The Ay's Have It - Clean Energy A Must

Clean Energy Connections, hosted at the Mass Mutual Center in Springfield, MA on Tuesday, November 10th, was well-attended and optimistic in nature, with over five hundred clean energy organizations, business owners, and job seekers listening attentively to keynote addresses and plenary sessions. More than 60 universities, colleges, businesses, and organizations exhibited at the conference, providing ample opportunities to exchange ideas and information, to learn about the ever-evolving renewable energy and energy efficiency industries, and to prospect for jobs and new employees.

According to keynote speakers, Dr. Robert Pollin and Mr. Truman Semans, approximately $120 billion in government spending will boost the U.S. “green” economy over the span of several years. Seventy percent will fund energy efficiency projects with 30% funding renewable energy technology. Additionally, Massachusetts’ total share of the funds is $2.3 billion, which will result in roughly 42,530 “green” jobs with renewable energy “poised to become” the tenth largest job cluster in the state. Though success in the green economy is predicted to skyrocket and greatly contribute to the nation’s financial recovery , it alone will not revive the U.S. economy. Moreover, it will take persistent policy overhauls to improve the flow of money from government to private organizations.

Anne Perkins of Rural Development Inc. (RDI) and Bill Austin and Jacqui McCreanor of Austin Design Inc. (ADi) manned our integrated display. As folks stopped at our table to chat, we shared with them RDI’s affordable housing enterprises and our ecological designs for single family homes, communities, and remodels. And in turn, we learned about an increasing interest, on the parts of both individuals and private organizations, in retrofitting existing buildings, adding renewable energy technology to new and existing buildings, and investing in strong local community centers dedicated to the health and robustness of its citizens and economies.

Great contacts were made and a good time was had by all. On the whole, it was a great and educational day.

Zero Energy Challenge

Wisdom Way Solar Village recently placed third in the Zero Energy Challenge. The Challenge was presented by Massachusetts’ investor-owned electric utility companies. The idea was to build a home which would use as little energy as possible. Bill traveled to the State House back in June for the award ceremony with Anne Perkins and Robin Sherman of RDI, check out the video above to see the action. 

What's up, Governor?

Governor Deval Patrick is laying the groundwork to lead Massachusetts toward the statewide adoption of zero net energy building standards by 2030, similar to the Architecture 2030 Challenge. We believe this is an entirely necessary step and applaud the Governor for taking it. We would just like to point out that one of the examples given on the state's website sounds mighty familiar.

Austin Design's Energy Audit

Our energy audit was fun and a great success. Beth Paulson, an Energy Analyst/Technician and 13-year veteran of the Center for Ecological Technology, came to our office fully equipped to dig right in and determine:

1) How our building uses and consumes energy

2) How airtight or leaky our building is
3) The efficiency and safety of the electrical and mechanical systems and the structure itself

To begin, Beth surveyed the attic and the basement. On the attic floor, we discovered a foot of cellulose insulation along with an absence of a proper air barrier. In making office upgrades, holes created for utility wires have produced air leakage sites allowing warm air to escape into the unconditioned space in the attic and then to the outside.

After documenting these findings, Beth moved on to explore the two full basements (divided by a crawl space). Beth’s Delmhorst J-LITE wood moisture reader, which she tested on structural beams and wood products stored in the cellar, showed high wood moisture content. Ductwork from the furnace and plumbing pipes appeared to be uninsulated and more holes for utility wires were discovered.

Otto, our friendly standard poodle, looked on as Beth set up the blower door test. With the blower door running, one could feel outdoor air coming into interior rooms through electrical receptacles, wainscoting, around doorways, and vents.

Additional testing included individual pressure pan tests on the return and supply registers to determine the leakiness of the duct system, as well as an infrared imaging camera to determine insulation settling, heat loss, and possible rodent tenants.

We are very excited to see Beth’s report and data analysis. From those baseline numbers, residential energy modeling software will allow us to run several different scenarios to determine and prioritize the most cost-effective and energy-conserving retrofit measures.

Walking the Walk - Austin Design's Deep Energy Retrofit & Electrical Audit

We are passionate about energy efficiency and renewable energy. We recommend energy efficiency measures to our clients and design zero net energy homes and communities. Now our own office is currently undergoing a deep energy retrofit and we are excited to discuss with clients the steps we are taking to reduce our carbon emissions and to save energy, operating costs, our health, and the environment.

Today, an electrical audit marked the beginning of our journey. Kevin Harrington of Connecticut-based firm Paquette Electric visited our office in Colrain, MA to assess our electrical loads and energy consumption, and to identify energy conservation measures. The free electrical audit is sponsored by WMECO’s Small Business Energy Advantage Program and pays up to 35% of the costs for retrofit lighting measures and up to 50% of other energy-efficient installations.

On average, The Grange (the long-standing nickname for the old school building and former local grange that is now the office for Austin Design Inc.) consumes 1,200 kW of electricity per month.

Below are several pictures of Kevin gauging our retrofit lighting needs. We look forward to keeping our readers abreast of the electrical analysis report and the additional retrofit developments as they unfold at The Grange.