Seed Starting Workshop

We will host a seed starting workshop, "Grow Your Own Organic Food," by master gardener volunteer Brett Thompson on Thursday, February 11, from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm here at our store, F.W. Horch Sustainable Goods and Supplies, 56 Maine St., Brunswick, Maine. The class is free and open to the public.

"We'll show you how to grow an indoor salad and at last have real baby greens!" says Brett, a leader in Maine's master gardener volunteer program.

Attendees will learn how to start garden seeds and build a light stand for under $11 in parts. Including shop lights, the total cost is under $40. With this stand one can start seedlings of organic vegetables, fruits and flowers. Class participants will also learn how to plant seeds directly in trays or in paper pots that home gardeners can make themselves.

Space for the class is limited, so those interested in attending are encouraged to call the store at 729-4050 to reserve a seat.

This class is part of the F.W. Horch series on sustainable living. Each monthly talk is held at the F.W. Horch Sustainable Goods & Supplies store, 56 Maine Street, Brunswick, Maine, on the second Thursday of the month.

For more information, please call 729-4050.

Super-Efficient Home Talk

"Design and Build Your Own Super-Efficient Home", Mar 13
Join us at the store on Thursday, March 13th, at 7:00 pm for our next Sustainable Living Talk, "Design and Build Your Own Super-Efficient Home."

We are delighted to have Al Heath back to talk on the topic of super-efficient building. He writes,

"I was a carpenter, designer, and contractor for 12 years before changing careers in 1990. Four years ago when I wanted to build my family a new and much more energy efficient house, I found that not only was it prohibitively expensive, but most of the builders I spoke with didn't really know what "super-insulated, passive solar" meant. I decided to re-educate myself to the new reality and techniques of energy efficiency and build it myself.

My wife and I researched, designed, and built 80% of our new home while sub-contracting the rest. We now easily heat our beautiful 2,000 square foot home on one cord of wood, 75 gallons of kerosene, and all the free/clean sunshine we can get. I have recently installed a solar hot water system that provides a majority of our domestic hot water needs and next, we hope to increase the size of this system for space heating and further reduce our use of firewood and oil.

It is challenging, interesting, and important work but you don't have to be a rocket scientist! I will share everything time allows, including a list of helpful sources and contractors."

Free refreshments and informational handouts will also be available.

Our Sustainable Living Talks are on the second Thursday of each month at 7:00 pm at 56 Maine Street in Brunswick. Space is limited, so we encourage you to call the store at 729-4050 to reserve a seat.

Vampire Loads - Sustainable Living Tip for February 2008

According to Efficiency Maine, 75% of electricity used for home electronics is consumed while the products are turned off. You can use a Kill-a-Watt meter to test which appliances are "vampires"--sucking electricity all night long. Stop them by unplugging them or putting them on a power strip with a switch.

More to know about Vampire Loads

• Electricity in Maine costs about 15.5 cents per kilowatt hour, well above the national average. Leaving a desktop computer in "idle" mode (monitor and hard drive powered down) for a year costs about $183 here in Maine.
• Any device that requires resetting after a blackout is a vampire. Some microwave ovens, for example, draw electricity to maintain clock settings. Try wearing a watch to keep time, then put your microwave oven on a switch outlet so you can turn it off. Ignore the blink when you turn it back on; you can cook with it just fine. The flashing time will remind you to turn it off when you're done. ("It's not a problem, it's a feature!")
• Always unplug cell phone chargers and other transformers from the wall. Any "wall wart" that gets warm to the touch is wasting energy! Don't just disconnect your cell phone or laptop from the charger. Remember to unplug the charger from the wall.
• Consider replacing old-fashioned incandescent night lights with the new Light Emitting Capacitor (LEC) technology. These blue-green nightlights are cool to the touch, consuming only 0.03 watts (that's three one hundreths of a watt). LECs are 8 times more efficient than LEDs and 200 times more efficient than incandescent night lights, saving you about $9.50 per year.
• The best tool to use to measure vampire loads is a Kill-A-Watt meter. Plug this electricity monitor into the wall, then plug your appliance into it. An LCD screen shows you exactly how much electricity the vampire is using.
• Keep in mind that simply turning lights and appliances off can often be a more effective conservation approach than buying the most efficient product and leaving it on all the time. For example, a 100 watt incandescent light bulb on a motion sensor that comes on only when someone comes to your porch will use just 0.1 KWh per day, whereas a 25 watt CFL left on all night will consume 0.25 KWh per day. You'd save 0.15 KWh per day ($8.48 per year) with the incandescent bulb that's on only when needed.
• Consider putting in a timer switch or a motion switch for bathrooms and other rooms where lights can be left on accidentally. A bathroom vanity with three 75 watt light bulbs left on while your family is away for a week's vacation will consume 37.8 KWh, costing you $5.86.
• The average household in Maine uses 500 KWh per month, or about 16 KWh per day. Take a look at your power bill. If you consume more than average, chances are that you have some vampire loads. Make some changes, then see if you notice a change on your power bill -- and in your bank account!
  

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A Kill-a-Watt home electricity meter is an indispensable tool in tracking down vampire loads. More info »