Thomas Edison: "I'd put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don't have to wait 'til oil and coal run out before we tackle that."
With rising energy costs and pending environmental concerns, citizens in Petersham decided to form an Energy Committee to see how we could help the town and our neighbors. Our mission is to encourage conservation, efficient energy practices, and to promote the use of renewable energy where possible in pubic buildings, homes, and businesses of Petersham. We meet as needed, usually at 7pm, upstairs in the Brick Office Building and welcome anyone interested in attending.
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GREEN COMMUNITY PROJECTS NEARING COMPLETION
For the past eight months, the Petersham Energy Committee has been working toward its goal of reducing energy usage in six town buildings. A Green Community grant from the Dept. of Energy Resources (DOER) totaling $138,425 was awarded the town through the Energy Committee. Although 10% of the grant could have been spent on administrative costs, that did not happen and 100% of the grant went directly to town projects. The buildings affected were Center School, Police Station, Fire Station, Highway Barn, Town Hall and Town Office Building.
To date the following projects have been completed:
- All lights and lighting fixtures in all buildings were converted to LED or compact fluorescent bulbs;
- Insulation and air sealing was completed in the attics of the original school building, the police station, the fire station, and the highway barn;
- A complete new heating system was installed in the fire station;
- Window energy panels were installed in the town hall and town office building.
The Fire Chief has reported that for the first time in his memory, there are no icicles or ice dams at the Fire Station!
Within the next three to six weeks, grant funding will be depleted with the installation of a completely new propane heating and hot water system in the town hall and the installation of a stand-alone propane domestic hot water heater at Center School. This last installation will eliminate the need to keep the big furnace at Center School running during non-heating months, thereby saving more than 600 gals. of heating oil. The committee would like to particularly thank Energia, LLC of Holyoke, and K.M. Salsman of Paxton for stellar work on behalf of the town.
Electric, oil and propane usage is being recorded monthly in MA Energy Insight software provided by DOER. Charts showing the decrease in gallons and kilowatt hours will be available at the end of this fiscal year. With these charts and figures in hand, the committee plans to apply for another competitive Green Community grant in 2016, thereby saving more energy and taxpayer dollars.
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Simple Tips to Help Lower Your Electric Bill
With rising energy costs and pending environmental concerns, citizens in Petersham decided to form an Energy Committee to see how we could help the town and our neighbors. Our mission is to encourage conservation, efficient energy practices, and to promote the use of renewable energy where possible in pubic buildings, homes, and businesses of Petersham. We meet as needed, usually at 7pm, upstairs in the Brick Office Building and welcome anyone interested in attending.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
GREEN COMMUNITY PROJECTS NEARING COMPLETION
For the past eight months, the Petersham Energy Committee has been working toward its goal of reducing energy usage in six town buildings. A Green Community grant from the Dept. of Energy Resources (DOER) totaling $138,425 was awarded the town through the Energy Committee. Although 10% of the grant could have been spent on administrative costs, that did not happen and 100% of the grant went directly to town projects. The buildings affected were Center School, Police Station, Fire Station, Highway Barn, Town Hall and Town Office Building.
To date the following projects have been completed:
- All lights and lighting fixtures in all buildings were converted to LED or compact fluorescent bulbs;
- Insulation and air sealing was completed in the attics of the original school building, the police station, the fire station, and the highway barn;
- A complete new heating system was installed in the fire station;
- Window energy panels were installed in the town hall and town office building.
The Fire Chief has reported that for the first time in his memory, there are no icicles or ice dams at the Fire Station!
Within the next three to six weeks, grant funding will be depleted with the installation of a completely new propane heating and hot water system in the town hall and the installation of a stand-alone propane domestic hot water heater at Center School. This last installation will eliminate the need to keep the big furnace at Center School running during non-heating months, thereby saving more than 600 gals. of heating oil. The committee would like to particularly thank Energia, LLC of Holyoke, and K.M. Salsman of Paxton for stellar work on behalf of the town.
Electric, oil and propane usage is being recorded monthly in MA Energy Insight software provided by DOER. Charts showing the decrease in gallons and kilowatt hours will be available at the end of this fiscal year. With these charts and figures in hand, the committee plans to apply for another competitive Green Community grant in 2016, thereby saving more energy and taxpayer dollars.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Simple Tips to Help Lower Your Electric Bill
- Switch light bulbs to energy efficient compact fluorescent bulbs.
- Lower your home temperature in the winter. Dress in layers; insulate home.
- Use energy efficient appliances.
- Use clothes dryer less. Invest in clotheslines and drying racks.
- Turn off lights when not in use.
- Turn off computers and TVs when not in use.
- Drive your car less. Try public transportation, walking and car pools.
- Recycle, grow your own food, and buy local.
- Take showers instead of baths
- Have your furnace cleaned/serviced
- Air dry dishes instead of using the dry cycle on dishwasher
- Lower hot water thermostat to 120 degrees
- Wash only full loads of dishes and clothes
- Drive sensibly – aggressive driving wastes gasoline
- Combine errands into one trip – plan ahead
- Turn off your engine…idling gets you 0 mpg and pollutes the atmosphere.
- Work with others to organize local energy groups to work on energy conservation and renewable energy issues.