Column: Eight Ways to Save

Everyone wants to save money this year, which is good news for the planet. Here’s how you can save $600 in one year — just by being green!

1. Turn off the lights and unplug appliances. A little diligence will shave 15 cents a day off your electricity bill. For the year, save $50.
   
   
2. Keep your car tires inflated properly. For every 10˚ Fahrenheit the temperature drops, your tires lose about seven kilopascals. Add air in cold weather; bleed air in hot weather. Save $60.
   
   
3. Air dry your laundry. Drying a load of laundry requires about 14 megajoules of energy (60 cents worth of electricity). It’s free when you hang it to air dry. Save $75.
   
   
4. Compost kitchen scraps. Instead of paying to throw away your kitchen waste, create your own organic fertilizing compost. Save $20.
   
   
5. Set back your thermostat. Turn down the heat at night and when you leave the house — or better yet, invest in a programmable thermostat. Save $180.
   
   
6. Wash clothes in cold water. Washing in cold water saves more than replacing your washing machine. Heating hot water requires 24 megajoules of energy per load in an older machine, or 12 MJ in a new high-efficiency machine. But it’s zero MJ for cold water in either one. Save $100.
   
   
7. Install a low-flow shower head. Older shower heads use up to 10 gallons per minute. A 3.5 gpm efficiency standard was set in 1980 and raised to 2.5 gpm in 1994. A new 1.75 gpm fixture could save up to – liters of warm water per shower. Save $50.
   
   
8. Carpool, bicycle or walk. The IRS figures that gas, depreciation, insurance, etc. to drive a car one mile adds up to 50.5 cents. Once a week, skip a short trip by car. Save $65.

It’s a good feeling to save money. But it’s an even better feeling to save what money can’t buy.

As I save money being green, I imagine mountains standing intact, not mined for coal; streams running clear, not clouded with uranium tailings; air safe to breathe, not fouled by incinerators; and wilderness still unspoiled, not sacrificed for roads, wellheads and pipelines. So for our planet’s sake, start saving!

For more green ideas for saving money, and detailed calculations, visit www.FWHorch.com/gogreen.

Indoor Air - October's Sustainable Living Tip

As you tighten up your home for winter, it's all the more important to protect indoor air quality by choosing heaters, paints, finishes and cleaning products that don't emit noxious fumes.

Indoor Air Quality Facts

1. According to the EPA, indoor air can be more polluted than outdoor air even in the largest and most industrialized cities.
2. Most people spend 90% of their time indoors.
   
3. While pollutant levels from individual sources may not pose a significant health risk by themselves, most homes have more than one source that contributes to indoor air pollution.
4. Appliances that burn oil, gas or wood create potentially deadly air pollutants such as carbon monoxide; vents must take that pollution outside where it will be diluted.
5. Solar and electric space heaters are clean ways to heat your home that do not contribute to indoor air pollution.
   
6. Some types of paint, finishes, furniture, carpet, and cleaning products continuously emit pollutants.
7. When painting, you can avoid dangerous fumes by choosing "zero-VOC" water-based acrylic paint or milk paint.
   
8. You can improve indoor air quality by choosing resilient flooring such as Marmoleum natural linoleum instead of carpeting. Carpeting harbors dust mites and other sources of pollution.
   
9. Mold grows in moist areas, particularly on surfaces where condensation forms.
10. Install exhaust fans in kitchens and bathrooms to remove warm, moist air that can lead to condensation and mold.
11. Another way to prevent mold is to insulate well and prevent warm air from flowing over cold surfaces. Spray foams and dense pack cellulose are effective insulation materials that also prevent air flow.
12. Petroleum-based fragrances and air fresheners found in conventional cleaning products can negatively affect indoor air quality.
13. Certain types of insecticides and moth balls contain extremely toxic chemicals that can contaminate indoor air. Use safer alternatives, such as boric acid traps for ants, glass traps for fruit flies, and pheromone traps for moths.
    
14. According to the EPA, eliminating the sources of indoor air pollution is the most effective long-term strategy for improving indoor air quality in most homes.
15. Ventilating a home, bringing in fresh outdoor air and exhausting stale indoor air, is also important. In a typical home, exhaust fans in bathrooms and kitchens vented directly to the outdoors provide sufficient ventilation. But in extremely tight construction in Maine's climate, a special-purpose heat recovery ventilator, which exchanges indoor and outdoor air without losing heat, may be necessary.
16. An air cleaner may help individuals with allergies or particular sensitivities to indoor air problems that cannot be removed (such as built-in cabinets or carpets in rental units). Research is underway examining the effectiveness of houseplants and other non-conventional means of improving indoor air quality.

Environmental Happenings

Saturday, October 4 - Maine Solar Tour, 10 am to 4 pm. View homes that are utilizing the sun to provide some of their energy and talk to the homeowners to get their perspective on how these systems work. For more information, visit http://ellsworthme.org/MESEA/

Thursday, October 9 - Solar Power: Electricity from the Sun, 7 pm, F.W. Horch, 56 Maine Street, Brunswick. Join us to learn from John Capron of ReVision Energy how to generate electricity from the sun. Space is limited! To reserve a spot, please call us at 729-4050.

Thursday, October 30 - Powering Up Maine: How businesses are coping with rising energy costs, 1 - 4 pm, The Wyndham Hotel, South Portland, a half-day event to help businesses learn about choices and resources for coping with energy costs and demands. $35 includes your food and beverages at the reception. For more information, visit http://www.mainebiz.biz/symposium08.html

Saturday, November 8 - Go Green Expo, 10 am - 4 pm, Mt. Ararat High School Gymnasium, Topsham. A free consumer expo open to the public, featuring keynote Kurt Adams who will will speak on "Green Energy in Maine: Fighting Climate Change and Growing Our Economy" at noon.

Featured Products for October

Maine-Made Drying Rack

Our best seller at Common Ground Fair, this large drying rack features a unique design, thick birch dowels, and a lifetime guarantee from the craftsman who makes them here in Maine!
Large drying rack $75

Learn more »

SolarSheat Space Heater

The SolarSheat hot air collector is a self-contained and self-powered sustainable solution for space heating. Mounts on a south-facing wall or roof. Now anyone can go solar!
5,000 BTU/hr $1,979

Learn more »

Convectair Electric Space Heater

Perfect as a complement to a solar space heater, or anywhere you need a heating boost. Hangs on the wall and plugs into a regular 120 volt outlet.
1250 watts $257

Learn more »

Pur Fill Insulation Foam

Stop drafts around windows and doors with Pur Fill WF low-expanding polyurethane foam. This gun-dispensed foam allows precise control with no mess or waste.
600 ml canister $14.95
Applicator gun rental fee $15/week

Learn more »

Yolo Colorhouse Paint

YOLO Colorhouse performs like a premium conventional paint, yet it has low odor, no harmful chemicals, and no added solvents. Best of all, real paint posters are available so you can see the actual color on your wall before you paint!
Gallon $44.95

Learn more »

Marmoleum Natural Linoleum Flooring

Marmoleum has been a mainstay high-quality floor covering for over 100 years because it is practical, durable, comfortable and beautiful.
$36 per square yard ($4/sf).

Learn more »

News From ReVision Energy

ReVision Energy has been in the news. Pat Coon speaks with NPR about the growing rate of employment opportunity within the renewable energy industry. You can listen to his interview to hear what he has to say about how this industry is growing and how help from the state can improve it.

http://www.mpbn.net/asx/080909greenjobs.asx

ReVision Energy had the opportunity to work with Kaplan Thomson Architects and a handful of other design companies to construct an office studio in Rockport, Maine. This office studio was a demonstrative project called BrightBuilt Barn. The goal is to use the building techniques used in BrightBuilt Barn to create reasonably priced, easy to assemble homes that use a fraction of the energy of conventional homes. You can view more about this project in the two links below.

http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=209134&ac=PHbiz

www.brightbuiltbarn.com

Solar Tour

Don’t forget this October 4^th is the American Solar Energy Society’s National Green Buildings Open House. This event is a wonderful opportunity to view homes and businesses that have solar installations in place and to talk to the homeowners who are living with them. This event is open house style; you are welcome to view any of the homes during their available hours at your leisure. To find a participating home close to you please look on our website www.revisionenergy.com

Other Events Coming Up:

The Maine Biz Symposium ~ Maine Biz will be hosting a Symposium called Powering Up Maine: How Businesses are Coping with Rising Energy Costs & Demands. This is a half day event to help businesses learn about choices and resources for coping with energy costs and demands.

http://www.mainebiz.biz/symposium08.html

Go Green Expo in Topsham ~ The Southern Maine Midcoast Chamber is hosting its second annual Go Green Expo at Mt. Ararat High school in Topsham, Maine. The event will be November 8 from 10-4pm. ReVision Energy will be there and will be presenting, time not yet confirmed. We hope to see you there!

http://www.midcoastmaine.com/chamber-info/release.php?nID=322

Solar Power: Electricity from the Sun

F.W. Horch Sustainable Goods and Supplies, 56 Maine St., Brunswick, will host a talk by John Capron, of ReVision Energy, titled "Solar Power: Electricity from the Sun," on Thursday, October 9, from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm. The talk is free and open to the public.

For each five hundred and fifty square feet (25'x22') of sunny, south-facing roof space in Maine, solar photovoltaic panels can generate 6,500 kilowatt hours of electricity every year -- well over 100% of an average family's annual power consumption. As Mainers consider higher energy prices and rising levels of global greenhouse gases from fossil fuels, many are turning to the sun to generate electricity reliably and cleanly on their own rooftops.

Capron's talk will explain the basics of generating electricity from the sun. Attendees will learn how photovoltaic systems work, how much power is available to be harvested from the sun, which types of solar electricity systems are available today, and how much they cost. The talk will also cover common questions and concerns, such as how a homeowner can find out if her roof is sunny enough, how long an installation will take, whether a system will pay for itself in energy savings, and what financial incentives are available.

ReVision Energy (www.revisionenergy.com) is a full service renewable energy company offering design, sales, installation and service. Formerly known as Energyworks, ReVision Energy has emerged as an industry leader, having installed more than half of all solar energy systems in Maine for the past three years. Their engineers from MIT and Brown University have a combined 25 years experience in the design, installation and service of renewable energy systems.

This talk is part of the F.W. Horch series on sustainable living. Each monthly talk is held on the second Thursday of the month at the F.W. Horch Sustainable Goods & Supplies store, 56 Maine Street, Brunswick. Space is limited, so those interested in attending are encouraged to call the store at 729-4050 to reserve a seat.