East Hampton’s Energy Awareness Days Help Residents Learn More About Conservation

The heat at this time of year can cause people to crank up their air-conditioners, which in turn cranks up their electric bills. Fortunately, some were able to learn ways to save energy at East Hampton Town’s inaugural Energy Awareness Days, held on Tuesday, June 5, at East Hampton Town Hall and on Wednesday, June 6, at the Montauk Playhouse.

Co-hosted by the Public Service Enterprise Group Long Island, the event featured hands-on examples and tips for how to insulate and power homes using as little energy as possible. According to John Sousa-Botos, an environmental analyst for East Hampton’s Natural Resources Department, the event came together after Bill Sullivan of the town’s Energy Sustainability Committee went looking for outside help on energy education.

“Bill had come across these various external organizations that provide opportunities to teach people that the amount of electricity they use is leading to an energy shortage here on the South Fork,” Mr. Sousa-Botos said after the two-day event.

“The story is that PSEG and LIPA [the Long Island Power Authority] projected that, by 2030, there will be a 167-megawatt deficit in power supply in East Hampton and Southampton combined,” said Larry Cantwell, the East Hampton Town supervisor, in an interview this week. “We’re facing a growing shortage of supply to meet the demand, and since the community is always growing, the demand is growing.

“So there’s been a lot of attention on the town’s part and on the state’s part to focus on solutions to that problem,” the supervisor continued. “PSEG and LIPA are going to be reviewing proposals from energy providers and managers of energy solutions to try to meet that solution.”

Mr. Cantwell emphasized that PSEG has stated that energy shortages will begin as early as next year.

One attraction at this week’s event was the Green Jobs Training Center’s mobile lab, a trailer with an interior designed to resemble a basic home. Green Jobs trains contractors to make the most energy-efficient home improvements they can, and once the contractors complete training and written and hands-on tests, they become certified as Building Performance Institute GoldStar contractors. The contractors, whose names can be found online at BPI.org, provide services that help conserve electricity used in home climate-control systems.

“There’s a greater demand for air-conditioning systems in the summer because people are more uncomfortable with the weather,” Dolores Bevilacqua, president of Green Jobs Training, said. “But people actually need to measure and verify how much energy they’re using and how much air is escaping their homes.”

Ms. Bevilacqua showed tools that can be used to discover where energy is being wasted—an infrared camera that shows if heat is seeping through insulation, a blower door that shows air leaking through a door frame. She also showcased a display comparing the electricity consumed per year, and the cost, for four types of light bulbs: LED, compact fluorescent, halogen and incandescent.

At the event, those looking for a prime example of living “energy smart” could walk through the home of Corbett and Grace Lunsford, which they refer to as their “Tiny Lab”: a 200-square-foot, custom-built trailer with fully-fuctioning bathroom, living quarters and dining area. The husband-and-wife team, along with their 4-month-old daughter, are in the middle of a “Proof Is Possible” tour of 20 cities showing their mobile residence to homeowners and contractors.

Previously, the couple would visit trade shows and offer tips to contractors about proper energy-minded construction, along with offering tips on their website, BuildingPerformanceWorkshop.com, and their YouTube channel, Home Performance. But then they had an epiphany.

“As we started learning more, we noticed that missing component in the entire contracting process was the homeowners,” Mrs. Lunsford said. “Nobody was really going directly to homeowners to talk about how to properly examine and fix homes. It was so funny to us, because people do so many tests on their cars, but rarely any on their homes.”

Originally living in Chicago, the couple bought a trailer last November and spent $80,000 in materials to build their tiny home while documenting its construction on their YouTube channel. With the support of several sponsors, the couple hit the road on April 1 to make their first stop in St. Augustine, Florida. They’ll visit other towns, including Cincinnati, San Diego and Phoenix, ending January 14, 2017, in Atlanta. Each visit is made courtesy of a sponsor, with the Town of East Hampton being the sponsor for their stops at Town Hall and the Playhouse.

Complete with attractively smooth floors, an upper dining area and lower sleeping quarters, the Lunsford home is very efficient, with a composting toilet and solar roof panels. They’ve taken great care to ensure the home is airtight—and that was evident when entering the Tiny Lab, which was so well sealed that all one could hear was the quiet humming of the air conditioner unit inside.

For those who might be lost as to where to start adjusting their energy usage, East Hampton Town is offering free energy audits via the Long Island Green Homes Initiative. This nonprofit group of towns, community organizations, and Molloy College’s sustainability institute offers a hotline for consumers to call and have trained energy navigators determine how much is being used. The number is 1-800-567-2850.

“It’s a one-stop shop where everyone on Long Island can go and get the resources they need to help the town reach its goal in addressing energy issues,” Mr. Sousa-Botos said of the initiative. “This is a top priority issue for the town, so you’re going to see more active engagement.”