Energy Saving Workshop

Join us on Thursday, April 8, at 7 pm here at the store for a workshop by Howard Nannen titled "Maine Pays You to Save Energy." The workshop is free and open to the public.

"Mainers are about to learn of an exciting new state program called the Efficiency Maine Weatherization Program," says Howard. "The State-O-Maine will pay you to weatherize your home. But as they say, 'Certain restrictions and requirements apply,' so we will help guide you through program requirements in our talk at F.W. Horch this Thursday."

Howard works with Energy Solutions For Maine, Inc. of Scarborough. The company is owned by Hugh Savage of Brunswick. Principal auditor, Aaron Despres of Harpswell performs home and commercial energy audits, as well as management of recommended energy efficiency improvements.

In his talk, Howard will explain how the Efficiency Maine Weatherization Program works. Incentive payments of $1,500 are available to homeowners who achieve a 25% savings in energy consumption, and a $3,000 incentive payment is available to those who achieve a 50% energy savings. When coupled with tax credits and utility rebates in some areas of the state, this new program provides a strong incentive to invest in weatherization to improve the heating efficiency of homes and businesses.

You'll learn how to qualify for Maine's weatherization rebates while making your home more energy efficient to save money on heating bills. Not only does weatherization pay off in dollar savings year after year, but it also results in a safer, more comfortable home.

Free refreshments and handouts will be provided.

Space is limited. To reserve a seat or for more information, please call 729-4050 or visit www.FWHorch.com.

What You Need to Know About Maine's Weatherization Rebates

Our next sustainable living workshop will be "What You Need to Know About Maine's Weatherization Rebates" by DeWitt Kimball of Complete Home Evaluation Services on Thursday, March 11, at 7:00 p.m. This workshop is free and open to the public. Please join us!

DeWitt Kimball has worked in the building profession for over two decades and has extensive knowledge of building science, including green home construction. He is working closely with state officials as they roll out the new Efficiency Maine Weatherization Program. Funded by the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the program offers up to $3,000 in incentives for the first 4,000 homes that complete energy-efficiency projects meeting minimum energy savings requirements.

One of the most qualified professional property inspectors in Maine, DeWitt is a certified HERS rater, a BPI and Maine Home Performance with Energy Star energy analyst, as well as a certified mold tester, home inspector, radon tester, and boiler/furnace analyst.

Learn how to qualify for Maine's weatherization rebates while making your home energy efficient and structurally impervious to environmental conditions. You'll also have an opportunity to ask questions about new home construction, remodeling for improved comfort and energy efficiency, and the renovation of historic buildings.

Enjoy free refreshments and handouts.

Space is limited. To reserve a seat or for more information, please call 729-4050 or visit www.FWHorch.com.

Weatherize

September's Sustainable Living Tip

"Weatherize" your home by sealing air leaks, controlling moisture and adding insulation. You'll enhance your health and comfort, while saving money and the planet!

More Facts About Weatherization

1. "Weatherizing" a home means making it more comfortable and efficient in both winter and summer by preventing unwanted air leaks, eliminating excessive moisture, and controlling heat flow.
2. Most households spend more on heating and cooling their house than any other use of energy.
3. A typical house that burns fuel for heating releases almost twice as much air pollution annually as a typical car. (By contrast, homes that heat with clean green electricity emit no air pollution.)
   
4. The "mileage" (i.e. energy efficiency) of a home that burns heating oil is called its K-factor, measured in degree days per gallon. The higher the K-factor, the better.
5. Older homes often have a K-factor below 5. Newer homes can achieve K-factors above 10. If you take automatic delivery of heating oil, your bill should list your K-factor. (This is how your oil company determines how often to come fill your tank.)
6. Keep track of your home's K-factor to see whether the weatherization measures you're taking are getting results.
   
7. The best way to start weatherizing a home is to use weather stripping, caulk or spray foam to seal air leaks around doors, windows, sills, electrical outlets, and vent pipes. These are easy projects that a home owner or a handy man can do.
8. Seals around windows and doors eventually wear out, so inspect every year to identify weatherstripping that needs replacing.
9. Sealing air leaks along the walls in an unheated basement is especially important to avoid freezing pipes. Older homes have gaps where the wood sill meets the stone or concrete foundation. The most effective way to seal these is to use a spray foam gun kit instead of wasteful disposable spray cans.
10. Forty percent of all air leaks occur in the attic. Be careful when sealing leaks around chimneys; if you don't understand your local fire code hire a certified weatherization technician to handle air sealing your attic.
11. Control moisture in kitchens and bathrooms by installing fans that exhaust to the outside.
    
12. Check your attic and walls to see if yours is among the 65% of homes that need more insulation. You should have about 16 inches of insulation in your attic.
    
13. The best place to add insulation is in your attic, but do this after you've sealed air leaks. If you hire an insulation company, ask them about air sealing. They should list specific steps they'll take to seal air leaks. If they don't, consider hiring someone else.
    
14. Oak Ridge National Laboratory recommends insulating an existing home in Maine's climate to the following standards: attic R-49 (about 16 inches of cellulose), walls R-13, floors R-30, and basement and crawlspace walls R-25.
15. If your basement is unheated, either insulate the floor above it, or the walls. Be sure to seal air leaks first before installing batt insulation, or use a spray foam that will simultaneously seal air leaks and insulate.
16. All windows at night, and north-facing windows all the time, suffer a net loss of heat via radiation. To minimize heat loss, install storm windows (either exterior or interior) and close drapes or blinds whenever possible.
17. Because heating systems are most efficient when properly sized, and are properly sized according to the heat loss characteristics of the building they heat, you'll save the most money and energy if you reduce your heat loss through insulating and air sealing before replacing your heating system.
18. If you heat with oil, gas or wood, ensure that your flue is providing a proper draw to exhaust combustion fumes. Fresh air must be available for combustion to occur safely; many heating systems draw their combustion air from the heated living space and exhaust it outdoors. (In other words, they suck cold air into your home.)
19. Solar and electric space heaters are simpler, safer and cleaner than boilers or furnaces. Since they do not burn anything, they do not draw in cold air. If you can switch to clean electric heat, you can dramatically improve your environmental profile and live comfortably in a very energy efficient home.
    
20. Very tightly air sealed homes should install passive ventilation or heat recovery ventilators to provide fresh air.
21. Tightly sealed homes should use safe cleaners, paints and adhesives that don't diminish indoor air quality.
22. Properly designed super-insulated passive solar homes in Maine's climate do not need central heating systems because sunlight provides the baseline heat. Electric space heaters supplement the sun's energy.
    
23. The U.S. Department of Energy's EnergySmart Home Scale (E-Scale) is a way to rate a home's energy performance. The typical new home is a 100 on the E-Scale, whereas the typical existing home is a 130 (i.e. uses 30% more energy). An Energy Star home is an 85 on the scale.
24. By installing solar panels, wind turbines and other renewable energy systems, a home can generate its own energy, thereby lowering its score on the E-Scale.
    
25. One industry observer predicts that by 2050, 67% of new housing starts will have an E-Scale score of 0 or better (i.e. produce as much or more energy than they use).

Weatherizing - September's Sustainable Living Tip

"Weatherizing" your home by sealing air leaks and adding insulation to ceilings, walls and floors is likely the most effective way you can protect both your personal climate and the global climate.

Weatherization Facts

1. "Weatherizing" a home means making it more comfortable and energy efficient in both cold winter and hot summer weather.
2. Heating and cooling a house represents the largest single use of energy for most households.
3. Due to exhaust gases from its heating system, a typical house releases almost twice as much air pollution annually as a typical car.
   
4. The energy efficiency of a home with an oil-fired boiler is measured in degree days per gallon of heating oil (K-factor). The higher the K-factor, the more energy-efficient the home.
   
5. Older homes often have a K-factor below 5. Newer homes can achieve K-factors above 10. If you take automatic delivery of heating oil, your bill should list your K-factor. (This is how your oil company determines how often to come fill your tank.)
6. Most existing homes (about 65%) need more insulation.
7. The best place to add insulation is in your attic, where 40% of all air leaks occur.
8. Oak Ridge National Laboratory recommends insulating an existing home in Maine's climate to the following standards: attic R-49 (about 16 inches of cellulose), walls R-13, floors R-30, and basement and crawlspace walls R-25.
9. After insulating an attic, the next most important weatherization task is to use weather stripping, caulk or spray foam to seal air leaks around doors, windows, sills, electrical outlets, pipes and chimneys.
10. If your basement is unheated, either insulate the floor above it, or the walls of the basement. Sealing air leaks along the walls in an unheated basement is especially important to avoid freezing pipes.
    
11. All windows at night, and north-facing windows all the time, suffer a net loss of heat via radiation. To minimize heat loss, cover them with drapes or blinds whenever possible.
12. Because heating systems are most efficient when properly sized, and are properly sized according to the heat loss characteristics of the building they heat, it is essential to reduce your heat loss through insulating and air sealing before replacing your heating system.
13. If you heat with oil, gas or wood, ensure that your flue is providing a proper draw to exhaust combustion fumes. Fresh air must be available for combustion to occur safely; many heating systems draw their combustion air from the heated living space and exhaust it outdoors. (In other words, they push hot air out of your home and suck cold air into your home.)
    
14. Solar and electric space heaters, or direct-vent combustion heaters, do not draw air out of the conditioned space.
15. Very tightly air sealed homes should install heat recovery ventilators to provide fresh air without losing heat.
16. Tightly sealed homes should also pay particular attention to possible offgasing from paints and adhesives. In general, water based and "zero VOC" products are better for indoor air quality.
17. While it is possible to improve the energy performance of an existing home, it is extremely difficult to match the performance of a new home.
    
18. Properly designed super-insulated passive solar homes in Maine's climate do not need central heating systems because sunlight provides the baseline heat.
19. The U.S. Department of Energy's EnergySmart Home Scale (E-Scale) is a way to rate a home's energy performance. The typical new home is a 100 on the E-Scale, whereas the typical existing home is a 130 (i.e. uses 30% more energy). An Energy Star home is an 85 on the scale.
20. The DOE's Builders Challenge rewards builders who commit to building homes with an E-Scale score better than 70.
21. 41,198 new homes have been built in the DOE's Building America research project.
22. One goal of the ongoing research is to build homes that not only use less energy, but also produce their own energy by capturing solar, wind or water energy. On an annual basis if a home produces as much energy as it uses, it is called "net zero"; if it produces more than it uses it is "net positive".
23. One industry observer predicts that by 2050, 67% of new housing starts will have an E-Scale score of 0 or better (i.e. be net zero or net positive).