On the weekend of Nov. 12 and 13, students, residents of the Middletown community, and members of local activism groups came together to distribute energy-efficient light bulbs to households in the North End.
The goal of the program was to replace ordinary light bulbs with compact, fluorescent ones. These bulbs are four times as efficient as incandescent bulbs and can last up to 10,000 hours, versus the incandescent’s typical lifetime of just 1,000 hours. In terms of energy bills, the fluorescent light bulbs may save residents as much as $150 a year.
The sponsors for the event were the North End Action Team (NEAT) and the Jonah Center for Earth and Art, in conjunction with the Connecticut Light and Power Company (CL&P) and the Connecticut Energy Conservation Fund.
“This is a really great project because it will save people money and they won’t have to change their light bulbs for around five to seven years,” said Diana Lane, a scientist at an environmental research consulting firm and a member of the Jonah Center.
The program also provided other incentives for residents to conserve energy, such as distributing free, energy-efficient table lamps and offering to install water-saving aerators on faucets.
After a brief training session, all the volunteers set out in small groups, going door-to-door to residences on Spring, Grand, Liberty and Stack streets, offering to install the new light bulbs on the spot.
Although NEAT and other organizations handed out flyers to households in the North End and publicized the event in local newspapers, few residents seemed to know about it. One of the major obstacles was that many residents simply were not at home, or were not comfortable letting strangers into their homes.
“This is a bit of an experiment, we don’t even know for sure if people will let us in, but we’re hoping that they will say yes,” Lane said.
A representative for CL&P, John Greeno emphasized the need to physically replace every household’s light bulb, as opposed to simply handing over the free bulbs.
“It’s too easy to just accept a free light bulb and never actually install it,” he said. “We need to be persistent, because only by actually screwing in the bulbs can we be sure that they are being used and justify the costs.”
The program aimed to cover 300 houses in the North End by the end of the weekend.
All of the light bulbs and appliances were free of charge to North End residents, paid for by the Connecticut Energy Conservation Fund and CL&P. The two groups are required by state law to encourage CL&P customers to be more energy-efficient, according to the Hartford Courant.
NEAT’s notice in the Middletown Press also stated that CL&P would offer stipends to North End volunteers, especially teenagers.
According to Greeno, The Jonah Center’s efforts encouraged the company to target household lighting.
“The Jonah Center was already working on a light bulb-replacing project, so we saw this as an excellent opportunity to easily promote energy efficiency in the community,” he said.
Theo Fan ’08, one of the two Wesleyan students who volunteered on Saturday morning, said she was encouraged to participate because of the event’s environmentally friendly initiative.
“It’s really important to be as environmentally conscious as possible, and it’s even better than the project if cutting down on the electric,” Fan said. “It was also a good chance to meet Middletown people to tie Wesleyan to the community. I think is was a great experience.”
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