Warm Winter Days = Energy-Saving Opportunity

60° days have been common this winter—it even reached an astounding 70° yesterday!  Take this opportunity to spend some much-needed time outside AND turn your thermostat down!  One way to take advantage of the warmer weather is to open those windows or keep the shades open on the south and west sides of your home to let the house warm up.  Then close the house up tight in the early evening to keep all that warmth in.  Even with lows in the 30s you can minimize the amount your furnace needs to kick on at night with these simple steps.  Enjoy!

Tom

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Meet Chris McKeel

Compared to renters, owners have the luxury of being able to invest in their properties and can reap the benefits long-term.  In practice though, owners don’t commonly invest in energy efficiency, even though it offers better returns on investment than just about any other home improvement.

“Most homeowners don’t think they can afford efficiency upgrades,” says Chris McKeel, owner of Durham-based Apple Realty.  “From a homeowner’s perspective, they are expenditures that compete with other financial demands.”

The rationale is different for investors, says McKeel, who manages 350 different rental homes around Duke University.

“When I make the case [for energy efficiency investments such as an energy-efficient heat pump], I have the numbers to back it up.”

McKeel has seen utility bills drop from over $200 a month to less than $100 as a result of investments in energy efficiency.

And when renters pay less for utilities, they rent for longer.  That means owners keep their properties rented more of the time. In some cases, they’re even able to increase the rent as a result of lower-than-average utility costs.

In the real estate business, builders tend to shy away from new processes and equipment.  But by making energy efficiency a priority in his business, McKeel has been able to develop a network of contractors comfortable with the latest methods and products.

As a man of faith, McKeel heeds the words of Genesis that call for human beings to be good stewards of the Earth.

“I can impact these owners and these tenants.  I can’t go from neighborhood to neighborhood and try to elevate the conversation like Clean Energy Durham does,” McKeel says.  He views his support for Clean Energy Durham’s neighborhood program as fitting in perfectly with his values.

2030 Society members have pledged multi-year support and recognize Clean Energy Durham as a community leader helping the city and county reach their goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by the year 2030.

–Profile by Clean Energy Durham Volunteer Thibault Worth

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Designing Better Bus Service in Durham

This January Durham citizens can play a continuing role in helping to shape Durham’s growing transit system, through an effort called “Designing Better Bus Service.”  This workshop will review the draft service changes that would affect every route in the DATA system.

A workshop today, January 11^th will allow the public to learn more about initial recommendations to improve DATA’s existing services, given an unchanged level of financial resources. The session will offer the opportunity for open and honest discussions about transportation issues.

Wednesday, January 11^th – Durham Station – 515 W. Pettigrew St., Second Level

• 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Open House
• 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Presentation
• 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Open House
• 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Presentation

Staff will be also available for questions and comments during two additional open house sessions on the second level of Durham Station on Jan 17^th & 18^th.

• Tuesday, January 17^th 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.
• Wednesday, January 18^th 7 a.m. to 10 a.m.

The feedback is needed to ensure that the diverse needs of the community are considered in evaluating current and future service.

To learn more about Designing Better Bus Service in Durham, please visit dbbs.gotriangle.org

Home Energy Savings Program

Check out the recent article in the Herald-Sun about Durham’s Home Energy Savings Program (HESP).  HESP is an energy-saving program that provides energy upgrades to existing homes that meet certain criteria at a fraction of the retail cost.  The program’s predecessor, NERP, has been wildly successful and has received much praise for helping residents save energy and money (check out what people are saying)!

Tom

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Smart Commute Event

Learn about discounts, incentive plans, and other things to help you plan a smart commute.

Who: Naima Rorie, Transportation Education Specialist with Clean Energy Durham and Dale McKeel, Pedestrian & Bicycle Coordinator for the City of Durham
Where: South Regional Library in Durham
When: Sunday, January 8, 3:00-4:00 p.m.
Contact: Cathy Starkweather cstarkweather@durhamcountync.gov or (919) 560-7410

Co-sponsored by South Durham Green Neighbors
No registration required

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Become a Neighborhood Bus Buddy

A Neighborhood Bus Buddy is a frequent transit rider who is interested in sharing with their neighbors their knowledge and experience about using the transit system.  Neighborhood Bus Buddies are available to discuss and share transit riding information with their neighbors.

This is a great opportunity to share your knowledge about how great it is to ride the bus.  Fill out an application or contact Naima with any questions.

Naima

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FREE Bicycle Maintenance & Safety Training

Clean Energy Durham is seeking committed individuals who enjoy hands-on projects to be trained as “Bicycle Transportation Trainers”:  volunteers who help teach their neighbors bicycle maintenance and commuting techniques.  This free class will be limited to ten people from south Durham neighborhoods:  West End, Lyon Park, Morehead Hill, Lakewood Park, Tuscaloosa-Lakewood, Forest Hills, Rockwood, Hope Valley, Hope Valley Farms, Woodcroft & Parkwood.

Clean Energy Durham will provide trainees 14 hours of training in seven sessions during the first and third Tuesdays of the month (beginning Jan 17^th).  The sessions are hands-on and taught by skilled professionals.  Each trainee will be provided with the necessary supplies and bike maintenance & safety pamphlet during the course.  Trainees must be able to attend all sessions.

In return for this training, trainees will be expected to organize bike-related activities in their neighborhood by June 30^th. Examples include:

• host a bicycle clinic
• start a group bike ride
• lead a bike safety workshop
• be a bike mentor for a beginner commuter

Clean Energy Durham will help all trainees organize their neighborhood events.

Classes will be located at the Durham Bike Co-op at 715 Washington Street (around back, lower level).   Additionally, trainees will be asked to provide additional 10 volunteer hours at the Durham Bike Co-op, which will allow them to hone and share their skills.

Download Bike Trainer Application

See post on Gotriangle.org

Ninna

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Meet John Pearce

Former Duke University architect John Pearce, Jr. may have retired last year, but he’s still juggling a busy schedule.

Long before the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) building standard evolved into the eco-chic badge it is today, Pearce was thinking about sustainability and drawing up master plans for the university.

“We didn’t do projects for the short-haul like developers,” says the 72-year-old who took the top architectural job at Duke in 1992.  “We did them for the long haul.”

As a Yale architecture student 50 years ago, Pearce was trained to see a building not as an independent work of art, but as an integral part of its natural surroundings.  It should take advantage of the wind and harness the sun, he was taught.

As a young man, he traveled to Iran, India and Japan, studying wind patterns, natural cooling methods, and the importance of water in people’s lives.

But it wasn’t until the second half of his career that Pearce started integrating energy efficiency deeply into his work.  As the ski industry came of age in the late 1960s, Pearce had the opportunity to design a number of houses in Colorado that tapped geothermal power, and incorporated new energy efficiency technologies.

As an architect, Pearce tends to frame sustainability in aesthetic terms.  On solar panels, he waxes poetically about how they create a graceful linkage between a building and the sun.  An architect using panels must think of a building’s orientation and how energy will be transferred to and used by the inhabitants.

Giving to Clean Energy Durham as a 2030 Society Founder is Pearce’s way of tipping his hat to practical, community-based energy savings—what he calls “the Durham piece” of his legacy at Duke University.

2030 Society members have pledged multi-year support and recognize Clean Energy Durham as a community leader helping the city and county reach their goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by the year 2030.

–Profile by Clean Energy Durham Volunteer Thibault Worth

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Heads-Up On A New Bike Shop on 9th Street

A new bicycle shop, Tip-Top Cycles, has opened at 624 9^th Street next to Bruegger’s Bagels and under the Zola Craft Gallery.  The shop will sell used bicycles that have been refurbished and biking accessories, and it will offer bicycle repair services.  Owners Sarah Taylor and Colin Barry moved from New York City about six months ago.

The shop will be open Monday through Saturday from 10am to 6 pm.  Let’s give the folks at Tip-Top Cycles a warm Durham welcome!

Ninna

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Vote Tree #40—The Bicycle-Powered Christmas Tree

Clean Energy Durham never stops pumping its message of fun-filled energy conservation tips for your home and everyday life.  To compete in the Triangle Tree Challenge, where 60 non-profits decorate a 10-foot tree in the message and spirit of their organization, Clean Energy Durham brought together its message of energy conservation (switch to those LED lights, folks!) and bicycling, as a safe, healthful alternative to fossil fuel-driven transportation.  With the help of Joe Sykora of www.eBoo.st and Yakir Gagnon, Clean Energy Durham erected a bike connected to the LED holiday lights on the tree.  A sign invites passersby to hop on and pedal to light up the tree.

Even while we were getting set up, nearly everyone who came by wanted to get on and try it out.  Now all we need is for everyone to vote for our tree!  You can vote by texting 46988 with the message, “tree 40,” or you can vote online at www.triangletreechallenge.com with your email address and our tree number – 40.  People can vote once a day beginning last Friday, December 2^nd at 8pm until December 18^th at 11:59 pm.

If Clean Energy Durham gets the most votes, our organization wins $5,000—money we will use to lower energy costs and consumption through neighbors teaching neighbors right here in Durham.  Please help us out, vote today and every day through December 18^th.  What an easy way to help us raise $5,000!  THANKS!

Trees will be available for viewing at Diamond View Park on the American Tobacco Campus beginning December 1^st.  A photo of our tree is now up on the Triangle Tree Challenge website—check it out!

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