Cambridge Clean Heating and Cooling Informational Workshop

The City of Cambridge is hosting a second public informational workshop for the newly launched Cambridge Clean Heating and Cooling Marketplace, an initiative to help residents make their homes more comfortable, save energy, and cut their carbon footprint. The program will support residents who are interested in learning about installing air-source heat pumps, such as ductless minisplits, and solar hot water.

The Community Development Department will host the workshop on Thursday, November 14th from 6:30-8:00pm at the Citywide Senior Center (806 Massachusetts Avenue), Arts & Crafts Room.

Residents are encouraged to attend to learn more about air-source heat pumps and the Cambridge Clean Heating and Cooling Marketplace. Click here to register for the event

The City is working with Boston-based EnergySage to develop this program, which helps residents request, receive, and compare air source heat pump and/or solar hot water quotes from local, reputable contractors. An EnergySage expert Energy Advisor will be available to provide independent support every step of the way to help residents review technology options and installation quotes.

Many Cambridge residents have already installed heat pumps and solar hot water, thanks to generous rebates from state and utility programs. The Cambridge Clean Heating and Cooling Marketplace will help residents ensure that they are taking full advantage of these incentives.

Heat pumps and solar hot water are a great way for residents to save on their utility bills and reduce their home’s carbon footprint, while making it more comfortable. Air-source heat pumps, often called minisplits, are powered by electricity and move heat into or out of a home, instead of burning gas or oil to create heat. As a result, heat pumps deliver energy-efficient heating and cooling, year-round, and can be zoned by an individual room. Though they require electricity to operate, heat pumps use up to 70% less electricity than traditional electric-resistance heating and can be powered by clean electricity.

At this workshop, you’ll have the chance to learn more about the technologies, meet an installer, and get your questions answered! Click the link to register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cambridge-clean-heating-and-cooling-public-workshop-tickets-78221361197?aff=camb

Prepare for Winter in your Rented or Multi-Family Home

 

As the weather gets chillier, we all start looking forward to—or dreading—winter. In order to be comfortable while still being energy smart, there are some easy but important steps you can take. There is plenty of information out there on how to weatherize your entire home to keep heating costs down, but many of those actions don’t apply to people who are renting or living in a multi-family condo. Here are some tips that will still insulate your home and lower your heating bill even if you aren’t able to do bigger things like replace your boiler or add insulation in your walls:

  • Place 3M window insulator film on the inside of all of your windows to restrict drafts. It goes on and comes off easily without leaving a mark, and it’s a very cheap solution.
  • Programmable thermostats are inexpensive and need only a screw driver to install, so depending on your heating system type you can install it and then uninstall it when you move out.
  • Open your curtains during the day to take advantage of solar heating and close them at night to keep the heat in.  Some curtains also have insulating properties.
  • If you rent, ask your landlord to take advantage of the free Mass Save Energy Assessments and mention that CEA can help landlords with energy projects.
  • Use draft stoppers underneath doors that lead outside or to an unheated hallway or staircase. They are usually cloth tube-shaped objects filled with foam or pellets (like a bean bag). You can even put them underneath doors for rooms you plan on heating with a space heater to fully block cold drafts coming in from the rest of your space.
  • If you heat with oil, which is notoriously expensive, you can save on your bill by investing in a floor-standing electric space heater to more cheaply heat the room you are currently occupying, while keeping the thermostat low. You can save 3% on your heating bill for every degree that you turn it down.
  • Keep your thermostat very low (but above 50 degrees so your pipes don’t freeze) while no one is home, and put it as low as is comfortable when you are home and awake. Before you go to bed, turn it back down a few degrees. If you have warm blankets and a space heater, you won’t need to heat your whole space any more than that.
  • If your home has radiators, place an insulating panel between it and the wall. Insulating radiator panels reflect heat away from the wall and out into your home, improving radiator efficiency by 10-20%.

With these quick fixes, and perhaps a hot cup of tea each night, you will stay comfortable all winter long without using too much fuel or electricity.

Learn More! Don’t be an Energy Turkey this Thanksgiving.

Wednesday November 14th at 7pm

Cambridge College, 1000 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge MA

Stay warm and SAVE MONEY through DIY apartment energy efficiency tips

Enjoy free apple cider and snacks
Win great prizes

 

NSTAR has approved an extension to the Early Boiler Replacement Rebate Pilot

Have you been thinking of replacing your 30+ year old boiler?

Now, only through the end of September 2012, the Mass Save® Home Energy Services Program is providing a temporary increased rebate for replacing 30+ year old boilers.  The rebate ranges from $1,750 to $4,000 for new efficient boilers using the same fuel and installed by October 31, 2012.  This is a large increase from the normal $400 to $1,500 in existing rebates.  A no-cost Mass Save home energy assessment is required by September 30, 2012 to determine if your boiler qualifies.

Not sure what a boiler is or if you have one?

Schedule your no-cost Mass Save home energy assessment and your home energy advisor will let you know if you have a boiler and he/she will also collect the information needed for the rebate.  Boilers heat your home with hot water or steam.

Want to make your boiler upgrade even more energy efficient and save more –  consider installing solar hot water?

Heating water accounts for 20% of household energy consumption, even more with a boiler fed hot water or steam heating system. Solar water heating displaces 50-80% of the energy used to make hot water in a household. While you’re upgrading your boiler think about adding solar hot water to help you save more and become even more energy efficient.  Right now, Cambridge Energy Alliance has a solar hot water grant that rebates 50% of your out-of-pocket costs, up to $2000. Essentially you can install a solar hot water system for almost 75% off when you apply our rebate with the other state and federal incentives. You can also use a 0% interest HEAT loan to install solar hot water systems with no up-front cash. The grant will only continue through November so act quickly!

Schedule your no-cost Mass Save home energy assessment by calling Next Step Living at 866-867-8729.

Cambridge Thermal Imaging Project

This winter photo shows brightness where the most heat is escaping this home.

Cambridge! It’s finally here: a chance to vividly see the cool or warm air leaving your drafty home, without having to pay hefty fees to a thermal photographer. Thanks to the Thermal Imaging Project on which HEET has partnered with Sagewell Inc., Cambridge homeowners can request thermal (infrared) images of the outsides of their homes.

The images are taken with car-mounted cameras similar to those used for Google Maps street view, and taken on a “first come, first served” basis – with highest priority given to locations with highest demand.  With the slight air of a Groupon deal, Sagewell has asked for 400 requests from Cambridge before they will release our thermal images for free.

Because of fossil fuel prices skyrocketing and scientists projecting Cambridge’s summer temperatures will soon start looking more like Atlanta, GA temps, everyone’s heating AND cooling bills are only on their way up. High efficiency in your home is valid for every season.

Even better, the easiest time to work on your home’s energy efficiency is spring and summer, when the wait for weatherization services is short!

Request yours on Sagewell.com now.
It should take about a minute to do so;  just enter your address at the bottom of the home page, hit enter, and then enter your information on the next page that shows up by clicking the green “HERE” (see following photo).

This page appears after you enter your address at the bottom of Sagewell.com's home page.

There have already been over 100 requests for thermal images, so if 300 are generated in the next month, everyone will get to have this great service free of cost.  Tell your neighbors! We all want to save money and live a little lighter on the planet, don’t we?

The Extra Goods
You and other homeowners, condo owners, and landlords can access their images and an individualized report free of charge online via a password-protected account when the images are available (Sagewell will email you a link).  The individualized report shows what to work on, how much it will save you, and connects you with the needed free and rebated services. Commercial building owners and owners of more than one building will be able to view their images and analysis for a small fee.

Not all buildings can be analyzed (due to blocked views from trees, etc. or private way constraints), but Sagewell has agreed to image around 22,000 buildings in Cambridge!

The Thermal Imaging Project will enable residential and commercial building owners to lower costs while supporting our city’s climate and emission reduction goals. One more great tool to wield for average citizens and environmental warriors alike. Get to http://www.Sagewell.com now!

If you have any remaining questions, please contact Sagewell at info@Sagewell.com or HEET at heet.cambridge@gmail.com.

Whitehouse Goes Solar!

Under mounting pressure from 10-10-10 groups, 350.org’s Bill McKibben, and various other environmental activists, the Obama Administration announced today that it will re-install solar panels on the White House roof. After weeks of rallying support for the Solar Road Trip including over 40,000 signatures by citizens who urged the President to retrofit the White House, Bill McKibben, 350.org, Unity College students, and the 40,000+ who were following the event were ultimately disappointed; previous coverage. The White House refused to take the Carter-era solar panel which was removed when Regan took office, and has since been living in Maine. however, the administration promised that they would “continue deliberative processes” surrounding solar on their roof. Since that day, not much has been mentioned on this topic by 350.org/Bill McKibben, other than that the President of the Maldives will be installing solar panels.

While the White House was not able to accomodate the symbolism of re-installing the solar panel that once resided on the President’s roof during the Carter administration, this morning great news was announced by the Associated Press, they will go forward and install new panels.

The most famous residence in America, which has already boosted its green credentials by planting a garden, plans to install solar panels atop the White House’s living quarters. The solar panels are to be installed by spring 2011, and will heat water for the first family and supply some electricity.

The plans will be formally announced later Tuesday by White House Council on Environmental Quality Chairwoman Nancy Sutley and Energy Secretary Steven Chu.

Obama’s decision, whether purely political or not, represents his Administration’s increased need to demonstrate support for renewable energy alternatives, particularly after the failure to pass comprehensive climate legislation in the Senate this summer.

In a recent Rolling Stone article, Obama stated, “One of my top priorities next year is to have an energy policy that begins to address all facets of our overreliance on fossil fuels. We may end up having to do it in chunks, as opposed to some sort of comprehensive omnibus legislation. But we’re going to stay on this because it is good for our economy, it’s good for our national security, and, ultimately, it’s good for our environment.” In the wake of the tragic BP oil disaster and with mounting evidence of a returning conservative agenda given mid-term elections, the Obama Administration will have to stand firm against the pull of those who do not consider climate change a top priority. By placing solar panels back on the roof of the White House, a symbolic move which should not be overlooked, the message is clear: Let’s not just talk the talk, let’s walk the walk.

This report also includes text from Tara Holmes

The World Where Oil Flows Free

Bubbling crude, La Brea by antgirl The Gulf Oil Spill has been the event at the top of everyone’s mind for many weeks now, almost to the point of our adapting to the initially shocking concept. The images that have surfaced have been heartrending enough, though, that the shock factor hasn’t been allowed to completely fade. Predictions of the results to come in the next weeks and months are concerning to say the least, and the estimate of how much has been leaking each day continues to rise. BP comes up with a new method to “fix” the problem every few weeks, each seeming promising with a side-serving of bad news.  Effects on humans are starting to surface, some gruesome news and some simply tragic projections. With all of this on our plates, it’s understandably hard to think about, let alone discuss, other similar issues.

One more brick was added to the weight of environmental concern when, on June 11th, another oil spill was reported, this time in Utah. How could an oil spill happen in the middle of the continent? This time it wasn’t an oil rig that failed; in the mountains south of the Great Salt Lake, an oil-transporting pipeline was breached around 10pm. Residents who reported a strong petroleum scent around 7am the next day allowed for the leak to be stopped less than 24 hours after it began. Regardless of the speed with which it was stopped, 33,000 gallons of crude oil were leaked into Salt Lake City creeks and a pond- but not the Lake. Because of the national disappointment with and disdain for the oil giant BP, Chevron responded quickly and aggressively with cleanup devotions.

This leak was obviously a dramatically smaller scale than the spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Instead of a pipeline tapped directly  into natural oil stores being busted, a quarter-sized hole was melted in the controllable pipe transporting oil in UT, and it was all over in 24 hours.

The BP underwater pipe has been gushing tens of thousands of gallons each day, for two and a half months. In the UT spill, around 300 Canada Geese and ducks were covered in oil, and fewer than 10 were killed; one endangered fish species was threatened by the spill. The Gulf of Mexico’s biota are threatened in a much, much broader sense- as you might imagine, considering the unimaginable quantity of poison being spewed into the ocean.

While much of the oil spilled in Utah has been cleaned up, the efforts in the Gulf of Mexico have comparatively only just begun. The estimated clean-up time is months, possibly years; the truth is that the effected coastlines (their ecosystems, their businesses, their citizens), especially those closer to the epicenter, may never recover.

While the Gulf oil spill eclipses other fossil fuel issues in the eye of society at present, it also brings an important topic right to the surface of the pile of important current issues, and in some cases inspires reflection.

Would we still be discussing the Utah oil spill, were the BP tragedy not over-shadowing its significance?

The answer is “Maybe not;” spills are not uncommon, mishaps at drilling sites are not uncommon. What makes the BP spill different is the enormous individual scale, proximity to affluent nations, and resulting publicity.

We do not often hear about the ill effects of the oil industry that are happening in less-fortunate regions of our world.

If we ignore the intense sociological disasters surrounding the oil industry in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, there are statistics to look at that might make the president of BP’s hair curl. It’s estimated that from what are technically Shell and Chevron operations, there are three hundred small and large oil spills in this area each year, due to various factors including oil piracy, aging equipment, and worse-than-poor regulation. In this undeveloped region where locals see no benefit from the industry, oil spills surround the villages. An image of the ruined environment was painted potently by one BBC article;

“Visitors to the Nigerian village of Kpor, deep in the Niger Delta, are greeted by strange sights: silver frogs blink from gleaming puddles, sunlight bounces from an eerie black lake, and dragonflies hover over cauldrons of tar.”

This is a generally unillustrated tragedy, an example of what we are not seeing through the corporate veil. Information is not exposed for many reasons- too many to discuss here- but these events are significant enough to spend time digging for.

—-

Discussed above are only the results of our addiction to oil. What about the other common fossil fuels that we depend on? If we disregard the carbon emissions and their effects, related to burning any fossil fuels-

  • Coal mining means mountain tops destroyed, geology and topography both obliterated as removed mountain tops are filled into valleys; this is not to mention the pollution nightmares that come along with mining, or the health risks: 11,000+ injured (lowest number ever recorded), 69 killed most recently.
  • Natural gas mining–hydraulic fracturing/fracking— creates air-polluting ground-level ozone, poisons the surrounding groundwater and has severe effects on surrounding communities.

Maintenance of our presently strong socioeconomic bonds to fossil fuels are already fatal, both to operators and the surrounding environment. What will it be like when these limited resources begin to truly dwindle, when, if we haven’t changed the juice our society runs on, we are mining every potentially coal-filled mountain and drilling into every oil deposit the earth’s crust has left to offer? We can be assured worker safety and environmental health will not be more of a priority then, in the hour of desperation, than it is now.

It seems that now is time to start using the information we have already to start making changes in the way our energy system works.This is not to say that there won’t be risks associated with other energy practices, but after looking at the information surrounding the above-mentioned options, I would argue that finding an environmentally-friendly energy option that posed the same level of human and environmental health risks would be difficult. Environmental safety is an inherent property of an environmentally-friendly product, afterall.

Tobacco powered trucks?

On their face, biofuels seem like a pretty good idea: carbon dioxide and sunlight in, carbon dioxide and energy out. Certainly some hobbyists manage to recover waste grease for use in diesel engines, but commercially the field has been dominated by the fermentation of sugars from food crops into ethanol. Unfortunately, due to the large petro-chemical inputs often employed it is unclear whether the result is a net gain. In addition, much attention has been given to the competing interests of fuel vs. food (vs. land conservation).

There is hope that research into the production of cellulosic ethanol, or alcohol from plant fibers, could soon tip the balance decidedly in favor of biofuels. One could use agricultural waste or fast-growing special cover crops however, this material should arguably be composted back into the fields… But what if you could make use of existing knowledge and agricultural land; instead of converting forest into sugarcane fields, or farming prairie? Perhaps even provide a competing market for an otherwise dubious product? This may be possible if research into genetically modified tobacco proves to be fruitful. These plants do not contain pesticide-producing or herbicide-resistance genes. Instead, scientists are working on ways to make the leaves of the plant express existing genes and produce more oil for use in fuel production.

Vacuum Tube Solar Hot Water Comes to Cambridge

Bruce install

One of the first home improvements Rachel and I made when we purchased our condo here in Cambridge this spring was a solar hot water installation on our rooftop.

The system we had put in uses vacuum tubes, a newer, more efficient type of solar collector than the black box flat panels of old. As a writer covering energy and the environment in Cambridge and China, I’d spent the past three years tracing this new and exotic technology back to the factories and cities in China where they are surprisingly commonplace.

I first read about the tubes three years ago in a story in the Boston Globe. A family in Newbury, MA was using a massive installation to provide hot water and heat for their giant barn of a house.  A photo that went with the story showed their installation covered in frost on a cold winter day. Somehow, despite the cold, the tubes were still kicking out 120 to 160 degree water.

The secret behind vacuum tubes that allows them to work just as well in winter as summer is, just as their name suggests, a vacuum space. The diagram at the right shows how the tubes work. Sunlight passes through a clear outer glass tube and travels through an evacuated space or vacuum where all of the air has been sucked out.  The sunlight passes through this vacuum and then hits an inner black pipe that absorbs the sun’s rays converting the sunlight to heat. What’s key about all of this is that whereas light rays can pass through a vacuum space, heat can not. All of the heat is therefore trapped inside by this highly efficient, transparent insulator.


After I read the story in the Globe I found out that there are thousands of factories kicking out these tubes in China and roughly 1 in 10 Chinese people use them for their hot water.

Six months after first hearing of the tubes, I toured the R&D center of one of these factories in Beijing for a story I wrote for New Scientist.

The story also led me to Rizhao, a city on the coast between Beijing and Shanghai where 99 percent of residents get their hot water from the sun.  Here is a video I made from a rooftop of the city while talking with Rizhao’s mayor, Li Zhaoqian.

By the time we had a chance to buy a place of our own I was totally sold on the technology and couldn’t wait to put the tubes in on our own place.  Evacuated tubes are still hard to come by in the US, however, and most of the installers I spoke with insisted they were no better than the flat panel solar collectors that had been around since the 70s. The estimates I got for flat panel installations, however, were twice the size of what I figured I could get by with using vacuum tubes. Then I found Bruce, a contractor with New England Solar Hot Water, who, like his company’s name suggests, only does solar hot water installations. Bruce and his crew had been doing vacuum tube installs for years and were stoked to hear I’d actually toured some of the factories where they get their parts.


In mid June they installed the collectors shown on the right that heat all of our domestic hot water; the water we use for showers, laundry, and in our sinks. The system is backed up by natural gas but on a sunny day like today, its unlikely we’ll need it. At 9am, with an outside temp of 43 F,  our tubes are already a toasty 95 F and climbing.

Home Audits rise and Fall with the Seasons

We here at the Cambridge Energy Alliance have noticed that we have “busy season” when it comes to interest in Home Energy Audits.  As the weather starts to get colder, people tend to start thinking more about ways they can keep their home warm and save money on their heating bills.

The follow graph shows the relative interest in the search term “Home Energy Audit” from people in the Boston Metro Area over the last year.

As you can see, interest peaked this year in January-February 2009 right around the coldest part of Winter.  Unfortunately with the increased interest, comes delays in scheduling energy audits because too many people want audits all at the same time.  Fortunately, there is still time this season to get an energy audit before the rush is fully on.  You can learn more about energy audits in Cambridge by clicking here. You can learn more about Energy Audits generally and in Massachusetts by clicking here.