Underhill Energy Committee Annual Report, CY 2014
The Underhill Energy Committee was awarded a $10,000 grant from Efficiency Vermont for its involvement in the Vermont Home Energy Challenge in 2013. Using the funds from this grant and some labor provided by Energy Committee members, the following improvements to reduce energy usage, save money, and increase the comfort level for certain Town-owned buildings were accomplished
Post Office
o Removed old rock wool insulation from the attic of the Post Office
o Removed the old 12” ventilation duct, that ran from the basement to the roof.
o Repaired and patched the roof, ceiling and floor of the Post Office.
o Extended the sewer stack from the attic through the roof.
o Building Energy sprayed a 2” flash coat of foam over the entire attic floor
o Building Energy blew in 16” of loose fill cellulose
o Building Energy made and installed a new attic hatch
o Building Energy sprayed 4” of spray foam from the basement band sill down to the floor
o Building Energy then sprayed the foam with an intumescent paint.
o New R-21 Basement Hatch door and weather-stripped the entire door assembly fabricated and installed.
o Air leakage reduced by 35%.
o 15K BTU Fujitsu Cold Climate Heat Pump installed by Maheux Heating
o Vermont Heating and Contracting moved the existing Mitsubishi Mini Split off the ground and mounted it on the wall, allowing it to provide heat down to 15 degrees.
o Town Personnel to be trained how to operate and balance this with the existing boiler.
(The Post Office building is owned by the Town and leased to the United States Postal Service.)
Town Hall
o LED daylight/motion sensor fixture for the entryway.
· Underhill Town Hall
Town Garage
o The Energy Committee purchased 16 new T-5 Hi-Bay lighting fixtures.
o These still need to be installed, per agreement with the Selectboard.
o Cost savings for this simple project would be over $1300 per annum. Benefits include improved light output, instant on, and less maintenance (bulb replacement and bulb cost, $50.versus $6).
The Underhill Energy Committee sponsored an informational booth at Harvest Market in September. Many area residents visited the booth over the course of the two days and learned about a variety of energy-saving options.
On Tuesday, October 28th, the Energy Committee hosted an “Energy Options for Today” public program at the Town Hall. The focus was on four state-of-the-art energy technologies—
(1) photovoltaic systems (solar electric systems) which currently can generate electricity at a cost competitive with the retail price of electricity; (2) solar hot water systems that can cost-effectively provide about 2/3 of a household’s annual hot water from the sun; (3) heat pump water heaters that extract heat from the air to heat water more efficiently than standard electric or oil water heaters; and (4) cold climate heat pumps—a rather amazing technology that works both as a heater in winter (by harvesting heat from outside air down to as low as 15°F below 0) and an air conditioner in the summer (by removing heat from inside the house). Seven local companies shared their products in brief presentations and then met with attendees informally to discuss how the companies might help them reduce their energy bills and their impact on the environment.
(1) photovoltaic systems (solar electric systems) which currently can generate electricity at a cost competitive with the retail price of electricity; (2) solar hot water systems that can cost-effectively provide about 2/3 of a household’s annual hot water from the sun; (3) heat pump water heaters that extract heat from the air to heat water more efficiently than standard electric or oil water heaters; and (4) cold climate heat pumps—a rather amazing technology that works both as a heater in winter (by harvesting heat from outside air down to as low as 15°F below 0) and an air conditioner in the summer (by removing heat from inside the house). Seven local companies shared their products in brief presentations and then met with attendees informally to discuss how the companies might help them reduce their energy bills and their impact on the environment.
The PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) program, a funding mechanism to help homeowners finance energy improvements, is now operational. Underhill will monitor the experience of other towns and consider reviewing Underhill’s participation in PACE in the future. Legislative improvements have been made since creation in 2009. A PACE reserve fund is established to cover 90% of losses due to defaults not covered by the reserve account. A more competitive financing rate (1.99%) was announced in 2014.
The Energy Committee was created by the Underhill Selectboard in 2007 to accomplish the following:
1/ To study, and thereby make recommendations which reduce energy consumption in all Town assets, building, equipment etc.
2/ To provide public forum/education for Underhill Citizenry to reduce energy consumption in their homes/buildings/motorized equipment/lifestyles.
3/ To seek Grants, and engage in fundraising to support the activities of the Energy Committee.
4/ To be available to study/implement any related energy projects so designated by Selectboard.
The Committee meets in the kitchen upstairs in the Town Hall at 6:30 on the second Wednesday of most months.
Chair: Chris Miller
Vice-Chair: Jerry Adams
Secretary: Peter Duval
Members: Peter Bennett, Peter Duval, Bob Murphy, Tom Moore, Steve Webster
Web site: tiny.cc/uenergy or https://sites.google.com/site/juvtenergy
