New Hampshire Energy Programs - Increase Your Energy Efficiency and Your Bottom Line

Interested in doing well while doing good? New Hampshire Businesses for Social Responsibilty can help. Since the late 1980's NHBSR has been supporting businesses committed to adopting socially responsible business practices.

As we all know, energy costs are on the rise and putting pressure on the bottom lines of businesses throughout New Hampshire. NHBSR is having a free webinar on how energy efficient programs can greatly reduce your energy costs. These costs could go down as much as 50% and can create a more comfortable environment for customers and employees. 

To learn more on how you can potentially save thousands of dollars a year on energy, register for the free webinar here: 

Federal tax credit for renewable energy still available in 2012

New England homeowners still have time to take advantage of the 30 percent federal tax credit for residential renewable energy systems in 2012. Eligible renewable energy systems include solar hot water, solar photovoltaic, wind turbines, geothermal heat pumps, and fuel cells.

“If you installed a system in 2011, you should claim this credit when you file your 2011 taxes,” ReVision Energy, a Green Alliance Business Partner, reminds us in their latest e-newsletter. “If you install a system in 2012, you’ll be able to claim this credit in early 2013 when you file your 2012 taxes.”

ReVision Energy offers Green Alliance members even more incentives for going solar this year, including $350 off a solar hot water system and $375 off a solar photovoltaic system. These discounts on solar can only be described as "Wicked awesome!" when you consider the fact that joining the Green Alliance costs as little as $35 per year, or just $150 for a Lifetime Sustaining Membership. 

Homeowners may be able to take advantage of renewable energy property tax exemptions offered in some New England communities, as well as apply for state run renewable energy rebate programs. ReVision Energy’s expert staff is available via email to begin walking you through the incentives and rebates available in your area.

Revolution Energy at the fore of a solar hot air breakthrough

What if you were able to heat a building using little more than a small array of solar panels? Until recently, such options were virtually non-existent. But one New England company aims to change the way we think about the sun; what it can provide; how; and what it might mean for the future of solar energy.

Launched in 2008, the Dover, New Hampshire-based Revolution Energy has since installed nearly a half-dozen solar systems, making them the single largest owner of on-line solar equipment in the state. As such, their expertise ranges from standard alternative energy systems to lesser-known, burgeoning technologies – one of which they’re betting will become a game changer in their ever-changing industry.

It’s called solar hot air technology, and it’s poised to redefine how we think about heating large-scale buildings. Here in New England, where upwards of 85% of homes are heated with fossil fuels – and where clean, green heating alternatives have traditionally been hard to promote – the timing couldn’t be better.

Of course, an overview of the technology itself might be helpful. Think of a hospital, or any building that has to have a constant flow of fresh air. Typically, these structures draw in cold air during the winter months – air which subsequently must be heated up to room temperature. That, in turn, requires more oil or propane. Makes sense, right? Well, imagine if you could install a solar array which connected directly into the fresh air intake that already exists. Only, instead of cold air that then must be heated up, you’d be taking in air that was already warm, thereby reducing your use of fossil fuels and, by deduction, your heating bill.

“The true payback or savings for a system like this would be in a reduction of oil use of 20 or 30 percent,” notes Mike Behrmann, one of the principles of Revolution. “This technology really is a sleeping giant.”

Jenaly Technology's latest Green Tips!

Jenaly Technology Group Inc. has made impressive strides in lowering the amount of electricity and paper required by IT solutions, and is always looking for new ways to reduce the business's impact.  Jenaly is also passionately committed to educating people about sustainablity and empowering them to make green choices.  Each issue of Jenaly's monthly newletter includes Green Tips--here's the most recent set of tips from Jenaly!

Green IT Item of the Month

Greening Your New Year’s Resolutions

With 2012 right around the corner, lots of people have been making their new year’s resolutions. Many of these include sustainable choices such as:

* Grow your own food
* Reduce paper consumption
* Share with others
* Bike or walk instead of drive
* Stop buying bottled water
* Stop receiving unwanted catalogs
 

Learn more about Jenaly's green innovations here!

To read and subscribe to Jenaly's newsletter, click here!

Hey kids! Celebrate New Years Eve early in Dover, NH

Children and their families are invited to ring in 2012 a little early at the Children’s Museum of New Hampshire’s annual daytime Family New Year’s Eve Celebration on Saturday, December 31 in Dover, NH.

This festive event runs from 10 am – 3 pm and includes three special “countdowns to midnight” held at 11 am, 12:30 pm and 2 pm. At each countdown, a glittering ball drops 30 feet from the ceiling as everyone counts down the last ten seconds of the year. Noisemakers and confetti create an atmosphere like Times Square, as "Auld Lang Syne" plays and ginger ale is served to all for the first toast of the New Year. Visitors are also invited to make their own sparkly party hats and write their wishes for the new year on mini flying blimps that are launched at each countdown.
 


New Map of Green Alliance Businesses in Downtown Portsmouth, NH

With 98 local businesses now part of the Green Alliance community, it can be hard to keep track of them all at times.

“I was out doing some Christmas shopping in downtown Portsmouth today, and since I don’t have all the Green Alliance businesses memorized, I was in want of a map showing me where I could use my Green Card,” as GA Green Card carrying member Andrew Tiebout recently put it.

Tiebout took it upon himself to solve the problem by creating this handy map of all the Green Alliance Business Partners found in downtown Portsmouth. Check it out!

View Portsmouth Green Alliance Businesses in a larger map

2011 Wildquest Holiday Camp coming to Laconia, NH

Look for something for the kids to do over the 2011 holiday vacation? Wildquest Holiday Camp at the Prescott Farm Environmental Education Center (PFEEC) offers an affordable way to get your kids outdoors and learning about the environment in a fun, community-minded and non-competitive atmosphere. The camp includes nature activities, animal and plant identification, arts and crafts, quests, and hands-on learning. 

“Throughout the week we’ll go on some extreme adventures – just head outside and go where our interests take us,” promises the Prescott Farm staff. “On such adventures in the past we’ve discovered hidden pond, unexplored valleys and found the coolest signs of animal life – always something new and different. Last year we found an active bobcat den!” 

Super cold, wet days will be spent indoors working on fun, creative arts and crafts projects.

Aimed at kids in grades K-7, or ages 6-12, the camp runs from Tuesday-Friday, December 27-30, with daily sessions from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Extended care is available. 

The PFEEC is located at 928 White Oaks Rd. in Laconia, NH.

Cost is $45 per day or $180 for the full 4-day week. Green Alliance and PFEEC members pay just $35 a day or $140 for all four days. Not a Green Alliance member yet? Join today!

Click here to register for the 2011 Wildquest Holiday Camp.

Plaid Friday offers local alternative to Black Friday mayhem

For millions of Americans, Black Friday evokes the image of throngs of tired eyed consumers shivering in the dark outside locked box store doors, awaiting the chance to do battle over the last Tickle Elmo doll, or whatever the latest Made-in-China fad happens to be this year.

Enter Plaid Friday, a local alternative to Black Friday organized by Seacoast Local to put the fun and color back into the holidays by encouraging local consumers to wear plaid and shop at locally owned, independent businesses on the day after Thanksgiving. 

In only it’s second year, Plaid Friday is an idea that appears to be catching on. 

“Plaid is very New England,” according to Seacoast Local’s newly minted Director David Boynton, who pointed to his own shirt to prove his point.

“Who wants to spend Black Friday at some box store fighting a total stranger for a plasma television?” he quipped. “Plaid Friday is for people who want to enjoy their Friday shopping for a unique gift at a local store. People are really excited about how much more fun it is.”

“I made phone calls to participating stores and there was a lot of excitement about how many people dressed in plaid were coming in,” he said. “I’ve even got the pictures to prove it.” 

Sure enough, photos of smiling shoppers and retailers dressed in plaid now feature prominently on Seacoast Local’s Facebook page.  

Boynton chalked the initiatives success up to more than just New Englanders’ unique fashion sense.

“People are starting to realize the value of shopping local,” he explained. “Dollars spent locally generate 2-3 times as much economic activity in our community than dollars spent at national chains.”

Wearing plaid is nothing new for employees of the Green Alliance, a Seacoast Local partner that has worked for years to make it easy for Seacoast shoppers to “Buy Local. Buy Green. Save Money.”

“How many days a week do I wear plaid?” repeated Jim Cavan, Director of Media and Public Relations for the Green Alliance, with a bemused look on his face. “Probably two times a week.”

It’s safe to say that’s a conservative estimate.

Send a green message this holiday season

Pixels & Pulp and RAM Printing are teaming up with the Green Alliance this holiday season to offer a full package of eco-friendly printing and design services at a discounted rate.

Based in Hampstead, New Hampshire, RAM has earned a reputation as a green trendsetter in the printing industry by incorporating sustainability into their business model for more than two decades. In fact, RAM was the first printer in New Hampshire to receive Forest Stewardship Council certification. While most printing companies continue to rely on oil-based inks, RAM uses the soy-based kind. Cutting edge technology also allows the company to save time and energy by setting up print jobs in minutes and producing 15,000 high quality copies per hour.

Pixels & Pulp is a partnership of two tech savvy, eco-conscious female entrepreneurs from Maine, Elise Weeks and Megan Keogh.

“To make the ‘Pulp’ part of the equation as green as possible, we seek out printers who use Forest Stewardship Council certified paper, vegetable inks and chemical free finishing processes,” according to Keogh. “We team up with RAM Printing to make it easy to protect the planet, one print job at a time.”

Natural partners, the two companies first came together through the Green Alliance.

Headquartered in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, the GA is best known as a consumer co-op that provides members with discounts at local green businesses. But for the GA’s growing family of over 90 Business Partners, the organization also provides a place where eco-minded entrepreneurs can meet to share ideas and develop mutually beneficial business-to-business relationships.

“John Sobczak over at RAM has become kind of like a mentor for me on printing,” said Weeks. “I meet with him to talk about business and keep up on the latest sustainable developments in efficiency and eco-friendly papers. He’s shown me that going digital is not the only way to green.

The latest deal to roll out of the GA idea house is a special 20 percent discount on Pixel & Pulp’s print design services, a deal available exclusively to GA members on jobs printed by RAM Printing and good only through December 15, 2011. Members of the local consumer co-op also save 5 percent on all print jobs at RAM.

Free Solar Energy Lunch and Learn for NH Businesses

Curious about solar energy?  Like free lunch?  Then ReVision Energy has an offer for you: free pizza for your office and a presentation on solar energy options in New Hampshire.

"We're hoping to get the word out about solar in an informal, low-risk format for businesses," said Dan Clapp, ReVision Energy's Exeter NH branch manager, "Many businesses are still unaware of great state and local incentives, such as the $50,000 state rebate for solar and 30% federal tax grant."

The state rebate of up to $50,000 per project, combined with historic low prices on PV panels, makes now an extremely attractive moment to invest in renewable energy. Plus, ReVision Energy offers Green Alliance members $350 off solar hot water and $375 off solar PV installations.

"This is a great opportunity to learn more about how solar power can offer predictable energy costs over the long-term," Clapp added, "Solar offers a guaranteed economic and environmental ROI, reducing your company's carbon footprint and also its reliance on fossil fuels."

Tradition holds that “There is no such thing as a free lunch,” but in this case there is!  For information, please contact Heather Fournier, Office Manager at ReVision Energy’s solar showroom and workshop in Exeter, NH: (603) 501-1822 or heather@revisionenergy.com. 

There is a 10 attendee minimum for each event.

GUEST BLOG: Why have a pre-listing home inspection?

By Ed Henningsen, Henningsen Inspections

So you've decided to sell your home. If you're like most homeowners, you want to sell it quickly and for the most money you can get. And there's nothing wrong with that -- it's simply human nature.

However, most homeowners will need to invest money in their homes in order to sell them. Buyers want “Move-In-Ready” homes; the less work there is to do, the more salable your house becomes, which means quicker sell and -- potentially -- more money. If a house requires significant renovations, the price will typically be lower, and usually more than what the renovation work is worth.

A common first investment is to simply apply a fresh coat of paint to hide the years of wear and tear. This is well worth the investment. Remember, what do buyers want? “Move-In-Ready” homes!

But what about other improvements? A good -- and often overlooked -- investment that can save you money is a home inspection. For those who have never conducted or experienced a home inspection, know that there are many professionally-trained auditors out there. We'll look at everything from the landscaping, to the roof, the sump pump in the basement to the possibility of rodents in the attic.

Traditionally, our primary work has been on behalf of buyers, in order to help them make a more informed decision. The prospective buyer will receive a list of deficiencies found by the home inspector, usually requesting that you -- the seller -- make the repairs necessary for the sale to move forward.

You might be asking yourself, if the buyers is going to have one done, why should I? If you know someone who has recently sold their home, ask them about their experience. Chances are the buyer's home inspection yielded a few unwanted surprises. Or simply ask your broker -- they’ve probably seen it dozens of times. You'll probably hear a bunch of horror stories about trying to get contractors to do the work, unreasonable prices due to the rushed conditions, and the total stress the home owner experiences during crunch time.

Green Alliance offers many ways to save on home heating costs

October snowstorms are a sure sign that winter is on the way, and with it the sticker shock that comes with the season’s first heating bills. Luckily, local Green Alliance Business Partners are offering members of the Seacoast based consumer co-op discounts on a variety of eco-friendly products and services that can help to cut down on home heating costs.

“We have a lot of people coming in to buy weather stripping for doors and plastic that goes over windows to help keep out drafts,” according to Andrew Carberry, Manager at Middleton Building Supply in Hampton, NH. Green Alliance members get a 5 percent discount on all regularly priced, in-stock items at the local, family-owned hardware store.

“We also carry Nu-Wool insulation, a very green product made from 100% recycled paper,” Carberry reported. “It seals the entire wall cavity, including behind electrical outlets and other areas that are hard to reach with regular insulation.”

“Attic insulation is always a good way to go,” said Brian Burris, owner of the sustainable remodeling company Nicely Done.  The Hampton based builder offers Green Alliance members 5% off labor on attic insulation installation.

Burris also offered the following home weatherization advice to do it yourselfers.

“90 percent of it can be done with a caulking gun,” he said. “Anywhere you can feel air coming in, a caulking gun may be the easiest and cheapest solution.”

Homeowners looking for a more scientific approach to planning for home weatherization may want to contact Ed Henningsen of Henningsen Inspections. The Eliot, Maine based Energy Advisor and Home Inspector provides Green Alliance members with a 15 percent discount on energy audits.

What to do with that basement or crawlspace in your old home?

By Jim Cavan and Ed Henningsen

It’s no secret that many people – and countless thousands here in New England – love their old homes, particularly those dating to the 18th or 19th centuries. Whether it’s their architectural uniqueness, links to our forefathers, the remembrance of certain smells, or the comfort one feels when standing beneath their often majestic structures, there’s just something that attracts us to them.

Whatever the appeal, pretty much anyone who fits this description will at some point be met with the challenge of preserving their beloved home for the next 100 years. Specifically, homeowners must figure out how to most efficiently heat them. In doing so, they’re often confronted with a subsidiary challenge: that of an unfinished, drafty basement or crawlspace.

First, some facts. Whether we like it or not, three aspects of Mother Nature will ultimately deteriorate just about everything on the planet: Water, heat, and ultraviolet light. Here in New England, water or moisture is generally thought of as the chief concern amongst the three; mold and wood rot can often overtake a basement, if spores and moisture are left unchecked and there are enough organic materials for them to feed on.

Obviously, removing the organic materials – original wood beams, manufactured lumber, paper products, etc. – is at the very least a hugely difficult proposition, and at most impossible. With more modern materials such as sheetrock backing paper, manufactured lumber, or OSB board, the heat-intensive manufacturing process often results in bringing out carbohydrates latent in the wood – the sugars on which mold loves to feast. That leaves removing moisture as the only feasible way to prevent rot and decay.

The Paperless Approach

We all know ways we could be greener and more responsible. Some methods are simple, like making sure we throw that coffee cup in the right bin. Others, like choosing a bicycle over a combustion engine, take more effort. And then there are green technologies, like alternative energy or hybrid cars, with upfront costs many people can’t afford.

But, ideally, shouldn’t sustainable living come as easily as choosing the recycling bin? One seacoast business owner has found a few simple ways to use technology to not only conserve resources, but to increase efficiency as well.

Portsmouth Atlantic Insurance (PAI) has been a paperless business since signing its first policy in 2005, which is no small feat in an industry that’s known for piles and piles of paperwork. Their secret is really no secret at all: computers and the Internet. While these are technologies that are often blamed for impeding workplace efficiency, this isn’t a problem at PAI. Instead, the business takes advantage of a management program by a company called Applied Systems that is designed for insurance companies and allows them to use all the same documents, just digitally.

Meet the new light bulb

For more than a century, the light bulb has stood as a symbol of innovation and human ingenuity. Today, the light bulb is living up to that reputation by taking energy efficiency to a whole new level.

Sitting on the counter of The Lighting Center at Rockingham Electric is a display reading, “The new LED lighting from Philips is here, and it can change everything.” It contains Philips brand LED replacement light bulbs that use just a fraction of the energy of the traditional incandescents they replace. A 60-watt incandescent light bulb can now be swapped out for a12-watt LED. A 40-watt incandescent can be replaced with an 8-watt LED.

“Saving energy is as easy as changing a light bulb,” joked Jim Pender, President and CEO of Rockingham Electric.

And that’s the just beginning. Consumers will soon be able to replace their old 60-watt incandescents with a new highly efficient 10-watt LED light bulb from Philips. This groundbreaking replacement light bulb won Philips the Department of Energy’s first ever Bright Tomorrow Lighting Prize in August. If every 60-watt incandescent bulb in the country were replaced with the 10-watt L Prize winner, Americans would save around $3.9 billion worth of electricity.

“The world of lighting is changing rapidly, probably more than any other category we work with,” Pender noted.

The Lighting Store also carries the next generation of incandescents, halogen light bulbs that look just like the classic light bulb, but use less energy. A 60-watt traditional incandescent can be replaced with a 43-watt halogen light bulb.

“There is a tremendous amount of interest in energy efficient light bulbs right now,” Pender reported. “They are still more expensive, but people realize the payback.”

Rais wood stoves radiate beauty

Plummeting temperatures mean rising heating bills for us New Englanders, but Greenovations, the eco-friendly home remodeling business, has a remedy for the coming cold.

6 Reasons Why To Pay Up For A High End Rais Wood Stove


1. Rais woodstoves are gorgeous, plain and simple. They offer the largest unobstructed glass window so you can see the entire beautiful, cascading, lava-like flame that is unique to this stove.

2. You’ll burn less wood – up to 25%.

3. Rais stoves are designed to heat a home at an even temperature through convection, so you’ll never be “cooked out” of a room. 


4. Rais stoves are made from the highest quality steel and glass. It is typical for a Rais stove to be used for two decades without ever needing to change a part. On top of that, a properly fired Rais stove creates virtually no creosote. While it’s always smart to clean your flue pipe once a year, the chimney sweep is likely to tell you there was nothing to clean.

Jenaly IT's Green Tip of the Month!

You may be surprised, or even dismayed to learn that indoor air qulaity is often worse than outdoor air quality. But there's something easy, inexpensive, and very green that you can do to combat this problem.

Researchers have found that adding a few plants to a house or office space can purify and revitalize the air and protect us from negative effects of common toxins.

Top 10 Air Cleaning Plants:

1. Areca palm

2. Reed palm

3. Dwarf date palm

4. Boston fern

5. Pothos

6. English Ivy

7. Australian sword fern

8. Peace lily

9. Rubber plant

10. Weeping fig

And when you have plants in an office setting, it tends to improve health and morale, as well!

Smart Meters Make Smarter Consumers

Almost everything we do in our homes requires electricity: we brew coffee before work, watch our favorite TV shows, throw the dinner dishes in the dishwasher and browse the internet – usually at the same times everyday. Those daily routines can make us feel like we live in our own little worlds, so it’s easy to forget that everyone else on the street is more than likely using electricity in those same ways at those same times.

And that oversight costs everyone money.

Electricity is more expensive during peak hours, the times during the day that people tend to use more electricity, because the sudden jump in energy use puts a greater strain on the power grid.

Central Maine Power (CMP) began an initiative earlier this spring to not only reduce the overall cost of supplying energy to customers, but to help those customers use their energy more responsibly.

The plan involves replacing all the current analog meters on peoples’ homes with new Smart Meters. These wireless meters will not only eliminate the need for a meter reader to go door-to-door, but will allow customers to access their power consumption in real time.

GUEST BLOG: Sunpower asks: Are you ready to fire the power company?

By Fred Greenhalgh
Revision Energy

With utility electric rates set to rise again and costs of solar continuing to drop, solar electricity is looking better and better. Who doesn't want to cut ties with the electric company and generate some or all of their power? Historically, upfront cost has been a barrier to going solar. Thanks to a new program offered by ReVision Energy, that's no longer the case.

Through a partnership with SunPower, manufacturer of the world's most efficient solar electric panels, ReVision is now able to offer a solar loan up with terms up to 20 years and with rates as low as 5.24%. Using the program, a typical 3.7kw solar electric system for the home will cost about $26/mo - about as much as a newspaper subscription! All the while that system will generate clean electricity, offset C02, and reduce your payment to the power company.

Solar electric systems have zero moving parts, which means reliability and durability -- the panels have an expected useful lifetime of 40-50 years with little to no maintenance. Once the solar loan is paid down, you have an income stream, in the form of free energy from the sun, right on your rooftop for 20+ years. And as electricity rates increase (they have been by 4-5% per year), the investment pays itself off more quickly. In today's market, solar electricity may be the only guaranteed ROI out there!

Contact ReVision Energy for a free quote on solar electricity for your home, or more information on the new program.

Redhook Brewery's Operation Thank You!

 Come join the Redhook Brewery as they host this year's "Operation Thank You!" event. Scheduled for Sunday July 24th, this fundraising event aims to “raise awareness and support so that military chaplains throughout the state of New Hampshire can continue to aid military personnel and families in the event of a crisis.”

This event, which was created over five years ago by The Meat House and Redhook Ale Brewery, has proven to be a great success in the past. With this years goal is set at raising $100,000 and to have over 5,000 attendees, this event is sure to be a hit! Join Greg Kretschmar from WHEB/WGIR’S Greg and the Morning Buzz as he hosts this fantastic event for a worthwhile event from 11-4pm.

Food, music, games and raffle tickets will all be up for grabs so be sure attend! Purchase a ticket for just $10 and join the Redhook as they partner with Operation Thank You! to help those who need it. Children under 12 are free and all currently-serving Guards and Reserve get in free!