Hui Up! is a community-based Blue Planet program that provides an opportunity for Hawaii residents to become more energy-efficient via an appliance trade-in program. Hui Up! was developed to help overcome cost barriers and allow everyday residents to realize the benefits of clean energy. As Jeff puts it: "This is about the power of community. By working together to reduce their energy use, Hawaii residents are able to leverage volume purchasing to drive down the refrigerator price. Hui Up! was designed to harness this community approach to make smart energy choices.

The Power of Community

The first community to participate was the island of Molokai. Our partner on-the-ground was Sust‘AINAble Moloka‘i, the group that made the program a reality. After a successful CFL campaign in 2010, they gauged the public interest, collected sign-up sheets, handled the administrative tasks, coordinated student energy monitoring training sessions, brought together local partners, scheduled pick-ups and drop-offs, distributed all relevant information, and continue to rally the community.

"Hui Up! helps create 'community' in several ways," explained Sust‘AINAble Molokai's executive director Emillia Noordhoek. "There's this collective drive to become more energy self-sufficient, there's a sharing of information, and with the students involved, there's an understanding that what we're doing is creating a better tomorrow for our community."

In cooperation with Alu Like's Hoala Hou program for at-risk youth, they also developed an educational component, whereby students visited each household to conduct an energy assessment. Using hand-held energy monitors, annual energy usage and costs were calculated, and the students shared the results with the residents.

"The refrigerator that I have out here, when the Hui Up! people came and did the assessment with their little gizmo, it was one hundred dollars a month just for that one refrigerator!" shared Hui Up! participant Capt. Clayton Ching of Hallelujah Hou Fishing. "I had no clue. The estimate for the new one is a fourth of that."

The numbers were eye-opening: They discovered that each household would save around $585 a year. In the next decade, these 144 families will save more than $840,000 in energy costs. In that same time, these energy-efficient refrigerators will also prevent 4 million pounds of CO2 from polluting the environment. How's that for the power of community!

How does it work?

Blue Planet and our community partners are organizing Hui Up programs throughout Hawaii. Check back here for announcements of new community expansions.

When the program is available in your community, participating households will have the opportunity to apply online. A Blue Planet youth team will schedule a home visit to measure your energy consumption and determine estimated energy savings possible through an appliance trade-in. You will be notified if your household is chosen to participate in the Hui Up program.

A limited number of pre-determined appliance models will be made available to program participants.  These participants will be asked to make a good-faith, non-refundable deposit.  The bulk order will be placed once all deposits are confirmed.  Approximately 4-6 weeks later, your old appliance will be exchanged for a new, efficient ENERGY STAR appliance.  We will dispose of your old appliance, you start saving energy and money.