Editorials

There’s no such thing as a free lunch. But in Berkeley, there is a free retrofit. 

For the second consecutive summer. California Youth Energy Services, a program funded by the city and the East Bay Municipal Utility District, is providing Berkeley residents with free energy and water conservation retrofits that save the average resident $200 per year on utility bills, according to organizers. 

The program, which employs 20 Berkeley High School students, is aimed at middle-class residents who do not qualify for the city’s low-income weatherization and house repair programs. 

“This is our concerted effort to go out and focus on a market that hasn’t been touched yet,” said Alice La Pierre, an energy analyst for the city. 

“These are people who have energy bills of more than $20 to $30 per month,” she continued. “It is very possible to have a bill of less than $10 per month.” 

The city spends $40,000 a year on the energy program. 

The students, who earn minimum wage and work 30 hours a week, perform a variety of services, from weather stripping doors, to cleaning refrigerator coils, to installing energy-efficient lightbulbs and “low-flow” showerheads. 

All the services are free, but residents are asked to reimburse the program for the weather stripping and lightbulbs. Low-flow showerheads and faucets, which reduce the amount of water that drops into a sink or bathtub yet maintain adequate water pressure, are donated by EBMUD and are free. 

Last summer, students retrofitted 289 households and four homeless shelters. 

Co-manager David Margoliash said the numbers have slipped a bit this year. CYES has served about 70 households since the program got under way with a weeklong orientation for students June 24. 

“We really haven’t been working at the level we’re capable of,” he said, noting that students are performing one or two retrofits a day when they could be performing three or four. 

The key to boosting work orders, he said, is outreach. Students have canvassed door-to-door this summer, and last week the city mailed out 10,000 brochures about the program. Press accounts, Margoliash added, should help. 

Part of the problem, according to students in the program, is that residents have a hard time believing the program is free. 

“People in Berkeley think there must be a catch,” said Jessica Baron, who just graduated from Berkeley High in June. “There isn’t.” 

Margoliash said the program also has a positive impact on the environment. Last year, CYES retrofits reduced emissions of greenhouse gases by an estimated 185 tons. 

It was the environmental angle that attracted recent Berkeley High graduate Hakan Menda to the program. 

“I thought it was a great idea that I could help the environment and work at the same time,” he said. 

Menda is working on a promotional video that he is hoping will inspire other cities to launch similar programs. 

Residents interested in a free retrofit can call the CYES office Monday through Friday at 428-2357.