Executive Director of Citizens Utility BoardCUB Energy Saver is the nation’s first free online tool to connect to actual electric bills and, yes, pay people through a rewards program for documented reductions in those bills. The first 10,000 Commonwealth Edison households that sign up will qualify to earn points (two for every kilowatt-hour they cut their power bill) that can be redeemed for free or discounted items at hundreds of local and national businesses. You get 100 points just for signing up!
For months, a pilot version of CUB Energy Saver has been showing Illinois families how to cut their energy usage by an average of 6 percent, for savings of roughly $200 a year. Now, with the rewards program, that 6 percent could mean another $130 in buying power.
CUB teamed up with two companies, Efficiency 2.0 and RecycleBank, to offer rewards as extra incentive to cut power bills. Points can be redeemed for thousands of items, including free movie tickets, magazine subscriptions, a buy-one-get-one-free deal at a national restaurant chain, or a free child’s admission to a museum.
Just follow the directions to sign up for CUB Energy Saver, connect to your ComEd account (to document actual cuts to your electric bill) and join the rewards program. Even if you don’t sign up for those rewards, you can still get rewarded by saving money, thanks to the tool’s hundreds of energy-saving actions.
CUB Energy Saver uses millions of pieces of publicly available data — including your zip code’s energy-usage data, weather predictions, and property records — to develop a personalized plan to cut your home’s energy costs. The plan becomes stronger the more information you give about your home and energy use — but all you need is your e-mail and home address to get started. Regardless of how much you tell CUB Energy Saver, all your data is completely private — and you control it.
Because not everyone’s last name is Trump, CUB Energy Saver recommends many no-cost actions, such as washing your clothes in cold water or turning off the coffeemaker. A low-cost plan may include buying Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) bulbs. If you’re looking to make significant home improvements, CUB Energy Saver can tell you how much you’ll save by, for example, replacing your air conditioner with an efficient model.
Of course, not all actions will be right for you. That’s why you can edit your plan — adding new actions, removing old ones that don’t fit your lifestyle, or adjusting them so they do. Is CUB Energy Saver recommending that you wash larger loads of laundry? Tell it how big and how old your washer is. The tool will automatically adjust its estimates for how much money you could save and how many points you could earn.
Bottom line: Other online efficiency tools — with their vague estimates and generic tips — may be called "smart," but CUB Energy Saver is at the top of the class.
Join CUB Energy Saver now and get a free CFL. Plus, CUB will give up to 10,000 CFLs to the community with the largest percentage of energy saved in 2010.
Facing a tough economy, more and more Illinois families are turning to energy efficiency, which is about doing the same or more — but using less. What it’s NOT about is sacrifice. CUB Energy Saver is out to smash that myth, and save households lots of money — just in time for another expensive air conditioning season. Now that’s rewarding.
For money-saving advice and consumer tips, visit http://www.citizensutilityboard.org/!
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