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One bulb matters!

Changing one incandescent with an LED saves:

90 kWh per year in energy

$10 per year in energy costs

68 pounds per year in CO_{₂ emissions}

Typically, 150 bulbs get exchanged!

Climate change is happening.

It’s time for you to Take Charge!

Using the Take Charge! tools, it’s easy to orchestrate any sized group of volunteers to go out and help your neighbors improve their energy efficiency. You can download now everything you need to make Take Charge! happen with your group in your community.

“In an age of sound bites, political posts capped at 140 characters, and the emotional disconnect of talking to someone on a computer, there’s nothing like a face-to-face conversation to really make an impact.”

Julian Adorne

a former Student Energy Ambassador

On the Tools page, there are templates and sample files to help you:

find more volunteers

understand how to coordinate a Take Charge! event

teach people about energy

learn how to talk about energy emissions and conservation

create resources to give out to residents about energy and about your group

evaluate your efforts and count the savings

request partners to donate light bulbs or food

report the results back to us

We take the mystery out of which are the quickest, easiest and most effective actions people can take right away to immediately improve their energy efficiency.

The Take Charge! toolkit has been proven across the country, full of tools that anybody with a computer, access to a printer, and a group of friends can use. Along with these tools come tips and guidance to make any Take Charge! project straightforward and rewarding.

This is an ideal project for high-school and college classes, activity groups, or social clubs, from 10 people up to 150.

It can be implemented in any urban, suburban or rural community with houses clustered within walkable distances. Using the basic door-to-door model that starts by offering to swap out an incandescent light bulb for a free energy-saving one, small groups of energy ambassadors can make big changes. Each incandescent exchanged with an LED averages 90 kWh of energy savings, 68 pounds of CO₂ emissions reductions and $10 cost savings annually – and typically 150 bulbs are exchanged during a Take Charge! project. Impacts increase dramatically if residents incorporate additional energy efficiencies recommended to them at the door, such as powerstrip management, thermostat controls, or weatherization.

The Take Charge! model can be individualized to include messaging specific to your group or your community.

Is there something going on in your community that you want to get the word out about? Is there data you want to collect for a school or community project? Is your group looking for a service activity? Or simply use the model as-is from the toolkit.

All we ask in return is that you send us back your results.

Where did you Take Charge!, how many bulbs did you swap, and what data did you collect? We will add it to the nationwide efforts to multiply our impact! In Colorado alone, energy ambassadors installed over 5,000 CFL bulbs resulting in energy savings of 345,000 kWh, reducing CO₂ emissions by 300 tons, and saving over $31,050 for residents collectively.

Take Charge! across the country...

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TakeCharge!

Climate change is happening. It’s time for you to Take Charge! Using the Take Charge! tools, it’s easy to orchestrate any sized group of volunteers to go out and help your neighbors improve their energy efficiency.