Dartmouth is taking steps to become more energy efficient, after the Select Board on Monday approved participation in the Clean Energy Community program.

The program is designed to connect home and business owners with ways to lower energy usage and save money, Diana McCarthy-Bercury of Eversource told the Select Board. It is funded through a fee customers pay on utility bills.

Through outreach efforts, the program will help residents better connect with incentives and services offered within the state, such as the Mass Save program, which provides free home energy assessments, rebates and incentives and other offers to improve energy efficiency.

“Energy efficiency is the first step to becoming an energy sustainable community,” McCarthy-Bercury said. “Dartmouth has done a fantastic job in integrating renewable energy, and we’d like to help homeowners and businesses take the next step with energy efficiency.”

The program is modeled after a similar initiative in Connecticut. McCarthy-Bercury said 95 percent of municipalities participate in the program in that state.

In addition, Clean Energy Communities offers services for businesses, including energy audits and financial incentives for up to 70 percent of the cost of energy upgrades. The rest can be paid through interest-free financing, and is often, at minimum, cost neutral for businesses, McCarthy-Bercury said.

McCarthy-Bercury expects to kick the program in Dartmouth off with a "light bulb swap" event, tentatively scheduled for March. Through the event, Dartmouth residents with old incandescent bulbs can trade them in for energy-efficient bulbs. She also plans to encourage a volunteer town official to put a home energy audit to the test in his or her own home to raise awareness of home energy audits.

“It’s a really great opportunity for folks to understand how they are using and losing energy,” McCarthy-Bercury said.