Staff photo/Jane Howard These are the items included in a “conservation kit” to be given to everyone attending a Grand Marais Public Utilities Commission (PUC)-sponsored home energy audit party. Customers who use electric heat and have the highest electric bills will qualify for the program, which was designed to educate consumers on ways to reduce energy use.
What better way to cast away winter blues than to have a party? TheGrand Marais Public Utilities Commission (PUC) supports you in that idea. The party the PUC is hoping you will do is quite likely a new breed: it’s the home energy audit party, and like most good Northland parties, it involves friends, coffee, and cookies.
Thanks to a grant from the Lloyd K. Johnson Foundation, the Cook County Local Energy Project (CCLEP) is partnering with the PUC to underwrite the cost of home energy audits for some of the PUC’s highest electric heat consumers. Local contractor Stephen Holz will conduct the audits for $350, $150 of which will be paid for by the grant. The$200 paid by the homeowner will be reimbursed by the PUC as a credit on his or her PUC bill if the homeowner produces receipts showing that at least $500 has been spent on implementing recommendations from the audit.
So where does the party come in? Holz is planning to conduct the audits on Saturdays over the winter, while the outside temperatures are at least 17 degrees colder than temperatures inside homes. PUC customers chosen for the audits will invite four to six guests from three or four other households (preferably PUC customers) to watch and participate in the audits, providing beverages and treats along the way.
Karen Blackburn of CCLEP explains the process: “During a home energy audit, a blower door test is performed which pulls the cold air from outside into the home through weaknesses in the home – around doors and windows, through electrical receptacles and through any areas with inadequate insulation.
“With the use of an infrared camera, these weaknesses are identified. The individuals at the home can literally see problems by looking at the camera. As the camera moves across the walls of the home, the difference in air temperature is shown by a change in color on the picture the camera takes. Steve Holz will explain what is being revealed by the picture and suggest energy improvements that can be made to cut down on the airflow at each weak spot that is identified.”
During the audit, Holz will give a short narrative on mold, demonstrate use of a Kill-a- Watt meter, and explain how to make the recommended improvements. A Kill-a-Watt meter, available for loan from the PUC and the Grand Marais Public Library, shows how much energy an appliance is using. Appliance cords are plugged into the meter and the meter is plugged into an electrical outlet.
Jan Smith of the PUC has information on the amount of electricity average appliances consume that homeowners can use to compare with the amounts their own appliances consume.
Smith said replacing a poorly functioning hot water heater is one big way to reduce the electric bill. In general, 25% of a home’s electric use comes from heating water, she said.
Everyone at the home energy audit parties will receive “conservation kits” provided by the PUC. They include a refrigerator thermometer, “limelights” (LED low-energy nightlights that emit a green glow), compact fluorescent light bulbs (the curly ones), foam inserts to keep cold air from seeping around light fixtures and outlets, and a furnace filter whistle that starts to whistle when a furnace filter is dirty and needs replacement.
During the month of January, the PUC will take home audit requests from customers who would like to make improvements to their homes in order to decrease energy consumption. “We’re hoping they’re really serious about making good improvements,” said Jan Smith of the PUC. Smith estimated that about 200 of the PUC’s 830 residential customers depend on electric heat.
Holz will prepare a complete report for homeowners receiving the audits, which will include infrared photos detailing problem areas and recommendations. He will return in six months to consult with the homeowner and will be available for 12 months to check on the improvements that have been made. Homeowners will have 12 months to provide the receipts that would qualify them for the PUC rebate.
The Public Utilities Commission has a state mandate to reduce its electric use and increase its renewable resource use by specific percentages by the year 2025. It has partnered with CCLEP, Buck’s Hardware, and Superior Lumber to provide rebates for income-qualifying households that purchase energy efficiency tools such as water heater blankets, power strips, weather stripping, lowflow showerheads, shrink wrap, and programmable thermostats. Flyers on this program are available at Buck’s Hardware and Superior Lumber.
More information on energy saving can be found on the PUC website, www. SaveEnergyInGrandMarais. com, and on the CCLEP website, www.cookcountylep.org.
Leave a Reply