Media Contacts:
Washoe County School District, Steve Mulvenon (775) 348-0371
CHANGE 5, Lisa Moore (775) 691-6619
Sierra Pacific Power, Karl Walquist (775) 834-3891

Energy-conscious fourth graders at Bud Beasley Elementary School in Sparks have won the CHANGE 5 challenge, a campaign to encourage families to save energy with ENERGY STAR qualified compact fluorescent lights (CFLs).

As a reward for their efforts, the fourth graders will be invited to attend a special energy conservation assembly at the school on May 22 presented by CHANGE 5 organizers Lisa Moore and Sheri Kovac. In the fall, donated trees will be planted in the winning schools' playgrounds.  

CHANGE 5 challenged the 4,800 fourth graders throughout the Washoe County School District to replace at least five of the incandescent lights in their homes with energy saving CFLs, Moore said. Sierra Pacific Power Company assisted by donating a CFL to each of the students. Then it was up to the youngsters to persuade their parents to either purchase additional CFLs or to attend local Earth Day events where the lights were distributed for free.

At the close of the competition on April 27, youngsters at all the elementary schools in Washoe County had convinced their families to install an additional 2,300 CFLs for a total of 7,100 lights.

Based on an energy savings calculator developed by ENERGY STAR - an energy efficiency program administered by the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy - the 7,100 CFLs should result in an energy savings of 1.5 million kilowatt hours and a reduction of carbon dioxide emissions of 2.2 million pounds over the lifetime of the bulbs, or the equivalent of removing 190 cars from the road for a year. 

According to ENERGY STAR, CFLs use one-third the energy of traditional models and last up to 10 times longer. Plus consumers can save more than $30 in utility costs over the lifetime of one bulb.

"This program is one more example of the ongoing partnership we have enjoyed with Sierra Pacific Power. We're excited because it directly involves students and their families in learning the benefits of energy conservation,” said Bruce Deetken, energy manager for the school district. “Our thanks go out to Lisa Moore, too, for her leadership."

Because of incentives provided by Sierra Pacific Power, CFLs are available for discounted prices locally at Costco, Home Depot and Lowe's.  
      
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