River will continue to seek ways to support the program, which has been tremendously successful at decreas-ing the city’s overall energy load and getting residents excited about energy efficiency.

For more information, contact Rebecca Haug, Environmental Administrator at the City of Elk River, by phone at 63-635-1068 or by emailat rhaug@ci.elk-river.mn.us

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