Our Quest for Energy Efficiency...

As you all know the environment is something that Alex and I care about very much, and it has a large influence on our every day decision making.  From the food we buy to the trinkets we don't, we are always trying to minimize our environmental footprint.  3 months of living in this old house has quickly taught us that our energy consumption needs further scrutiny. Maine happens to have the highest energy costs in all of new england, weighing in at 15.4 cents per KWH! So, our investigations will not only aide nature but also our pocketbooks.

Currently our home, like most in the US, is heated with #2 home heating oil. After much research (Wood Heat by John Vivian - Rodale Press 1978 is a must read), and many fire-side experiences, we have decided to install a wood stove as our primary heating source.  To quote from Vivian, '...we welcome the environmental benefits and freedom from Exxon and its sisters that our willing wood labor brings as much as an earlier generation welcomed the relief from forced labor brought from the kerosene range.' Even if natural gas was available in our neighborhood we believe that wood trumps all carbon based, mined substances. For more info on the availability of fuels and energies in general, we highly recommend reading the Post Carbon Reader.

With many helping hands we have exposed the bones of one of our two chimneys (between the kitchen and dining room - see picture from last post). A vain attempt however was made on top of the roof by Alex and his friend Drew last weekend. After figuring out a safe means of standing eye level with the top of the chimney they began hammering and chipping at the corner brick of the 160 year old chimney. They huffed and they puffed with rock-hammer and chisel but not a single dent could be made. Pretty incredible really. Score: ambitious energetic home-owners: 0, rock solid like-new chimney: 1! So as the old adage goes, and on the path to true permaculturalism, why fix something that isn't broken? Instead we shall put it to use once again. The true fun now begins as we design the hearth and mantle piece :). 

Up on the roof. The picture makes it look like we're working off the dormer, but nope...we're a good 5 feet off the steep pitch ;). Ain't nothing for a pair of rock climbers!

View down the main chimney. Pretty clean for 140 years old.

We expect the new Hearthstone Equinox - yeah the big daddy - to arrive soon, so all you arborists out there, we're willing to start trading eggs and summer shares of our produce for wood. That being said, we're also in the market for a chain-saw to hopefully supply at a minimum our first years fuel from our somewhat untidy land :P.

Not the big daddy. Just a space holder as we wrap our heads around th best orientation.

Solar energy is the most obvious winner in terms of sustainability. We have therefore consulted with some experts to calculate our homes potential for both thermal (hot water) and photovoltaic solar power generation. Hot water was not worth it, but with the government tax credits of 30%, there is an approximate payback period of 6 years to install solar panels. Our roof can accomodate about 8 full size panels, with the capacity to generate about $20 of energy per month. The surprise is that no batteries are needed in these systems anymore. An inverter simply feeds your house with solar energy and if you don't use it, it feeds the grid (and reduces your bill towards negative!). Decentralized green power generation is here...we shall all play a part in the revolution.

After mapping our circuit board to each electrical switch and outlet in the house - really just an adult game of cell phone walkie talkie and flashlight hide and seek - we have purchased a kill-a-watt meter to better understand where and how much electricity we use. The only determination we have made so far is TOO MUCH. We've taken the most important steps however, changing all the light bulbs for efficient CFLs and LED bulbs and purchased a new energystar fridge. Some frightening research on the energy consumption of our old 1970s fridge made the payback calculation quite simple (2.4 years!). We also felt as if we were putting an ailing patient out of it's own misery when the energy conservation NGO EfficiencyMaine came to recycle our old fridge as it would not cease to make agonizingly effort-filled groaning noises. We were even paid $50 dollars for them to recycle it.

EnergyStar gives a handy dandy little calculator if anyone else wants to see how much they spend per year on their refrigeration. We reduced our expense from 400$ to 57$. Our friend Mel also sent us this great article by TreeHugger on other ways than refrigeration to conserve and preserve fresh food, you should check it out.  There were other incentives to make the upgrade as well. You should check your respective local and state programs if you're interested.

We are sorry it took so long to write our second post, but the next one is coming shortly.  To wet your whistle about the upcoming post...what do a 1 horse power tiller, 25 pounds of natural bees wax and a hanging chair have in common? :)...until next time, be well everyone and stay green.