Our family has had a conservation mindset since 1980 when we built our solar- and wood-heated home that used no fossil fuel yet kept us warm through colder winters than we have now. Bedrooms were on the north side of the building and, by preference, stayed cooler. The house faced directly south, with a two-layered, plastic wall that transmitted solar heat into the house and directly warmed the living spaces. At night, we pulled up window quilts to reduce heat loss.
We didn’t need central heating, but the rooms we used during the day warmed up as the wood stove built up heat or the sun warmed them. If you don’t already practice zonal heating as Mainers traditionally did, you can close off heating vents to rooms not used during the day. You can buy an electronically operated heating program and set temperatures to go down when you’re at work and increase when you are home. Other options for saving money on heating include keeping more heat in the building by adding wall insulation or window curtains or using any window surfaces that receive sunlight to absorb solar heat. By placing a dark mass item like stone, brick or water tanks behind large windows to receive sunlight directly, you can store heat for the room.
If you are able to make home energy-efficiency improvements, I highly recommend an energy audit. A good audit will measure the heat flow out of your house and prioritize the most cost-effective improvements to save energy. A good start is to tighten the gaps around your window and doors and seal the hatch to your attic or basement door. The energy audit will measure the effectiveness of your wall, basement and attic insulation. Gov. Janet Mills and Efficiency Maine have prioritized federal Infrastructure Act funds to make energy improvements in Maine’s old housing stock to save energy, reduce carbon emissions and lower home heating costs. Homeowners who qualify for TANIF or LIHEAP and implement one recommendation from an energy audit can receive a rebate from Efficiency Maine up to $9,600 of $10,000 you spend. All Maine full-time residents can obtain $5,500 back or 50% of all weatherization improvements up to $10,000, based on an energy audit recommendation. Go to efficiencymaine.com/home-insulation. You can find a list of vendors in your area, their contact information and what services they offer. I recommend getting in line soon for a full energy audit, since there are few companies doing weatherization work, but many doing insulation and repairs.
Weatherization includes inspecting and filling heat leaks from your house through doors, windows and gaps in the building envelope. Where you feel air coming in around windows or doors, you can put in weatherstripping or caulk. Insulation can be cut to fit basement sill joists and the edges of the attic hatch door. Are you heating your attic unnecessarily by having your building envelope above rather than under the attic? In 2005, I worked with Maine Sierra Club and Habitat for Humanity Seven Rivers in Topsham to weatherize low-income, elderly houses in Phippsburg. We built on Charlie Wing’s previous classes on home energy systems used by 7 Rivers Habitat to train volunteers to inspect and seal the worst air leaks in homes. I found the volunteers, while Habitat provided materials and built window inserts which my volunteers, and I installed. Habitat helped us with an excellent program for keeping income-eligible elders in their homes. Their website shows the range of home improvements Habitat makes for elderly residents of Sagadahoc and Lincoln counties, Harpswell and Brunswick. For income-eligible homeowners, Habitat makes safety improvements such as building a ramp or railing on stairs. Go to habitat7rivers.org, choose Programs, then Weatherizing and Repair program for more information.
I serve on an Energy Committee for the town of Topsham, which has webinars at topshammaine.com/energy. The choice of webinars on the right side includes Weatherize Your Home, Beneficial Electrification and Solar Energy Options. The Energy Committee welcomes residents to attend our meetings at the town hall from 4-5 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday of each month.
Double- or triple-pane windows are important to reduce energy loss. Window Dressers teaches people to make tight, plastic window inserts that function like a third pane of glass to retain heat inside. Apply online before next summer to have your windows measured accurately, pay about $45 for each medium size window and show up for four hours to the Bath or Brunswick Community Builds to help assemble plastic window inserts. These inserts will cut down on drafts, reduce heat loss and can be reused for many seasons.
Please send comments and questions to nchandler51@comcast.net.
Nancy Chandler studied Animal Behavior and Anthropology at Stanford University, then received her master’s in biology education in her home state of North Carolina at U.N.C. Chapel Hill. She is passionate about teaching energy conservation and hopes to get you thinking about how to use energy use efficiently to save both money and reduce greenhouse warming gases.
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