By Larry Chase
Andover Energy Group

Want to learn more about sustainable alternative energy sources – solar, geothermal, biomass, etc. – but afraid of being overwhelmed?

Plan to spend a few hours on Saturday, November 3, visiting your Andover friends and neighbors who have found ways to break a total reliance on fossil fuels and the electrical outlet, save money, and help in a personal way to address environmental concerns.

The event, called Andover Energy Awareness Day, is being organized by the Andover Energy Group. Plans now being finalized will give local residents the opportunity to witness a number of working systems and products aimed at tapping renewable energy resources and using existing resources more efficiently.

Here’s how the event will work:

Look for a final list of host locations and their systems and products in the November Beacon and plan your November 3 itinerary. Drop in to as many or as few hosts as you’d like – no need to sign up in advance, no costs involved. Just limit your visits to the hours between 11 AM and 3 PM on that Saturday.

During those hours, site visitors will be able to interact with hosts who will demonstrate such systems and products as:

• solar hot-water heating
• solar electricity generation
• geothermal heating and cooling (tapping the earth’s relatively constant temperature)
• biomass (e.g., wood) heating
• hybrid vehicles
• all-electric vehicles
• straw-bale home construction
• high-efficiency conventional heating systems

In addition, the Andover Energy Group is encouraging local businesses that provide energy-related products and services to join in the day’s activities by showcasing their wares.

Hosts can also provide information about costs, tax benefits, rebates, and other financial matters.

Readers interested in additional information, or in joining the event as hosts, may contact Energy Group member Larry Chase at LBChase@nullaol.com or 735-5021.

Another Opportunity

Meanwhile, the New Hampshire Sustainable Energy Association (SEA) will host a Green Buildings Open House on Saturday, October 13.

The 22 properties – residences and businesses – across the state that will be open to the public on that day include those located in Salisbury, Sunapee, Laconia, Enfield, Warner, Canterbury, and Concord – each less than an hour’s drive from Andover. The SEA Web site at NHSEA.org/gboh/ contains the full list and lots of additional information.

Learn By Watching

Last winter’s Button Up New Hampshire weatherization workshops drew over three dozen local residents to two sessions to hear expert Bob Eldredge explain how to conserve energy by undertaking a variety of do-it-yourself projects and by changing behaviors.

While the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension is no longer offering such workshops, it – along with the New Hampshire Sustainable Energy Association and Clean Air-Cool Planet – has developed a series of 15 short (two-minute) videos available for viewing online. Video segments include:

• Your Energy IQ
• Setting Your Thermostat
• Understanding Hot Water
• Energy and Your Appliances
• Keeping Your Heating System Clean
• Understanding Air Leaks and Sealing
• and nine others

For further information and to watch the videos, go to MyEnergyPlan.net/videos.

Green Energy Times

By mid-September, nearly 200 copies of Green Energy Times, the Vermont-based bimonthly tabloid focusing on sustainable energy and energy efficiency in northern New England, had been snapped up from various locations around Andover. Look for the next free issue, dated October 15 through December 15, in retail establishments and post offices shortly after mid-October.