Spotlight: HEET MA

Last week, I ventured across the river to Cambridge for the Squeaky Leaks Project Fundraiser which hopes to map natural gas leaks along streets in Cambridge and Somerville. This project would make these communities safer, more energy efficient, and help residents save money on their utility bills. A serious win-win. The project is designed by HEET MA with the help of Sustain for the Future.

HEET which stands for Home Energy Efficiency Team is a Cambridge-based non-profit organization that helps people become more energy efficient at home and in the community. The group provides educational opportunities, hosts events, and helps with energy assessments.

"HEET is one of the only local groups that provides free and practical education to local communities, teaching people how to reap the benefits of energy and water efficiency measures. In order to fight climate change, all of us must work together. We accomplish this by organizing Energy-Upgrade Work-Parties, where volunteers under the guidance of skilled team leaders perform the tasks necessary to make a building more energy efficient. A survey has show that over 70% of our volunteers take four or more of the hands-on skills we teach back to their homes to reduce energy use there. The work also lowers the energy bills for the host organization, allowing it to spend more on helping its community."

In five years, HEET has:

Organized more than 225 Energy-Upgrade Work-Parties
Assisted with more than 50 solar installations
Installed more than 5,000 CFLs
Trained more than 3,500 volunteers in hands-on skills in saving energy
Reduced the CO2 equivalent of taking 2,169 cars off the road for a year
Saved more than 3 million gallons of water
Saved more than $2.7 million in energy and water bills over the lifetime of the measures installed.