Tag Archives: heating

Sustainable Solutions Tour – Sat Oct 14th, 1 PM – 3:30 PM

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We’re pleased to announce our second sustainable solutions tour of 2017, this Saturday, October 14th, from 1-3:30! Plus, we’re partnering with Button Up VT this fall, so come out to receive information and a cool give-away!

Climate change got you feeling down? Come lift your spirits on this Solutions Tour hosted by the Sustainable Williston community group. Your neighbors will welcome you to their homes to show you what they’ve been doing to reduce their carbon footprint and protect our natural environment. Enjoy good company, good ideas, and get inspired!

Meet at 1PM @ 50 Spruce Lane off of N. Williston Rd. The group will carpool to the other tour stops together. Or feel free to drop in at the locations you are most interested in.

Schedule, locations and features listed below:

1:00-1:20 @ 50 SPRUCE LN: Deborah will show off her rain barrel, solar, organic gardening, composting, DIY solar heater for pool! Bonus: This bike commuter will share the best bike route into Burlington!

1:35-2:00 @ 413 BUTTERNUT RD: Living sustainably isn’t easy! Check out a mix of successes and failures with Steve.

2:15-2:35 @ 137 VILLAGE GROVE: Thinking about roof-mounted solar? Ben and Lori will show theirs off as well as perennial gardens, raised beds, and a rain barrel.

2:50-3:10 @ 497 TALCOTT RD (Allen Brook School): Did you know ABS has a wind turbine!? Principal John Terko gives us the scoop!

Tour Map: https://goo.gl/maps/qXUsGTthtaU2
RSVP for our event and like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/482188012146106/
Have questions or interested in being a stop on a future tour? Contact: ReedCarrGS@gmail.com
Learn more about our group at www.sustainablewilliston.org

Meeting Williston’s Energy Needs into the Future

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If we as a state and we as a town are going to get to 90% renewables by 2050 to counter global warming, we will have to address two main energy needs: our transportation methods and our building heating methods. Our vehicles will need to be electric and our homes will need to be electric and biomass. These are daunting challenges split into two components: the devices that we will use and the electric sources of our energy. The first part will be met by the ingenuity of our people and the market place filling our needs as climate change becomes more dire. The second part is something that we as a town can address. We can calculate the energy requirements of the town, now and for our future needs; identify the best sites for wind and solar, have a discussion and come to consensus on which sites meet our criteria the best, pre-permit them and figure out how to build them out (private venture; public/private or town owned). The Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission has funds to help towns conduct studies of this nature and is something we should take advantage. Creating power in our town and state will keep about $850M in Vermont; help fight global warming; create local, well-paying jobs; make us a more resilient community and control energy prices going forward. I am suggesting that a group of SW members spearhead this effort to create this plan or form a Town Energy Committee to do this.

Scott Gardner Presents on Reducing Home Energy Costs September 14th

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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.

Energy Co-op of Vermont Launches Heat Pump Leasing Program

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Heat Pump

The Energy Co-op of Vermont, a northern Vermont heating fuel provider and energy efficiency Co-op, announces the launch of Co-op Heat Pumps, an innovative heat pump leasing program. The Co-op Heat Pump program offers homeowners a super-efficient Fujitsu heat pump for less than $40 a month on a ten-year lease, with an upfront payment of less than $300.

“Our core mission at the Energy Co-op is to help Vermonters make their homes comfortable, healthy and energy-efficient.” said John Quinney, General Manager. “The Co-op Heat Pump lease program does just that by providing immediate cost savings while reducing fossil fuel use by up to 80%.  It’s a win-win.”

The Co-op provides a turn-key application and installation service which begins with a sign-up form on the Co-op Heat Pumps website. Completing the sign-up form triggers a short survey that makes it easy for potential customers to determine if their home is suitable for a heat pump.  Homes with open floor plans that are heated with oil or propane are best suited for the Co-op Heat Pumps program.

According to Efficiency Vermont, for a typical Vermont home where a customer is able to shift 80% of their heating requirements away from heating oil or propane to a cold climate heat pump, the savings can be between $800 and $1,200 a year.

Current Co-op members and non-members are welcome to inquire. The Co-op’s Colchester offices are heated and cooled with a heat pump which is available for demonstration during regular business hours Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

About the Energy Co-op of Vermont

Energy Co-op of Vermont is a member-owned, not-for-profit, fuel services and energy efficiency cooperative located in Colchester, Vermont. The Co-op opened for business in 2001 and serves over 2,000 members in Northwestern and Central Vermont with deliveries of heating oil, kerosene and made-in-Vermont wood pellets. The Co-op also offers maintenance, repair and installation of high-efficiency heating equipment such furnaces, boilers and heat pumps.

​For more information contact:  Suzie Quinn, Community Marketing Manager at suzie@ecvt.net​

Post courtesy of BrighterVermont.org, a new Web site offering a wide range of information and resources for sustainable energy use.

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

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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