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Get Free CFLs & More with
a 'Green House Call'
Want to save money? Help the environment? Get free light bulbs?
Support young people?
California Youth Energy Services (CYES) can help you...
for free!
Countless dollars are wasted every day in the Bay Area, as
residents pay high energy bills and create pollution just to
run inefficient homes. CYES will help reduce your bill and save
the environment, for FREE.
Sign up for a summer 'green house call', and we will send out
a pair of professionally trained Youth Energy Specialists to
meet you at your house or apartment. They'll educate you on
how to save energy, and install energy and water-saving equipment
for you - all for FREE! Don't miss the chance to get FREE energy-saving
CFL lightbulbs, water-saving showerheads, retractable clotheslines,
personalized recommendations for your home, and more.
We are around for only six weeks this summer, from so sign
up now to get your home what it needs for FREE! Call 510-665-1501
x10 to reserve your 2009 appointment!
Benefits of the California Youth Energy Services Program:
CYES does more than just save you money and energy in your
home, it helps the community as a whole. By hiring youth and
guiding them through professional development and along a green
career track, CYES enriches the local economy. It opens doors
for young people in the Bay Area. And it raises environmental
awareness out in the community, which helps us all save resources
and be more sustainable.
Frequently Asked Questions about CYES:
"Where is CYES available?"
The CYES 2009 summer program operates from nine satellite offices
serving these Bay Area Cities:
- Pittsburg
- Richmond
- San Pablo
- Berkeley
- Emeryville
- Hayward
- San Leandro
- Livermore
- Oakland
- Fremont
- San Rafael
- Marin City/Mill Valley
- Surrounding Areas
"When is CYES available?"
You can sign up on our waitlist now! CYES 2009 will run from
June 29th to August 6th, 2009. Appointments are available Tuesday
through Friday, with occasional Saturday availability; the standard
time slots available are 11:00am, 2:00pm, and 4:30pm.
Remember that if you're interested in prescheduling your appointment
early in the season, you can let us know you're interested in
a "Premiere Appointment" and reserve your spot early!
"What exactly does CYES provide?"
When we arrive at your home for your 'green house call', we'll:
- Check your water meter and water pressure.
- We'll inspect all your faucets and toilets for efficiency
and check for leaks.
- We'll install FREE water-saving faucet aerators and can
install FREE high-pressure efficient showerheads.
- We'll install FREE energy-saving compact fluorescent lightbulbs
wherever it's possible to replace your old incandescent bulbs.
- If you have an energy-wasting halogen floor lamp (many college
campuses ban them as fire hazards), we'll swap it FREE for
an efficient fluorescent version.
- We'll check your attic, if you have one, to see if you might
qualify for Rising Sun's special subsidized attic insulation
program. Click here to learn more! [make link to attic section]
- If you have a yard, we can mount a FREE retractable clothesline
- Finally, you'll receive an energy and water conservation
education and the Energy Specialists will craft you a personalized
energy-saving plan, including recommendations to save on your
bill. A customized report will be emailed to you after your
CYES appointment. Help CYES cut down on paper by providing
your email address!
"How long will it take?"
It depends on the size of your home - our appointments can
be as quick as thirty minutes, or as long as two hours. We're
happy to stay as long as it takes to give you as much free energy-saving
equipment as possible!
"Your employees are youth?"
That's right - we recruit, interview, hire, and train responsible
15-22 year olds to be our Energy Specialists. They learn residential
energy efficiency principles and installation techniques, then
work in pairs of one young adult (18-22) and one youth to provide
our free green house calls. RSEC is an accredited green employer
with full worker's compensation and general liability insurance
policies.
"Nothing's really free - what's the catch?"
No catch! Rising Sun Energy Center provides the California
Youth Energy Services program as a public service to you. We
can offer our home assessments for free because we provide green
jobs for youth, partner with local governments, and assist our
utilities and municipalities to save energy and water. CYES
is funded three ways:
- by California utility customers through the East Bay Energy
Watch and Marin Energy Watch partnerships, which are administered
by PG&E under the auspices of the California Public Utilities
commission
- by your local water municipality or department for the water
we save,
- and by area cities for the job training we provide to young
people.
"I'm a renter. Can I still get a CYES 'green house
call'? Should I?"
Yes! Even if you rent, you can receive CYES services, because
the equipment we install does not alter the infrastructure of
your apartment - it just screws in. In other words, you don't
need special permission from your landlord to have a CYES assessment.
In fact 50% of our CYES customers are renters. So no matter
who pays your PG&E bill you can take the step to lower your
environmental impact.
"I am not a PG&E customer, because I have a special
electric company, or I live on the island of Alameda. Can I
still get a CYES appointment?"
Sadly, no. We work with PG&E to bring this service to our
clients. As we expand we hope to partner with other utility
companies and municipalities to bring the CYES program to as
many California cities as we can. If you would like to see CYES
in your neighborhood we encourage you to let your local government
and decision-makers know!
"I know these new light bulbs are more efficient, but
don't they have chemicals in them?"
Compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) use a newer, more efficient
technology than old incandescent or halogen bulbs. This means
they use only 1/4th the electricity, and last over 8 times as
long - up to ten years! It also means they contain electronics
and a trace amount of powdered mercury. They are as safe as
the other chemical products and electronics you have in your
home, like your cellphone or household batteries. See http://www.epa.gov/mercury/
for more information!
To use CFLs safely, remember two things:
When CFLs burn out, don't toss them in the trash can. Save
them and recycle them - your local recycling center has a free
drop off box for them, as do many hardware and department stores,
including IKEA, Orchard Supply Hardware, and Home Depot. Anywhere
you can take batteries or used electronics, you can drop off
a CFL.
If you break a CFL, children and pregnant women should not
help clean it up. Clean it with a wet paper towel, which picks
up the chemicals (instead of brushing them up into the air with
a broom). Then just put the broken pieces and the paper towel
into a ziploc bag and save them with your other CFLs for recycling.
 Client
Comments
At Rising Sun, we take client feedback very seriously. This
is what some of our clients have said about the CYES program:
“They were extremely professional, efficient and pleasingly
personable and gregarious. I will be recommending them to my
neighbors.”
“Solo que muchas gracias por todo y los felicito por darles
trabajo alos jovenes. Por favor sigan asi es muy bueno motivarlos
aseguir adelante.”
“The youth were so nice with me and my family; thank them and
the program for their service.”
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