“Save Money, Stop Wasting Energy and Improve the Comfort of Your Home”
March 31, 2008

The Green Resource Hub, in collaboration with the Southern Tier Energy $mart Communities and the Energy Committee of the Finger Lakes Group of the Sierra Club, hosted a consumer education seminar on Monday at the Steele Memorial Library in Elmira. This seminar was the first in a series that the Hub is presenting in the Elmira/Corning area in order to expand the regional marketplace. The presenters at this seminar included Gay Nicholson of Southern Tier Energy $mart Communities, Mark Pierce from Cornell Cooperative Extension, and Alwyn John of Performance Systems Contracting.

Gay Nicholson began the seminar with an introductory presentation full of small tips and tricks people can use to easily cut their energy use and improve their homes’ energy efficiency. She recommended switching to compact fluorescent light bulbs, using ENERGY STAR appliances and avoiding the “phantom load” by unplugging electrical adapters and appliances when they are not being used. Did you know that for every 24 hour period that you keep your thermostat set one degree lower than its usual setting can equal a three percent saving in energy costs? This can add up to anywhere between $100 and $600 a year! Gay also shared with the audience the amazing details about NYSERDA’s various home energy efficiency incentive programs. Many of these programs offer free money or rebates for home owners and tenants that improve the energy efficiency of their homes.

Next, Mark Pierce offered his valuable knowledge of home insulation fundamentals to those in attendance. Mark stressed the importance of air, as well as thermal barriers, when insulating a home. The two types of insulation act in conjunction with each other and are ineffective if they are not paired. An air barrier prevents moisture from entering a home while simultaneously allowing moisture to escape if need be. Air barriers have very little r-value but are essential to the insulation process. A thermal barrier is intended to slow down the transfer of heat from one space to another. Air can pass through thermal barriers however, and that is why they must be paired with an air barrier. When installing insulation in your home, Mark stresses that you must stick to the “Three C’s”: continuous, contiguous, and complete coverage. Without this approach there will be major weak points in you insulation and you will be doing very little to help maintain your home’s temperature and save money. Much of the information Mark shared can be applied to new homes as well as pre-existing ones. He related installing effective insulation in a new home to “stacking the deck in a poker game,” you can make sure you get a winning hand. However, when it comes to improving the insulation in an existing home “you have to play the hand you’re dealt, and some people just have better hands than others.” With some older homes there are some things you just won’t be able to fully address without gutting the building, a drastic step that few homeowners are willing to take.

The final presenter was Alwyn John from Performance Systems Contracting. His comprehensive presentation focused on cellulose insulation, one of PSC’s specialty areas. He also stressed the importance of having an energy audit before and after you have any insulation improvements done to your home. This ensures that all the problems areas were effectively addressed. Created only from shredded newspapers, boric acid (for insect and vermin resistance), mineral oil, and ammonium and zinc sulfates (to increase fire resistance), cellulose provides an inexpensive, safe, and highly effective insulation option. When retrofitting a house, two options for installation are available, dense pack and loose blow. Alwyn recommended the dense packing method due to it longevity and greater insulating ability as long as you can find a trained technician to perform the installation. Dense packed cellulose acts as a thermal barrier as well as an air barrier due to its high density (>3.5 lbs./cubic foot!). Alwyn also expanded upon some of the NYSERDA information from Gay Nicholson’s presentation. He focused on the Assisted Home Performance Program where landlords can qualify for grant money to perform energy improvements on their properties based on their tenants’ incomes.

At the conclusion of the presentation, prizes were raffled off to those in attendance. A few people won CFL bulbs and one lucky guest won a free energy audit (a $300 value) courtesy of Performance Systems Contracting! This is just one more reason to make sure you attend future Hub events. The knowledge is invaluable and the prizes are well worth your time.

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