Building Environmental Awareness in Grand Isle County, VT

By Bob Buermann, Islanders Caring for the Environment

ICE (Islanders Caring for the Environment) has used a Community Catalyst Fund Grant to expand from the Town of South Hero to cover the five towns of Grand Isle County in the Champlain Islands of Vermont. ICE is a grassroots community organization that identifies opportunities and implements ways to reduce our carbon footprint and impact on the environment.

Since receiving the Community Sustainability Grant, ICE has hosted an Environmental Day of Awareness at the Champlain Islands Farmers Market.  We had demonstrations about Geothermal heating and cooling, Wind Power, Solar Power, Recycling, Weatherization, and Invasive Species.

ICE hosted a ‘Button Up’ Weatherization information workshop where participants learned how simple actions reduce heating and electrical costs.  Techniques included using weather stripping around doors, insulation in attic hatchways, spray caulking holes leading to the attic, caulking and insulating basement sill chases, insulating basement doors, installing and using set back thermostats, increasing attic insulation, and replacing appliances with efficient energy star rated appliances.

Ten ICE participants have distributed 250 free CFLs, for an estimated savings of 18,250 KWhrs per year, enough to power two houses.  We will continue to distribute additional bulbs at community events and door to door until the grant funds run out.

ICE is working with the Select Boards in each town to expand their participation and to use public buildings as examples of savings with energy up grades.

Thetford, VT, HEAT Campaign a Success!

By Bob Walker, Dirctor, Sustainable Energy Resource Group

 

“I would like to publically thank the Thetford HEAT program and SERG for the wonderful workshop on home weatherization at the Thetford Center community building Saturday Nov. 12.  The presenter had a lot of great information to share on how to improve our homes, how to do so safely and how to take advantage of Efficiency VT rebates and the local Thetford rebates. I would encourage those who were not able to come, to ask about having a second workshop at a later date. For a minimal investment wouldn’t you like to save 30% to 50% on your heating costs too?  Thank you to Bob Walker and his team for the excellent work.” ~Bernice Clark, Thetford resident

SERG worked with the Thetford, VT, Energy Committee (TEC) to recruit and train 50 volunteers as the Thetford Home Energy Action Team (HEAT) to promote home weatherization in town, using Community Based Social Marketing techniques. Thetford HEAT engaged in a town-wide “Door2Door” canvassing campaign distributing free CFLs, information on energy efficiency initiatives and resources for making upgrades. Volunteers also conducted a home energy survey and offered help in calculating the energy efficiency of the homes visited. Results to date include:

• 650 homes visited (out of 1100 homes)—60% of homes in town
• 240 home energy use surveys completed
• 158 CFL’s installed
• 31 coupons given out for replacing refrigerators with Energy Star upgrades
• 37 coupons given out for replacing washing machines with Energy Star upgrades
• 49 Energy Star coupons worth $150 each toward energy efficiency improvements given out

One of the Community-Based Social Marketing ideas we used was to develop case studies of two Thetford homeowners who had successfully weatherized their homes – one having reduced his energy use by about 40% and the other by 46%.  These case studies were then distributed to every home in town, the homeowners presented their results to visitors at our November 5^th Thetford Home Energy Expo and we organized a November 19^th  Open Homes Tour of their homes, so people could see some of the work that took place and learn more about the process and results from both the homeowner and contractors.

One goal for the Thetford HEAT initiative was to triple to 36, the number of homes that get weatherized every year in Thetford, which would put us on par with the state climate action plan. Early results from our efforts look promising for reaching that goal. We will continue tracking results from these efforts for 3 years to identify how many homeowners weatherized their homes, what savings resulted and what drove homeowners to make these improvements so we can successfully replicate this project in other communities.

Have You Started YOUR Energy Plan?

By Julia Dundorf
Manager of Community Relations and Co-director of the New England Carbon Challenge,
Clean Air – Cool Planet

 

 

We hear a lot about green jobs and restarting the economy these days.  We also hear veiled and not-so-veiled dispersions about addressing energy consumption and climate change.  It’s going to kill jobs ya know! 

Despite numerous prestigious economic reports of the value and imperative of addressing climate and energy issues earlier rather than later – check out the Stern Report or the more local report out of the University of NH New Hampshire’s Green Economy and Industries: Current Employment and Future Opportunities – we’re still living in this rabbit hole of short sighted, antiquated paradigms.

In my work at Clean Air-Cool Planet as Manager of Community Relations and Co-director of the New England Carbon Challenge, I talk to people a lot about what they can do to take control of their own energy future – municipal and energy committee leaders, homeowners and renters, legislators and kids.  It all boils down to some pretty simple precepts.  I shared some of these thoughts the other day at the exceptional Housing Conference that NH Housing Finance Authority puts on every year in Concord and again to some of the Build Green NH folks at the Building NH Trade Show and Conference organized by the Home Builders and Remodelers Association of NH.

Regardless of one’s ideological framing, the way we mindlessly expend energy is senseless.  Pick your button issue – energy independence, climate change, foreign (or domestic) fossil fuel markets, environmental impacts of fossil fuel extraction or burning (think Gulf spill), green jobs, peak oil, resource conservation, rising energy costs (we can be sure they will) – they all point to the absurdity of our profligate addition to all things energy.  “Alright Dundorf, enough of the soapbox, give us specifics,” you say?  

Let’s look at heating fuels, according to the US Energy Information Administration, 82% of the nation’s fuel oil and kerosene sales are in the Northeast.

Figure 3. Residential Heating Oil Sales By Region

That’s a stunning statistic.  Now overlay this rough reference point… for every $1 spent in the region on heating fuels, only about 10 to 15 cents stay in the region, driving the local economy.  This just makes no business sense.  We’re not only letting our precious energy leak out of our aging building stock, through inefficient building techniques and business as usual practices, but we’re letting our energy dollars leak out of our region.

Simply put… this is MISSED OPPORTUNITY! 

Again whatever your ideological drivers, can’t we agree on THAT?  What could the other $.85 – $.90 for every $1 of heating fuels buy us?  More efficient schools or teachers, healthcare for all children, tax refund checks or incentives to put in the energy efficiency measure that will drive down this energy consumption?  Pick YOUR priority. They’re all important.  They’re all possible if we prioritize energy conservation, efficiency and clear, renewable energy sources. 

One more stat for you to chew on, “Every dollar invested in efficiency returns $2.60 to New Englanders” according to the recently released report from the Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships, “From Potential to Action:  How New England Can Save Energy, Cut Costs,  and Create a Brighter Future with Energy Efficiency”.

So what are we waiting for?  Before you pull out your cans of spray foam, learn how to build storm windows, or hire an energy auditor to assess your energy-saving opportunities, make a plan.  We seem to make plans for everything in our lives but rarely do we lay out our short and longer term plans for reducing energy consumption.  I’ve got just the tool to walk you through it and help you get those energy project done.  Visit myenergyplan.net and start planning today.

While you’re there check out the schedule of Button Up NH Workshops, free, public trainings on how your home uses energy and what you can do about it.  By the way, these tools are largely funded through RGGI, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, in this case through NH’s Public Utilities Commission’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Fund.  The RGGI program is expressly designed to stimulate and support reductions of emissions, e.g. reductions in energy consumption.  Yet in our topsy-turvy priorities, even THAT program is beleaguered.  But that’s another rant for another day.

Let’s stop the bickering and denial and take advantage of the missed opportunities happening every minute in our region. 

If not us then who?

If not now, then when?

The cost of energy and the green jobs machine

 By David Borden,
Guest Blogger
NH State Representative 

 

 

David Borden is a NH State Representative from New Castle.  He serves as clerk of the House Science, Technology, and Energy committee; as a state legislator, he sponsored legislation to promote the use of biodiesel in New Hampshire, authored and sponsored bills to allow towns to establish local energy commissions and municipal financing for energy efficiency and renewable energy. He chairs the Municipal Energy Working Group of the NH Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Energy Board.

New Hampshire is scratching its collective head trying to figure how to make ends meet.  43,000 people are seeking employment and thousands more are underemployed or facing immanent layoffs.  State and town budgets are no better off. Demand for health care services, homeless shelters, the education of our children, road maintenance are all rising faster than our ability to pay for them. 

However, much of the money we need to meet the needs of our citizens is leaking out of the state each year and capturing it might help us make ends meet. Waste not, want not. 

Some examples: 

We consume 300,000,000 gallons of heating oil every year in the state, at a cost of around $750,000,000.  Only about 10% of that money stays in the state and 65% or more goes out of the country. Simply Green, Proulx Oil and a few other entrepreneurs are converting waste cooking oil into Bio Heat which burns very well and cleaner in your furnace.  New England Wood Pellet uses waste wood to create pellets for heat. In both these cases, a much higher percentage of the money spent on heat stays in the state. And these companies hire New Hampshire residents and pay taxes. 

However a more immediate benefit to the state’s economy can be gained from reducing consumption. We use, on average, about twice as much fuel to heat our homes as our European counterparts. This is why so much of the stimulus funds coming into the state is for “weatherization.” Although estimates vary, it would probably take an investment of up to $5 billion (or $10,000 per house) to reduce our home heating energy consumption by 1/3.  

What does $5 billion do for NH?  Add about 62,000 jobs in the state, for one thing.    

Where are these funds going to come from? The stimulus money for energy efficiency and renewable energy (solar hot water or wood pellet furnaces) only amounts to $100 million. 

Some of the stimulus money will go into revolving funds through the Community Development Finance Agency (CDFA) (which can arrange loans) and other institutions. But most of the money will come from lending institutions like local banks and credit unions who realize that reducing fuel consumption adds value to a home. A new bill now before the legislature will permit towns to loan funds directly to homeowners under very strict guidelines.  

The best way to get started is to have an energy audit conducted on your home.  This costs about $400 and can help you determine where to invest your hard-earned dollars carefully.  If you are eligible for fuel assistance, you are probably eligible for a free audit and up to $6,000 worth of assistance in tightening up your home. 

New Hampshire can join the war on wasted energy and employ its people at the same time.  

To find out more, attend the Local Energy Solutions Conference this Saturday at the Grappone Center in Concord and see what communities are doing to reduce energy use and create more renewable energy.

A Recipe for a Successful Weatherization Program

By: Garry Dow
Community Outreach Coordinator
Clean Air-Cool Planet

 
The Quinn family of East Montpelier owned a classic 200-year-old Vermont farmhouse. They loved it, but the house was poorly insulated and, every winter, heat would escape through the roof. For the Quinn family, this meant high energy bills, large ice dams and a constant winter chill. Then, in 2008 – with the help of a new home weatherization program called “Button Up Vermont” – the Quinns made a number of basic home weatherization improvements to the building. 

The family saved $900 in the first year and never looked back.

In the summer of 2009 – with these kinds of success stories leaking out of Vermont faster than wood heat from a New England farmhouse in winter – Clean Air-Cool Planet made the decision to bring this highly successful home weatherization workshop to New Hampshire. With the help of Robert Walker of the Sustainable Energy Resource Group in Thetford Center, VT the program was adapted and Button Up NH was born.

The result was a pilot launch of nine regional workshops coordinated by the New England Carbon Challenge that attracted 250 attendees in just 6 weeks. Each workshop was conducted by a trained energy auditor in collaboration with a local workshop organizer. Workshop locations included New London, Concord, Dover, Sanbornton, Lebanon, Rye, Grafton, Plymouth and Atkinson.

On average participants gave the workshop high marks – and the vast majority said they planned to perform or solicit some measure of home weatherization as a result of attending the workshop.   

A typical workshop agenda included: (1) the presentation of a prepared slideshow to introduce homeowners to the basics of home energy use and loss, the value of a home energy audit, the short term benefits of simple do-it-yourself weatherization, the long term benefits of extensive energy retrofits, and the technical and financial resources available to make it happen (2) the demonstration of several pieces of equipment commonly used by professional home energy auditors (3) a lively question and answer session and (4) an optional presentation given by a local speaker on an energy related topic.

In several instances workshops were taped and aired live on local cable television. In all instances local  libraries received copies of a DVD entitled Simple Weatherization Measures to Button Up Your Home. Some workshops invited local vendors to hawk useful items to interested consumers. Others invited family-run stores to present lucky attendees with door prizes for coming. Still others asked local patrons to volunteer time or donate coffee or bake cookies.

In doing so, each workshop accomplished something of fundamental importance: it  bridged the gap between the people who had the information and the people who needed it. Button Up empowered homeowners – like the Quinn family –  to choose what is right and act on it. This is a recipe for successfully weatherizing a community or a state or a region that is infinitely replicable, to wit: Take a handful of dedicated local organizers; mix in a few trained presenters; sift in a wealth of knowledge and a gift for public speaking; sprinkle with just the right mixture of content; simmer until a curious and engaging crowd appears; and serve promptly.

Interested in learning more? Contact Garry Dow at gdow@cleanair-coolplanet.org.

The Button Up program was originally created as Button Up Vermont in 2008 by Central Vermont Community Action Council with the support of Efficiency Vermont and the Vermont Energy and Climate Action Network, with funding from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. Funding for the initial launch of Button Up New Hampshire was made possible through grants from the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Fund of the NH Public Utilities Commission and Jane’s Trust. Input and programmatic support for Button Up NH was also provided through the Residential Energy Performance Association (REPA) and the Local Energy Committee Working Group.

Break out the champagne: HDC Guide is launched

Anne Stephenson

By Anne Stephenson, Ph.D.
Campus Outreach Coordinator
Clean Air-Cool Planet

Do they still smash a bottle of champagne on the bow of a ship when they launch it?  Well, stand back then, because today, Clean Air-Cool Planet launches a new guide called “Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy, and Historic Preservation: A Guide for Historic District Commissions.”   And it took about six months to get it done and get it ship-shape, so it feels like it should be a ship.

And SHPOs are part of the audience – but that’s an inside joke.  A SHPO (ship-O) is a state historic preservation office, and that’s one of the types of organizations this report is designed to help, along with historic district commissions and other local organizations and property owners.  It’s got 40 pages worth of information on how to make historic buildings more energy efficient, and details ways to employ energy efficiency measures and renewable energy without detracting from the historic value of properties, from private residences to community buildings and museums.

The guide was researched and written by Meghan Giuliano and Virginia Way, two of Clean Air-Cool Planet’s 2009 Climate Fellows, over the course of the summer, when Ginny interned on Nantucket Island and Meg was based at Strawbery Banke Museum for her research on efficiency and preservation.

Ginny’s work, “Sustainable Preservation, An addendum to Building with Nantucket in Mind” was accepted as a formal part of the Historic District Commission guidelines for Nantucket Island, recognized internationally for preservation work.  It appears in our Guide as an appendix.

You can download the Guide at www.cleanair-coolplanet.org/for_communities/HDCGuide.pdf.

I had the great pleasure of mentoring Meg and Ginny as they authored the text, as well as a third Climate Fellow, Katie Miller, who was based at the historic site museum Strawbery Banke and worked on implementing energy efficiency strategies and educational programming for the museum.  Their work, and my small contribution, has great personal significance to me: I was trained first as an architectural historian and second as an energy auditor.  Resources like this are long overdue: Every walk around the 17^th-, 18^th– and 19^th-century streets of Portsmouth, NH, where CA-CP’s headquarters is located, further convinces me that a solution to global warming must include efficiency in every building, and our community can no longer shy away from the challenge of retrofitting historic buildings.

I am thrilled that through Meg, Ginny, and Katie’s hard work, as well as the support of the Roy J. Hunt and 11^th Hour Foundations, Clean Air-Cool Planet can share a resource with communities across the Northeast who are anxious to preserve their unique architectural heritage and landscape by making it as efficient and affordable as possible.  In so doing, these communities will make a significant contribution to solving global warming since our historic New England neighborhoods were initially planned for energy efficiency.

In this week leading up to the guide’s publication, I sat down with Meg, Ginny, and Katie to talk about energy efficiency, renewable energy, and historic preservation.

Q:  So, tell us a little about this guide:  Who is it for?  How do you hope it will be used?

Meg Giuliano: The guide has several sections, each of which is geared towards a different audience.  The first section of the document is intended for Historic District Commissions (HDCs) and preservationists in New England; it introduces some of today’s main issues and players in the energy and efficiency arena.  It also suggests ways that Local Energy Committees and HDCs can work together in their communities.  The second part of the guide is for homeowners, and it includes a set of frequently asked questions regarding energy efficiency in historic houses.

Personally, I really hope that HDCs and Local Energy Committees all over the region will pick this guide up and read it, and I hope they are inspired to begin work improving the efficiency of their town’s valuable historic resources.

Ginny Way: The use of the Nantucket guidelines as a case study is very important because of Nantucket’s role in the preservation community. Not only do they have an extremely active Commission but also their historic district consists of the entire island.  This allowed us to discuss numerous scenarios from strict preservation to new construction. My hope is that all people dealing with historic structures will benefit form this guide. Its advice is flexible enough to fit most situations and it allows a better understanding of both parties. I think any owner of an old building, not just an historic one, can learn form these tips.

Q:  Now Meg and Katie, you lived at Strawbery Banke and, in Katie’s case, worked on energy efficiency there.  Did walking the walk by living in a 200-year-old building change your perspective on your projects?

Katie Miller: Definitely! Historic buildings are amazing for their character and quirks, but no one really thinks about windows that stick or unusual wiring until you live with it. Dealing with temperature fluctuations was probably the hardest (and most enlightening) part of the experience: I realized how quickly the building could heat up on a hot day, requiring shades to be drawn before leaving in the morning, and how quickly it could cool off in the rain. Being flexible in your layering wardrobe helps, but long-term building improvements such as attic insulation would be necessary for year-round habitability. Living on-site also helped me to see how SBM fit in with its neighborhood, and overall I think it’s doing a great job complementing the area.

M.G.: Well, one of the coolest things about living at Strawbery Banke was learning – first-hand – about techniques and energy strategies employed by early home builders.  Many of the buildings at the museum were oriented to the south to take full advantage of the sun’s passive solar energy, and their design suggested a distinct climatic wisdom – the houses were built so that they would be heated and cooled in the right seasons.  Early New Englanders also planted trees and other vegetation in strategic ways, so that the houses would be protected from harsh winter winds and shaded in the summer.

Q:  Climatic wisdom.  I think that’s one of the most interesting topics in the text.  Ginny, could you tell us a little bit about how that figured into your Nantucket work?

G.W.: The inherent energy efficiency in historic homes was a large part of the conversation on Nantucket. While most people are aware of the older techniques it was helpful to talk about how those traditional techniques could be integrated with modern ideas.  It was also felt, by the historic/green committee, that traditional efficiency techniques needed to be promoted throughout the document. Building owners tend to want the more proactive new technologies instead of utilizing the older techniques; it continues to be a matter of education.

Buttoning up drafty old buildings with care

Katie Miller

By Katie Miller,
Clean Air-Cool Planet
2009 Climate Fellow

Last Saturday morning, I found myself on a beautiful farm in Concord, NH, walking through colorful flower gardens and inhaling the sweet scent of hay. As I wasn’t sure what to expect at a workshop for “improving energy efficiency of older homes,” this was definitely a good start. The New Hampshire Preservation Alliance had convinced the owners of Dimond Hill Farm to invite a large group into their 1840s Victorian farmhouse to discuss building retrofits. The primary question: how do you improve heat retention in historic homes?

While this might not be the most pressing question for an average person, it has been on the top of my list since May, when I began working as a Climate Fellow at Strawbery Banke Museum. My project here is to reduce the museum’s carbon emissions by improving the efficiency of historic buildings. I’ve talked with lots of different people, from energy auditors to museum educators, but I was anxious to hear the perspective of the homeowner: people who live in drafty old buildings year round, trying to live a modern life while preserving a piece of the past. What would be their biggest concerns?

I found out pretty quickly that everyone wanted to reduce heating costs. Our workshop began with coffee and a presentation on how to begin tightening a building—such as running energy audits, restoring old windows, and installing efficiency-enhancing materials. The audience was quiet for the first few slides, but the questions started when an intriguing thermal image came up, showing heat loss from the exterior of a building. Animated discussion then dominated the rest of the morning. The presentation was right on track with what the participants wanted to hear. While we ran out of time to hear about larger energy issues, such as Cap and Trade, we covered a lot of ground regarding specific building efficiency projects.

For the second half of the workshop, we were invited to tour the attic and basement of the farmhouse. We saw firsthand the uneven insulation of the roof and the damp earth that comprised the basement floor. These features were not surprising to most of us there, since we had them at home or worked with them regularly. The questions and discussions from the presentation continued. While a wide range of useful information was shared, not every question could be completely answered. As we heard over and over, every historic building presents unique situations. This became frustrating, as everyone wanted something they could implement right away to begin saving energy. However, as historic home owners are used to accommodating complex situations, the group was patient and enthusiastic about what they could learn.

Applying this attitude to the museum setting could be very helpful for my project. I want to see energy-saving projects implemented as soon as possible, but that probably would not be for the best. Poorly researched “improvements” may irreversibly damage historic buildings, ruining their educational purpose. With buildings that have been around for decades, it is reasonable to take time assessing any changes to their structure. While my fellowship will have ended before any physical changes take place, I am excited to see historic home owners and museums reap the benefits as efficiency projects become standard practice.