An Opportunity to Reduce Your Heating Bill

Hinesburg Energy and Climate Action Committee sponsors a lunch and workshop to discuss ways to make your home more energy-efficient; rebates for low- and middle-income homeowners.

By Chuck Reiss
For The Record

What are the real barriers for reducing our fossil fuel use here in Vermont?

One of the largest contributions statewide to global carbon load is the fossil fuel we burn to heat our homes and businesses – 38 trillion Btu (British thermal units) in 2023 – second only to transportation fossil fuel consumption at 45 trillion Btu per year. Reducing our home and business fossil fuel energy use is a critical step in our path to a fossil fuel-free future.

A significant barrier for many people is the confusion as to how to get started moving toward a fossil fuel-free home. Lack of thermal information about your house and the many programs and options to improve thermal performance of your home can be daunting.

Hinesburg Energy and Climate Action Committee (HECAC) would like to be of assistance. At noon on Saturday, April 25, at the Carpenter Carse Library we invite the public to lunch and discussion of a proven method to sort through the confusion of analyzing your home and putting together a plan to get your home or business off fossil fuel and close to net-zero energy (a home that produces all its own energy onsite, using the grid to “store” energy during the winter).

The analysis is a collaboration involving the Zero Energy Now (ZEN) program, Efficiency Vermont (EVT) and our committee. By doing a thorough analysis of a home or business we can establish a detailed starting point to improve the thermal performance of the structure and plot a path using renewable energy.

The first step is always air sealing and weatherization, being directed by the comprehensive analysis. The ZEN program employs a software tool that can generate an energy work plan that optimizes the thermal performance for each individual home or business. This analysis includes generating a scope of energy work, estimating the cost of the energy work and identification of state and federal incentives and credits.

Once this analysis is completed owners can see how their present monthly utility expenses will compare to post energy work expenses. The ZEN program has many examples of homes that have significantly reduced their energy load. Many homes that implemented ZEN recommendations have reduced their fossil fuel consumption by 80 to 95 percent.

The town of Hinesburg has received a grant from The Vermont Department of Public Service to pay for this comprehensive home analysis for a limited number of low- to moderate-income households. After a winter like we just had, it’s not too soon to be thinking about getting your home or business ready for next winter.

Please join us on April 25 and we will explain the whole process. We will be joined by the director of the ZEN program and a representative of Efficiency Vermont.

For more information contact Margaret McNurlan at malcolmfuller@gmail.com

or Chuck Reiss at 802-238-7802