Category Archives: Energy Committee

Press release from David Temple of our Energy Committee-

Serious energy cost savings – via free insulation and interest-free loans for high-efficiency heating and cooling systems – are staring hundreds of Medfield homeowners in the face.

Alas, most residents are letting the opportunity slip by – even though it’s so easy to take advantage of these opportunities.

Last winter the Medfield Energy Committee arranged for Sagewell, Inc., of Woburn, to conduct a thermal imaging survey and analysis on some 3,000 Medfield homes.  A thermal image is somewhat akin to a photo of a house, with orange and yellow in the thermal image showing areas of heat loss.

The study showed that about 700 families could save substantially on energy costs if the homeowners logged on to www.sagewell.com and click for help…or just call 617-963-8141.

Potential savings are greatest for those who heat with oil, electricity, or propane, although gas customers will save as well.

So far only 341 residents have gone to www.sagewell.com and looked at the thermal images of their houses.  Only 123 have asked for the free energy audit.

The free energy audit will point to ways to ways to get free insulation and weatherization, if you qualify.

And if your furnace or boiler is old and inefficient, the energy audit can set you on your way to getting a seven-year interest-free loan of up to $25,000 for installing a safe, new, high-efficiency HVAC system.

This interest-free loan program runs out December 31.

There are thermal images of over 1,000 Medfield homes that have been analyzed by Sagewell but haven’t been looked at by the homeowners.  There are another 1,500 homes that have been imaged but haven’t been analyzed yet by Sagewell, because so many Medfield residents have shown they don’t seem to care about their energy costs.

The Medfield Energy Committee was established in 2008 to find ways to cut the annual energy cost for the town-owned buildings.  Since then the school department’s annual energy bill has dropped $180,000, an amount equivalent to several teachers’ salaries. Significant energy cost savings have also been realized in other town departments – the search for energy savings is a continuous process

Most of the committee members are professionals in an energy- or environment-related field. The chair is Marie Zack Nolan.  Other members are Lee Alinsky, Fred Bunger, Penni Conner, Fred Davis, Cynthia Greene, Charles Kellner, Pete Peterson, Emre Schveighoffer, Mike Sullivan, and David Temple

I was tired last night, so I went to the Energy Committee and got charged up. Here are the highlights –

• Fred Davis reported in depth on an MAPC meeting he attended about the savings that can be achieved by the town buying our streetlights from NSTAR and converting them to LED fixtures.  Many towns have done so already and are saving tens of thousands of dollars a year.  We are paying about $40,000 per year to light our 345 streetlights, and the guess based on what other towns achieved was that we might save $15,000 a year.  See my prior post.
• David Temple updated us on the thermal imaging conducted by Sagewell.  They took thermal images last winter of about 3,000 homes in town and to date they have processed about 1,400 of those, they got about 600 requests for thermal images from town homeowners, and got about 125 requests from town homeowners for energy audits.  Town homeowners can still get information and energy audits by contacting Sagewell.
• Marie Zack Nolan reported on an energy audit of the Waste Water Treatment Plant that she attended that the major energy saving things have already been accomplished there by the town – e.g. variable speed pumps.
• Next meeting will be at 7 PM on 10/25/12 to hear from the Dartmouth town administrator about its solar PV installations and other energy saving steps.

Medfield Energy Committee

September 27, 2012

AGENDA

I.  Accept minutes of last meeting – July 18, 2012

II. Town bylaws/regulations recommendations

III. Report out from MAPC workshop on Streetlight Buybacks

IV.  Report out on WWTP site visit

V. Next Steps in Procuring/Installing PVC for WWTP

VI. Next Steps for investigating Feasibility of Solar Farm behind Wheelock

VII. Sagewell Mass Thermal Imaging Initiative Update

VIII.   Collaboration with other town organizations

IX.  Other Business

VIII. Set Date and Agenda for next meeting

Governor Patrick offers remarks to members of the Massachusetts Municipal Association. (Photo credit: Office of Governor Patrick)

My email this afternoon to members of the Medfield Energy Committee –

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The Massachusetts Municipal Association’s magazine, Municipal Advocate,  this month is all devoted to green energy.  I looked for links at the Massachusetts Municipal Association’s website to send to you, but they do not seem to put this material on-line.   I am still reading it, but several things I have already noticed –

• 340 out of 351 Massachusetts cities and towns already have municipal PV solar arrays – we are in a distinct minority to not yet have one
• Lancaster opted to own its PV array, to save even more $, and is saving $85,000/year
• I thought I read that Dartmouth is saving $90,000/year from its three solar arrays
• some have been built with federal stimulus monies and/or state grants

I am now using Zemanta to analyze what I write and to suggest graphics to insert, and I noticed this one.  It is from a meeting at the Hynes Convention Center, probably January 2011, because the Governor was not able to attend this year, and I am probably standing on the right hand side of the room.  It has little to do with green energy, but I liked it.

Summer is typically the slow season for town business and selectman’s work, and this summer has seen things slow down.

The Medfield State Hospital Redevelopment Committee has started to meet, and I have been to two of their meetings, as well as responding to their 7/17/12 memo to the Board of Selectmen with suggestions on what we should do to move their task forward.

Last night I attended the Medfield Energy Committee (MEC) meeting:

• update on Sagewell’s thermal imaging (our house pics came this week, and were really interesting)
• collaboration with Medfield Green – will attend the Farmer’s  Market 8/16/12
• EEC Block Grant not received for the Waste Water Treatment Plant – however, DOER will send out a consultant to review the plant for possible energy saving opportunities
• Tilden Village follow up – they installed new low flow toilets and new exterior doors, and MEC members will review with Jack Hurd heat saving opportunties
• PV solar site visit – area behind Wheelock School, by the WWTP, and  Solarize Massachusetts  which is for homeowners in Green  Communities Act towns (we are not).  There was some discussion about whether we should become a GCA town.
• the next MEC meeting was set for 7:30 PM on 8/8/12 at the Town House

Commercial building infrared image (Photo credit: Massachusetts Energy and Environmental Affairs)

We just got our copies of the thermal images of our home from http://www.Sagewell.com, which they took last February.  We got six photos, perhaps because we live on a corner.  Warm spots on the house, like the windows, are red or yellow colored, indicating they are warmer, because more heat is escaping.  Looks to me like our foundation should be insulated, as there is a short row of dancing yellow ribbons at ground level, and really bright yellow basement windows.

Just after looking at the thermal images I called Anderson Windows today to order a replacement balancer,and found myself asking if they sold storm window inserts – they said they do not.  Just trying to get those reds and yellows a little darker.

It is useful information, and I recommend it to everyone.  I believe that Sagewell photographed/imaged all houses accessible from the street in town, so even if you did not sign up in advance, contact them to see if you can get access to the images of your home.