Check out the My Energy Plan Video Challenge at:My Energy Plan

Energy Committee Of Sanbornton (ECOS)

Sanbornton was one of 164 towns in New Hampshire that elected to form a “Local Energy Committee” by the passage of a town warrant article in 2007, and committee members were sworn in by the selectmen in January 2008.   Our mission is: To provide the Town of Sanbornton with leadership, resources, technical education and recommendations for the reduction of energy consumption, resource management and conservation; with the stated goal of achieving a sustainable reduction in Sanbornton’s hydrocarbon emissions; and to promote clean sustainable, renewable, and/or carbon neutral energy technologies.

The committee meets every other Wednesday at 7PM in the Sanbornton Public Library.

              Here are some of the projects the committee has worked on to achieve these goals:

• Petitioned and presented a warrant article for a wind power property tax exemption which passed unanimously at the 2008 town meeting.
• Arranged for electrical energy audits for the town’s municipal buildings and worked with Atlantic Energy and PSNH on upgrading the lighting equipment in each building, saving the town over $3000 per year on electricity.
• Worked with the school district researching and interviewing energy service companies to do energy upgrades at the 6 school buildings. Researched the feasibility of using renewable biomass (wood chip burning furnace) to heat and provide hot water to the High/Middle School. Arranged for a tour of an operating biomass heat plant for the WRSD School Board.
• Applied for and received a grant from the New England Grassroots Environmental Fund to install programmable thermostats into low income and elderly owned homes. ECOS members volunteered their time to do the installations.
• Did outreach and educational programs at Old Home Day and at all town elections.
• Set up a green/sustainable section at the Sanbornton Public Library, donating several energy conservation related books, a reference book on the committee’s activities, and a “Kill-A-Watt” electricity meter that measures how much electricity different appliances use. (this is available to take home on loan)
• Worked on campaign to get Sanbornton residents to take the NH Carbon Challenge and lower their carbon emissions.
• Were involved with the N.H. Sustainable Energy Association’s Green Open House. (3 ECOS members' homes were included in the tour)
• Committee members attended several workshops/conferences on sustainability, solar power, wind power, biomass, weatherization, high performance schools, EPA portfolio manager, heat pumps, green building guidelines, and toured several biomass plants throughout New Hampshire.
• The NH Carbon Challenge referred to the Sanbornton Energy Committee as “one of the most progressive energy committees in the state” and asked us to speak at the annual N.H. Sustainable Energy Association Conference at UNH.
• Presented an energy conservation/weatherization workshop at the Laconia Elders Friendship Club.
• Offered start up assistance to two other town energy committees.
• Committee members volunteered with Stay Warm NH to help weatherize homes.
• Set up a donation depot at the Sanbornton Transfer station for weatherization materials.
• Published energy saving tips on town trash bag package insert.
• Developed the “Green Power Card” program.
• Worked with insulation/alternative heat supply contractors trying to find a solution to heat the Sanbornton Town Garage in a more efficient, less expensive manner. ECOS is currently working with the selectmen and DPW to construct a brand new energy efficient town garage.
• Offered public demonstrations on straw bale building construction, solar ovens, and energy saving bulbs.
• Published articles in regional magazine on alternative energy.
• Started  a wiki page online at www.nhenergy.org
• Committee logged all utility energy consumption data for all of the Winnisquam Regional School District’s school buildings for the past 3 years into the EPA Energy Star Portfolio Manager software, so that we can benchmark and track energy usage and compare our school buildings’ energy efficiency to others throughout NH.  We are currently doing the same for Sanbornton’s municipal buildings.
• Committee members worked on wind and solar thermal and photovoltaic installations to gain a better understanding of renewable energy in our area.
• Were invited to participate as a member of the Master Plan Advisory Committee, and charged with developing Sanbornton’s first ever Master Plan Energy Chapter, setting a vision, objectives, goals and recommended actions to help guide policy and aid Sanbornton with energy conservation, emission reductions and sustainability.
• Were invited to participate as members of the School District’s Strategic Plan Committee, Capital Improvement Planning Committee, and Honeywell building project committee.
• worked with the MEAP program to do an energy audit on Chapel Hill Fire Station in Sanbornton
• Continued to work with the Winnisquam Regional School District on the Honeywell project for energy upgrades at all 6 of the schools within the district, and to build the biomass wood burning plant at the High School/Middle School campus.  The Energy Committee campaigned for this project, and developed and gave a presentation at the Special School Board Meeting, in which 95.6% of the voters voted in favor of this project.
• Developed a program that promoted the benefits of the Honeywell project and presented the program to the New Hampshire School Building Authority, which awarded the school district a low interest bond funded by a grant from the American Recovery and Re-investment Act, which saved the school district (and taxpayers) approximately $1.2 million.
• Applied for and received a grant from the New Hampshire Municipal Energy Assistance Program to have an energy audit done on one of our municipal buildings, to do an energy inventory/benchmarking of all municipal buildings, and to do an assessment of Sanbornton’s energy policies/Master Plan.
• Because of our successful work, the Union of Concerned Scientists invited us to go to Washington D.C. on a trip sponsored by American Clean Energy Now, to lobby the U.S. Senate to pass climate change legislation.
• Worked with New Hampshire Public television and Planet Granite to produce a one minute public service announcement on energy and the environment

We hope to complete many more energy conservation and building upgrades/retrofits in order to use less energy, save money, and create a healthier environment.  We encourage everyone in Sanbornton, Tilton, and Northfield to come to our meetings, and to contact us if you have any questions, or if you’re looking for information on alternative energy, building upgrade ideas, or energy conscious site planning before construction, so that you too can conserve energy and save money.

These links will help you get started on what you can do at home:

New England Carbon Challenge

"Green Is The New Gold", by Ian Raymond

My Energy Plan

Energystar

Energy Guide

Union of Concerned Scientists

NH Office of Energy and Planning

NH Energy and Climate Collaborative