FARMINGTON – Judging by the turnout at the Power Now: Energy Solutions for Farms, Homes & Small Businesses forum, there are a lot of people interested in renewable energy technologies.
More than 150 people attended the forum held tonight at the University of Maine at Farmington that presented alternative sources of energy currently available.
John Rice of the Efficiency ME Program, said the popularity of home and business energy audits has grown, as has the state’s programs associated with low-income weatherization and rebates for energy-saving light bulbs.
“It’s an investment in our future. It’s about simple paybacks and doing the right thing,” Rice told the crowd.
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Todd Richard, co-owner of Northern Lights Hearth & Sports in Farmington and Rangeley, said wood pellets and pellet blocks burn “even, clean and are easy to live with.” The blocks have become a convenient alternative to cord wood and can be used in any wood stove. Pellet stoves, in great demand last summer when oil hit $4 a gallon, have become automated for an easy start and smooth heat regulation. The pellet hopper is filled once a day and ash clean out is a once-a-week chore.
He added that the market demand for pellet stoves has “been pretty quiet now that fuel is $2 a gallon.” Wood stoves can run from $2,000 to $9,000.
Roger Lambert of “Windowman” fame for his prolific sales record for energy efficient windows, has branched out into selling residential wind turbines. There are hundreds of small turbines installed throughout Maine that he said provide the perfect combination of easy installation, grid compatibility and come with a $4,500 cash back deal.
“I like to beat the system,” Lambert said and he does by having a small wind turbine supply the electricity at his home in Strong. He noted these home wind mills, up to 66 feet tall, aren’t for everyone. About 25 percent of people requesting a small turbine can’t because they don’t have the right site specifications needed for one. A small turbine can cost $15,000.
Paul Stancioff, a Chesterville homeowner who teaches physics at UMF, explained the ground source heat pump he installed over the summer. Noting the common term of ‘geothermal’ is inaccurate for his system because energy is not generated from heat stored underground. Rather, his system of 3,600 feet of pipes buried six to eight feet underground makes use of earth’s constant temperature, along with the use of two heat exchangers and a compressor, which is piped into his house.
He said the drawbacks of the system are that it’s very expensive so that the so-called “payback,” calculated to show the annual energy savings that eventually pays for the system when energy is at no cost, is 16 years for his system at current fuel prices. However, faced with a dying oil heating system, which would have been costly to replace, and the idea he’s going to be living there for a long time, made changing to the alternative system doable. He also did a lot of the installation work himself which saved more on costs.
Iver Lofuing of Skowhegan, offered his version of an energy-saving makeover project on his own house. Calling it “a regular, old Maine house,” Lofuing, over time, has converted it all to a renewable energy wonder.
He said his first step was that he “shrunk his cars,” trading larger models in for smaller, more gas-efficient cars. He showed a photo of his “wood temple” which stores his fresh-cut wood in a dehydrator building he made himself of wood and clear plastic windows. To help heat his home, he uses a small wood stove and a fan to circulate heat. Solar panels on the roof heat up antifreeze that circulates and also warms the house. A solar hot water heater he made himself works just fine. A photovoltaic panel provides electric back up. LED and halogen lights will last him years on precious little power. A front-loading washer spin-dries the laundry drier. A bicycle rigged with an electric battery provides a speedy, energy-saving alternative to his gas-powered car.
“All these project save energy and money. But they are also really, really fun,” Lofuing said.
The event was hosted by the UMF Sustainable Campus Coalition, the Western Mountains Alliance, Somerset County Cooperative Extension, and Franklin County Soil and Water Conservation District with financial support from the Farm Energy Partners Network, a project of Maine Rural Partners.
