[SEMCO] Green Home Workshop Series

[Sheri DeRosa]

For Immediate Release           Contact: Joan Muller 508-457-0495 x107

Energy Efficiency Kicks Off Green Home Workshop Series

The Green Home: Focus on Energy workshop series kicks off Thursday
evening, March 7 from 7-9 pm at Waquoit Bay Reserve. The first workshop
will focus on energy efficiency and will cover weatherproofing your home
as well as tips and tricks on reducing your electric bills.

Bruce Torrey of Building Diagnostics entitles his program, "A
Homeowner's Guide to Energy Efficient Improvements." Mr. Torrey
declared, "Whether it's an addition, a new house or remodeling of a
kitchen, bathroom or any other room in the house, every single home
improvement project has good opportunities for improving energy
efficiency of the whole house." Bruce promises to guide homeowners
through the whole process and include, what to ask for, what to look for
and how to make home improvements, on your own or by hiring someone,
that are cost effective and really work to improve comfort, energy
efficiency and indoor air quality. Bruce employs a number of diagnostic
tools such as infra-red heat loss cameras, infiltration fans and air
quality analyzers to meet these goals. His presentation will feature
slides which profile case studies and problem-solving techniques and
visually depict, via infra-red photography, where heat loss is ocurring.

Kevin Galligan, Energy Efficiency Program Manager and Maggie Downey,
Adminstrator, of Cape Light Compact will bring people up to speed on
saving electricity. Mr. Galligan had this to say, "The Cape Light
Compact has programs in place that people can take advantage of today.
We'll let them know how they can start saving on their electricity bills
immediately."  He'll cover the EPA's Energy Star program as well
as some simple behavior changes that can go a long way to saving money
as well as electricity. Anyone with an old torchiere halogen lamp is
urged to bring it at six pm to trade it in for one with a new
energy-efficient, safe, compact-flourescent bulb.   They'll also bring
energy efficient  items for door prizes.

The workshop will run from seven until nine, however, people are invited
to come as early as six pm to see the Renewable Energy Trailer and/or
participate in the torchiere turn-in. The Renewable Energy Trailer has
working solar hot water, photovoltaic solar electric panels and a wind
turbine. There will also be a networking session  (please bring your own
mug for a hot beverage if you'd like) at 9 pm after the workshop.
Consultants and contractors working in the renewable energy field are
welcome to join us for the networking session as well. There is no
charge for the workshop.

Future workshops include Energy from the Sun (March 14, Steven Strong),
Homescale Wind Power and Possibilities for Buying Renewable Power from
the Grid (March 28, Tom Wineman, Al Benson), and From Theory Into
Practice: Cape Cod Case Studies (April 4, Seth Wilkinson  and Megan
Amsler). The Visitor Center is located at Waquoit Bay Reserve
Headquarters on Route 28 in East Falmouth. Waquoit Bay National
Estuarine Research Reserve and the Cape and Islands Renewable Energy
Collaborative are co-sponsoring the series. Please call 508-457-0495
x107 for further information or x 333 to register.