Report Spring 2020

Coordinating with “Mass Save” to Save Money and Reduce residents’ Carbon Footprints! During the Fall of 2019, our committee, EESG, and some Esplanade unit owners encouraged our management to formally request Mass Save to make their services and products available to individual owners. The EESG is grateful to our management for making that request in November 2019. “Mass Save” is a state program that provides homeowners with several benefits all of which reduce our monthly utility bills:

• Free thermostats

• Free power strip

• Free light bulbs

A representative of Mass Save consulted with Ben Bara so as to tailor their offerings to Esplanade residents. On January 9, 2020, our management sent residents an email attachment containing an order form listing the energy-saving light bulb; power strips; and the programmable thermostat that Mass Save listed above. If you have been wondering about what you can do to help our state achieve its ambitious carbon-emission reduction goals, as well as to save some money on your own current electric bills, the Mass Save program is the lowest hanging and most easily pluckable fruit available. The EESG encourages residents to download the form sent to you on January 9. If you can’t locate it, write to Bob Kagan – rak@berkeley.edu – and he will send it to you.

We have also reached out and contacted Hiram Tilak, the technician from Clear Results, the organization that implements the program, whose name appears on the form, asking for additional information. He sent us a more complete form, which you can also obtain by writing Bob Kagan. Here is additional information re: the items offered:

• The LED bulbs will save electricity, whereas the low-flow aerators and low-flow showerheads will help save water and water heating fuel.

• The smart Power-strip can be used for TVs with DVD players or consoles. Even after the TV is switched off the TV and consoles are drawing some power, this is called as the phantom load, the smart strip detects when the TV is switched off and prevents this phantom power loss. There are plugs in the smart strip that stay powered ON all the time for devices that would need constant power like a Wi-Fi router.

• The programmable thermostat can be used to set schedules and setback temperatures so that the heating is reduced when no one is home and that way energy consumed and consequently energy bills are reduced.

In the days to come, we will ask Mr. Tilak for additional explanatory information to relay to you. And you can send questions to us, which we will compile and consolidate to send to him. He has expressed willingness to come to the building and meet with a group of interested residents to answer questions and encourage participation in the program. ---Bob Kagan