Sustainable Williston helps residents Button Up

This year, Sustainable Williston is a Button Up Vermont community partner. This means that Williston is one of 18 Vermont towns whose residents are eligible for a free home visit from a professional energy contractor who can identify opportunities for home weatherization. Buttoning up your home is the best way to conserve home energy and reduce heating and cooling costs. Sustainable Williston has a few upcoming events where Williston residents can get more information and take action.

  1. Curious about the increasingly popular cold climate heat pumps? Attend a free workshop to learn about cold weather heat pump options for hot water and space heating on Wednesday, November 14th at 7pm at the Dorothy Alling Memorial Library. RSVP on Facebook
  2. Ready to Button Up your home or just want to hear more? Attend the free Weatherize Williston Button Up workshop on Wednesday, November 28th at 7pm at the Dorothy Alling Memorial Library. There will be a home weatherization talk and time to meet with Building Energy, the Williston energy contractor conducting the free home visits. RSVP on Facebook
Want to participate but can’t make any of these events? Visit https://buttonupvermont.org/ and click on “Sign up for a free contractor visit” by December 15. After filling out a short survey about your home characteristics and energy usage, you will be contacted directly by the energy contractor, Building Energy. While you are at the Button Up website, review the checklist to find ways to start buttoning up right away and find out about DIY weatherization incentives (up to $100) from Efficiency Vermont.
For more about the Button Up program in Williston, tune in below to the November episode of What’s Up Williston: The Chief of Police and a Look at Sustainable Williston (Button Up information starts in minute 15).

Scott Gardner Presents on Reducing Home Energy Costs September 14th

Scott Gardner of Building EnergyOn Monday, September 14, at 7:00 PM, Scott Gardner of Building Energy in Williston will offer a video presentation demonstrating ways homeowners can significantly reduce their home energy costs through insulation, weatherization and the use of cold weather heat pumps. The event, part of Sustainable Williston’s Sustainable Energy Series at the Dorothy Alling Library, will explain the benefits of a home energy audit to assess your home’s current energy consumption and to find ways to improve your home’s energy efficiency through a whole-home approach.

The presentation will include a video on heat pumps, hands on demonstrations, and a question and answer session. Light refreshments will be served.

Scott Gardner, founder of Building Energy, has been building and remodeling energy efficient homes and businesses in the Northeast for more than thirty years. He has national training and has earned certification in sound building practices and energy conservation technologies.

cold climate heat pumpSustainable Williston is a grassroots community group working on issues like water quality, climate change, and bike paths. Previous Sustainable Energy Series events have covered solar panels, electric vehicles, and more.

Made Energy Efficiency Improvements in 2014? Don’t Forget Your Tax Credit!

pellet stove

If you made energy efficiency improvements to your home in 2014, you may be eligible for a substantial tax credit. Here are the six areas for which tax credits have been made available:

  • Biomass stoves (this would mainly be wood or wood pellets, though there are some other, less common kinds)
  • Upgrading to a more efficient heating or cooling device (a more efficient boiler, a heat pump, etc.)
  • Insulation
  • Improving efficiency of your roof
  • Non-solar water heater
  • Sealing/improving windows and doors

Full information is available on the Energy Star site, here.

insulating

Alling Library Insulation and Weatherization Pay Off

library insulation

In a note to community members this week, Marti Fiske of the Dorothy Alling Library in Williston said,

It has been a full year since the library’s insulation and roofing project has been completed. We have been collecting usage statistics for electricity and natural gas. Compared to the average usage over two previous years, the library saved an average of 27% in natural gas and 29% in electricity in this last year. When you convert that to dollars saved that is $884 on natural gas and $325 on electricity!

Tour Energy Efficient Houses in Burlington and South Burlington April 26th

From the South Burlington Energy Committee:

Energy Efficient Open Houses-Saturday, April 26th
High heating bills this past winter?
House colder and draftier than usual?
Come visit homes where owners have made energy efficiency improvements to save $$ and to make their homes more comfortable.
Energy Efficiency Open Houses
Saturday, April 26th. from 10AM to 1PM four (4) energy efficient homes will be open.  Visit the homes, talk with the owners and/or the contractor doing the work and learn how you can save $$ and make your home more comfortable next winter.
The Energy Efficient homes are located at:
  • 88 Lakewood Pkwy – Burlington
  • 112 Adams Street –   Burlington
  • 24 School Street –      Burlington
  • 34 Sunset Avenue –    South Burlington
Go to, http://maps.ccrpcvt.org/EnergyTour/ to see an interactive map of the homes locations and a brief description of the efficiency improvements made to each home.
Sponsored by the Energy Committees of Burlington and South Burlington
Contact:  Ron McGarvey, 802-865-4424, RMCGAR864@aol.com