A blast of hot air from a wood pellet stove engulfs visitors who step into Topper McFaun’s living room on a brisk November day. McFaun, a Republican state representative from Barre, says the stove now heats most of his large 18th century farmhouse, which recently got a 21st century efficiency makeover.
McFaun said the basement used to flood, and cracks in the rock walls let in cold air in the winter and hot air in the summer. Where gaps in the rock foundation of the cellar once leaked heat, insulating spray foam now coats the walls.
“Water used to come in through there and mice and everything else,” McFaun said.
Now, after two years worth of efficiency upgrades, the old house is toasty in the winter and cool in the summer. McFaun “enveloped” nearly his entire house, thanks to technical help from Efficiency Vermont and some financial assistance. His electricity bill, he said, has dropped by more than half.
Vermont Energy Consulting and All Seasons Urethane Foam contracted to weatherize the house. McFaun footed most of the bill, which totaled $13,650; Efficiency Vermont pitched in $2,400.
Efficiency Vermont, a state-funded entity, offers expertise and funding assistance for businesses, community groups, and individuals. Its efforts are funded through a renewable energy efficiency surcharge on ratepayer electricity bills based on usage. Last year the surcharge produced close to $40 million in revenue.
Currently, Efficiency Vermont is offering free flood repair assessments, workshops and rebates for appliances for people who have been affected by Tropical Storm Irene. Residents need to apply by Nov. 30 to receive benefits.
“The idea is to help homeowners understand what they need to do to rebuild with health and safety in mind,” says George Twigg, deputy policy director for the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, the nonprofit that operates programs for Efficiency Vermont.
Efficiency Vermont has partnered with another nonprofit, the Central Vermont Community Action Council, to offer the Button Up Vermont program — an educational workshop that helps people learn about how homes use energy.
The Community Action Council weatherization program, which has been in place since 1978, focuses on low-income residents, although the group also offers assistance for people who don’t qualify.
Liz Schlegel, community outreach director for the council, said the program helps residents spot problem areas in attics and basements that make homes less comfortable, and more costly to heat.
While the Community Action Council focuses primarily on individuals, Efficiency Vermont also offers programs for businesses that use a large amount of energy. Last year, the organization partnered with Sugarbush Resort to invest in new snowmaking machinery.
Hardy Merrill, chief administrative officer at Sugarbush, said the resort spent about $500,000 on new snowmaking guns. Efficiency Vermont offered technical expertise and about $120,000 in matching funds. Merrill said snowmaking is by far the largest energy user for ski resorts. He hopes the more efficient guns will allow the resort to use 20 percent less energy in the upcoming season than in the past.
“If you look at a large ski resort like ours, and you look at the electrical energy we consume in a year from all sources, about 80 percent of our annual electric use is related to the snowmaking process,” Merrill said.
New technology from a company called Snow Logic allows a single gun to produce the same amount of snow at 28 degrees as a traditional gun — with one hundredth the amount of pressure. The new snowmaking guns are like a small compressor that would power a nail gun about 5 cubic feet per minute. Older guns use 500 cfm to create the same amount of snow. The efficiency level decreases as the temperatures drop, Merrill said, but the savings are still substantial.
Community groups, like the South Burlington Energy Committee, have utilized the expertise Efficiency Vermont offers to develop an aggressive ad campaign to get people to switch from older, less efficient incandescent bulbs to compact fluorescent bulbs.
Don Cummings, a member of the committee, said they found that electrical use produced as much carbon dioxide emissions as all heating sources in South Burlington. In an effort to help residents save money and shrink their carbon footprint, the group set out to replace 30,000 incandescents with fluorescent bulbs. In 11 months, the city had sold about 41,000 bulbs. Cummings said the campaign likely saved South Burlington residents more than $300,000 annually.
While those who have been involved in efficiency measures through Efficiency Vermont applaud the state’s efforts to reduce energy consumption, some business groups have been skeptical of the state’s extra charge for efficiency when energy costs already strain some budgets.
Twigg said that while there are concerns about the efficiency charge on electric bills, it’s worth the tradeoff in his view. According to the organization’s annual savings claim report, efficiency efforts resulted in 114,000 megawatt hours of electricity saved and 718,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions avoided.
“The state as a whole is benefiting economically by reducing energy use and consumption,” Twigg said.
Beyond the environmental and economic benefit of using less electricity, there are spin-off benefits. For example, people hire local contractors to do efficiency projects, and these contractors buy supplies from local retailers.
“It’s a very good buy overall,” Twigg said.
To learn more about Efficiency Vermont projects related to Irene, visit www.efficiencyvermont.com/Irene.
