Volume 20, Number 13
Serving Durham, Middlefield and Rockfall
www.TownTimes.com
Friday, July 18, 2014
Officials encourage energy audits Town Times
There has been a push for home energy audits from town officials, businesses, and utility companies in recent months. The results, at least according to one official, have been mixed. The audits attempt to make individual homes more energy efficient. According to a press release from the Clean Energy and Sustainability Task Force, which is coordinating the efforts, the
audits can result in “an average savings of $300 or more every year.” According to Nancy Winship-Poole, a member of the Clean Energy and Sustainability Task Force, the audits are worthwhile for every homeowner. “The value is way above and beyond the cost,” Winship-Poole said. The audits cost $75 for electric or natural gas costumers and $99 for propane and oil users, with programs to waive the fee based on need. Homes are put through a blower test to gauge leaks.
Items such as plumbing, appliances, and furnaces are inspected. The audit includes on-the-spot improvements like energy efficient light bulbs and weather stripping. “There’s always going to be things that you can do,” said Winship-Poole, who pointed out that a recent energy audit found areas to improve in her home even though it had undergone an audit only a few years earlier. The Clean Energy and See Energy / Page 20
The Clean Energy and Sustainability Task Force, a joint board of Durham and Middlefield, hopes to use energy audits to reduce home electricity useage. | Mark Dionne / Town Times
Library improvements ‘just in time’ By Charles Kreutzkamp Town Times
The Levi Coe Library is undergoing a number of improvements this year, including new carpet, paint, and a repaved parking lot. “They just painted new lines on the asphalt in the main parking lot last weekend,” Ralph Sayward, president of the Levi Coe Library Board, said.
The new carpet and paint in the children’s story room comes “Just in time for our children’s summer reading program,” according to Adult Services Librarian Susan Mizla. Mizla said the library staff is very excited for the improvements. Sayward said a contractor had also been hired to paint the wood trim at the library, though much of the exterior
Newly repaved asphalt at the Levi-Coe Library.
is brownstone. “We’re getting a lot of good feedback,” Sayward said, “the repaving of the parking lot was way overdue, and the carpet has definitely seen better years.” The main parking lot at the bottom of the hill has been paved, and the upper level will be repaved before summer is over, according to Sayward.
| Charles Kreutzkamp / Town Times
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By Mark Dionne