Roughly half the homes that Maine solar installers visit aren’t well situated for installing electric or hot water panels. But that means half will work, either with a rooftop array or one mounted on a pole on the property. How’s your home? What direction does your roof face? True south is best, of course. That’s…
With the Winter chill in the air, we decided to catch up with Scott Libby, owner of Royal River Heat Pumps in Freeport to learn more about heat pumps and how evolving technology can help us efficiently heat our homes. SRG: What is a heat pump and why are they so popular right now? SL:…
It’s often repeated that a heat pump works like a refrigerator, and it heats your home like a refrigerator in reverse. But how many people know how a refrigerator works? This is how Dana Fischer, the residential program manager at Efficiency Maine, explains what’s going on. The basis for both devices is to move heat energy from one…
The age of the air source heat pump By Tux Turkel Transformational. That’s a word to describe the heating transition in Maine a half-century ago, when home-owners started saying goodbye to their coal bins and hello to oil tanks. Compared to coal, oil was cleaner, more convenient and more efficient. In 2015, we may be on…
Simple strategies for extending your growing season by Lisa Wolff It’s a Saturday afternoon in July and Eliot Coleman is sitting atop his picnic table under a grape arbor on the terrace of his Harborside, Maine farm. He is sipping port wine, wearing felted slipper boots adorned with bright orange carrots, made for him by his neighbor. The…
Time and technology are changing. What’s the best heat for your house? The numbers are dropping fast, but roughly seven in 10 Maine homes still rely on oil as the primary heating fuel. So the recent sharp drop in wholesale petroleum prices has many homeowners wondering whether it’s worthwhile to convert from heating oil or kerosene to other fuels.…
By Tim King Forget death, taxes and porta potties, last winter the great equalizer throughout the state of Maine seemed to be the ice dam. From Fort Kent to the Foresides, from Calais to Casco and Cape Elizabeth, it seemed that no matter where you lived, how big or how expensive your home was, everyone fell…
Enjoy more comfort and spend less on fuel this winter By Tim King Working with a master Jack-of-all-Trades, Do-it-Yourself dad, I can’t tell you how many times I heard the phrase, “Don’t worry, trim hides a multitude of sins.” I quickly learned that what he meant by this was that a well-placed, decorative piece of trim molding…
It’s hard to keep track sometimes of what can be recycled and where. Curbside and single sort recycling has helped recycling rates considerably. But what about CFL light bulbs, Mercury thermostats, computers and other electronics? The Maine Department of Environmental Protection publishes a searchable map that lists drop off locations statewide for these items and…
Fall is the perfect time to get a jump start on a green lawn in the spring. Here are a few easy steps from the Cumberland County Soil and Water Conservation District’s YardScaping Program, which aims to help Mainers improve soil health, reduce the use of lawn care products, and grow a beautiful lawn with little…