Alliance to Save Energy, Edison Electric Institute Present Eureka $mart House Energy Efficiency Challenge

Eco-Friendly Plot Lines, Web Content Fuel Public Awareness Campaign


The Alliance to Save Energy, Edison Electric Institute, and Sci Fi Channel have partnered on a new home energy efficiency campaign that is also offering a home energy efficiency makeover to the winner. We have enclosed here the Sci Fi Channel news release being disseminated today. The website and campaign launch June 26 -- www.scifi.com/homemakeover

SCI FI’s hit series Eureka will return for season two on July 10 with a national contest that will award a home energy-efficiency makeover, sponsored by the Channel, the Alliance to Save Energy and the Edison Electric Institute (EEI). For years, the government has been relocating the world’s geniuses and their families to the picturesque Pacific Northwest town of Eureka, where anything can happen and usually does. Eureka’s Smart House, where U.S. Marshal Jack Carter (Colin Ferguson) and daughter Zoe (Jordan Hinson) reside, sets the stage for the Eureka $mart House Energy-Efficiency Challenge, a national drive for home energy efficiency. The initiative is part of SCI FI’s Visions for Tomorrow public affairs campaign to inspire pro-social action around the critical issue of energy and the environment.

“Visions for Tomorrow inspires individuals to take an active part in helping shape our future,” said Dave Howe, Executive Vice President and General Manager, SCI FI Channel. “As a top ten cable channel reaching a progressive and forward-thinking audience, we're excited to be able to use one of our hit shows, Eureka, to galvanize our viewers into making simple changes to the way they live that will have a tangible and long-term impact on climate change.”

“Partnering with the SCI FI Channel allows us to empower millions of Americans to save energy and money in their homes while engaging directly in the battle against global climate change," said Alliance to Save Energy President Kateri Callahan. “You don’t have to be a ‘superhero’ to have ‘Energy-$avings Super Powers.’ We will showcase smart, easy ways consumers can use energy-efficient technologies and measures to reduce utility bills and cut energy waste, pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions simultaneously.”

The Eureka $mart House Energy-Efficiency Challenge will launch during a Eureka marathon on June 26 from 9 AM to 9 PM (ET/PT). In a special on-air message Zoe Carter (Hinson) will encourage viewers to make their own home a little smarter -- that is -- more energy efficient. The spot will invite viewers to visit www.scifi.com/homemakeover for details about the chance to win the home energy-efficiency makeover. The web site will also offer ways to help reduce energy bills and usage, while supporting the environment. Campaign partners encourage consumers to enter the contest and also take the 6° of Energy-Efficiency Challenge, a quick “Energy IQ” quiz and pledge to take at least one action to reduce energy waste at www.sixdegreechallenge.org .

The winner of the home energy-efficiency makeover will be selected by a panel of judges from SCI FI’s Visions for Tomorrow Advisory Board, the Alliance and EEI. The partners will award the makeover to one lucky and deserving homeowner who demonstrates an interest in energy-efficiency. The announcement of the winner is planned for September, and the home energy-efficiency makeover is expected to commence during October, which is Energy Awareness Month. Additional campaign sponsors include the US Department of Energy, Whirlpool Corporation, the Consumer Electronics Association, Osram Sylvania, the American Gas Association, The Dow Chemical Company and CMC Energy Services.

Eureka further advocates for the environment with eco-friendly messaging and related web content. Upcoming episodes will incorporate environmental plot lines, which cleverly underscore critical issues ranging from global warming to solar energy and recycling. Each environmental message, dubbed a Eureka Moment, will be highlighted with in-show banners that drive viewers to www.scifi.com/homemakeover where they can get information from the Alliance and other organizations on easy, actionable environmentally friendly practices that will save them money every month.

Eureka Moments may be found in the following upcoming episodes airing this summer:

"Unpredictable" – A weather machine, created by someone in town to counteract the effects of global warming, stirs unexpected results. The same nuclear energy that powers Eureka’s underground hot springs also powers Global Dynamics.

"Duck, Duck, Goose" - Falling space debris threatens Eureka residents and Carter turns to high school science fair participants to solve the problem. Specifically, he taps a student science project created to harness the sun's energy. Also, Zoe gets an eco-friendly automobile.

"Noche de Suenos" (Night of Dreams) - One of the Global Dynamics tanker trucks spills, potentially causing a change in everyone's sleep habits…. In the course of the episode, we come to learn that Global Dynamics has developed a technology that enables them to distill six months of the town waste and by-products into one truck, an amount that would normally fill Lake Erie.

Edison Electric Institute (EEI) is the Association of US shareholder-owned electric companies, international affiliates, and industry associates worldwide. Their website ( www.eei.org/wiseuse ) offers homeowners "More than 100 Ways to Improve Your Electric Bill."

SCI FI Channel is a television network where "what if" is what's on. SCI FI fuels the imagination of viewers with original series and events, blockbuster movies and classic science fiction and fantasy programming, as well as a dynamic Web site ( www.scifi.com ) and magazine. Launched in 1992, and currently in 89 million homes, SCI FI Channel is a network of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies.


For further information:
Rozanne Weissman Rozanne Weismann
Sallie Schoneboom Sallie Schoneboom
Rachel Cruz Rachel Cruz


The Alliance to Save Energy is a coalition of prominent business, government, environmental, and consumer leaders who promote the efficient and clean use of energy worldwide to benefit consumers, the environment, economy, and national security.