by WEBB member Phil Price, with contributions by Lisa Cunningham, Gavin Watson, and Hannah Pingree.
North Haven’s sea level has risen roughly 8 inches since 1950, and will rise even more – and more rapidly – in the future. This is happening because burning fossil fuels has increased the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, causing higher temperatures. Glaciers are melting, leading to more water in the oceans and to warmer oceans. And warm water expands.
Most people on North Haven will live to see the sea level rise to more than two feet higher than it was a couple of generations ago. This past winter the flooding at Brown’s Boatyard gave a dismaying illustration of what a couple extra feet of water can do, and sea level rise is just getting started. The next fifty years are going to be rough no matter what, but our actions now will determine how bad things get for our children and grandchildren. The good news is that we can change our choices and our future.
A lot of greenhouse gases are released when fuel is burned to heat homes. That’s why the State of Maine and the federal government provide financial incentives to switch from natural gas or propane heat to an electric heat pump (see details about heat pumps in Sidebar, below). EfficiencyMaine.com lists the state and federal incentives, which can be very large. For example, in Maine a low-income resident who installs a heat pump can get a rebate of up to 80% of the project cost. Moderate-income residents can get 60%. If you need to upgrade your electric panel to power the heat pump, there’s a tax credit of up to $600.
Thanks to programs like these, Maine is one of the leading states in the country in switching to heat pumps. In addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and saving money on operating costs, this switch has an additional benefit for North Haven: less use of propane means fewer ferry trips will be needed for the propane truck.
A heat pump isn’t the only thing people on North Haven should consider. North Haven has a natural advantage when it comes to electric vehicles: travel distances are short. Plug in when you get home. The EfficiencyMaine website provides information about rebates of up to $7500 for electric vehicles. And, just as heat pumps reduce operating costs compared to the fossil fuel furnaces they replace, electric vehicles are cheaper to operate than gas-powered vehicles; going a mile on electricity is cheaper than going a mile on gas, plus there’s no money to spend on oil changes, spark plugs, antifreeze, tune-ups, etc. Win-wins all around!
Insulation and weather sealing might be the most cost-efficient way to reduce your heating bill and your greenhouse gas emissions. Getting insulation into existing walls and ceilings can be difficult, but do it when you get the chance – for example if you have to open up a wall or ceiling anyway. And there are high-efficiency, weather-sealed windows that are designed for retrofitting inside your existing window frames. Rebates are available for a variety of options here, too!
Home appliances can add up to more than 20% of a household’s energy consumption – in particular refrigerators, and clothes washers and dryers (heating water is a big energy sink, just for starters). But affordable, energy-efficient options are on the market, and easy to buy and install. The government’s ENERGY STAR program verifies and certifies products for their efficiency, so you know when you see that label, you’re on the right track. And newer appliance designs, such as all-electric induction stoves and high-efficiency electric washer/dryer combinations, can dramatically reduce energy use while breaking that fossil fuel habit. Don’t fret: EfficiencyMaine even offers rebates for these items.
Smart energy strategy is also important. Many summer homes are heated during the winter, because owners think low temperatures or fluctuating temperatures will damage drywall (very unlikely) or will open cracks at the drywall joints (possible). Often a house can withstand below-freezing temperatures with no problem at all, if the plumbing is drained. Use curtains so rooms don’t go quickly from cold to warm on a sunny day. Have someone check the house occasionally and turn on the heat if problems start to develop. If you must heat a vacant house all winter, set the thermostat very low.
And don’t forget the bigger picture! Sustainable energy sources such as solar and wind are vital in moving off of fossil fuel dependency. Solar electric systems are available and increasingly cost-effective options for homeowners, businesses, and governments. And solar energy generation plays very well with heat pumps, electric vehicles, and more. While EfficiencyMaine does not provide direct solar tax credits, the federal government does, and homeowners and businesses may qualify for several of these.
Fortunately, North Haven already has a significant commitment to wind power, through Fox Islands Wind. Adding solar wherever possible boosts the island’s energy self-sufficiency. We can add even more collective power through shared solar power generation, changing government and institutional vehicles to electric ones whenever new vehicles are purchased, and more. The payback comes in spades over time: savings can amount to thousands of dollars per household over the years, and the movement to energy self-sufficiency is – well – priceless.
In short, it’s now possible to electrify and conserve from head to toe, inside and out. And plenty of financial incentives to help you get there (click here for a handy summary table from EfficiencyMaine). Moving to these electric options is not only good for the earth, but efficient and cost-effective for all of us.
Sidebar: What Is A Heat Pump?A ‘heat pump’ moves heat from one place to another. An air conditioner is a type of heat pump; so is a refrigerator. Even when it is cold outside, a heat pump can still move heat from outdoors to indoors, just as your refrigerator moves heat from your cold freezer into your warm kitchen. The amount of heat you get is the heat that you moved from outdoors plus the energy it took to run the equipment. This is very efficient, so the operating cost of a heat pump is much lower than a propane furnace or an old-style electric furnace, typically saving hundreds of dollars per year. Heat pumps can run in either direction, providing heating and air conditioning.