Press Releases
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Project Porchlight Rallies for New State Energy-Saving Campaign
Project Porchlight, a nonprofit energy-efficiency campaign run by One Change, met with partners of the NJ Green Resource Team to roll out a new statewide initiative to save NJ homeowners on energy costs and their carbon footprint.
Representatives from NJ Clean Energy Program introduced its new initiative, Home Performance, which offers NJ residents full home assessments to identify areas most vulnerable to energy loss. The assessment, valued at $300, is available to NJ homeowners through the program for $125.
“When you combine all the little holes and cracks in and around your house, the energy loss is comparable to having a one-foot by one-foot hole in the side of your house year round,” said Chris Granda, representative for NJ Clean Energy Program, who emphasized that proper air sealing is an important first step toward saving on energy costs.
The Home Performance program will also save participating households up to 30 percent on their household energy costs through $1,000 worth of free air sealing, half-price discounts on home improvements such as furnace replacement and insulation installation, tax incentives, and discounts on select contractors across the state.
A second program, Cool Advantage, offers NJ residents a 33 percent discount on a new energy-efficient central air conditioning system that will improve home performance, as well as $150 rebate and a $1500 tax credit to those who take advantage of the installation.
“NJ Clean Energy Program is supporting programs that promise to yield big savings for New Jersey residents and also create a healthier environment in which to live,” said Foreman. “Through our last campaign, we discovered that NJ residents are very receptive and often commit to doing more to save the environment—which in turn, saves them money. This program is changing the way people think.”
Project Porchlight is scheduled to distribute one million compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs across New Jersey in one year, through the efforts of field representatives and volunteers working from locations in Caldwell, Forked River and Voorhees, NJ. Project Porchlight representatives will now also distribute information on the Home Performance and Cool Advantage programs for residents who wish to do more to save energy and costs.
CFL bulbs use about 75 percent less energy than incandescent bulbs, last up to 10 times longer, and will save $30 or more over the life of the bulb. Through the million-bulb campaign, NJ residents can collectively save $11.6 million each year on their electric bills, while reducing carbon emissions to the equivalent of taking 108,900 cars off the roads.
“New Jersey is blazing the trail for conservation efforts in our nation with programs like Project Porchlight’s CFL distribution, Home Performance and Cool Advantage,” said Foreman. “As the most densely populated state, we are showing other states—if we can do it, so can they.”
Additional partners in the NJ Green Resource Team that attended the NJCEP training include TechniArt, Green Faith, Green Market Fundraising and Double D/Maxlite, NJ Green Resource Team partners that also focus on the distribution of energy-efficient bulbs.
Project Porchlight is an award-winning energy-efficiency campaign of Ottawa-based One Change, a nonprofit organization that spearheads community-based initiatives to help the environment, and is funded by NJCEP and NJ Board of Public Utilities.
Volunteers are always needed to distribute bulbs. If you or your organization would like to volunteer at an event or neighborhood distribution, please call 888-767-2458. To learn more about Project Porchlight, visit www.porchlight.org.
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