Dee's Electric of Manchester Center, Vermont

Mike Explains Geothermal on GNAT-TV

deadmin — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 16:38:54 +0000

A Great Discovery About Dee Kilburn

deadmin — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 17:52:20 +0000

I thought you might all enjoy learning a little bit about my Dad, Dee, who started Dee’s in 1964. Recently, we came across a trove of his letters from WWII. How it happened and what we found was very moving for my family and it was even interesting enough that WCAX TV in Burlington came down and did a story on it.

How IKEA is Working with Geothermal… in a BIG Way.

Margaret — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 15:08:39 +0000

Contrary to appearances the new IKEA is very green

The giant retailer Ikea—the hip, affordable Swedish furniture & accessories company—opened a new store in Centennial, CO with all sorts of impressive renewable energy features. Their styles may lean towards trendy, but their building design shows genuine long-term thinking.

A Geothermal Power Plant in Oregon! Thanks, DOE, you’re thinking right.

Margaret — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 14:14:33 +0000

This is good news all around. A large geothermal power plant is beginning construction in Oregon AND providing jobs. With significant funding (and implicit blessing) from the Dept of Energy, it indicates a governmental shift, or at least a leaning, towards alternative energy: “Every day we send a billion dollars overseas to countries that often don’t share our values to pay for our dependence on foreign oil. We should instead be spending that money here in America, creating red, white and blue, clean energy jobs,” said U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley. “This geothermal project is a prime example of homegrown American energy that will create jobs here in Oregon.”

“The Neal Hot Springs project is creating high-quality American manufacturing and construction jobs through the construction of the power plant, which is being supplied by Houston-based TAS Energy, Inc., a provider of high efficiency modular energy systems. U.S. Geothermal anticipates about 95 percent of the power plant’s infrastructure and parts will be supplied by U.S.-based manufacturers. Approximately 150 construction jobs and over a dozen permanent jobs are expected to be created during the project’s 18-month construction phase.”
Read all about it and tell us what you think.

Save Energy, Make Whisky? In Scotland, Yes!

deadmin — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 15:16:49 +0000

A whisky distillery on Scotland’s Isle of Islay has found a way to use the cast off parts (called “pot ale”) and save tens of thousands of dollars on transportation costs AND electricity. Bruichladdich Distillery is making methane now and save on disposal costs for its pot ale, as well as now running the entire plant 100% on home-produced methane.
Read this fascinating description of problem-solving via whisky & microbes!

Hazelnut Trees from Transition Town Manchester!

Margaret — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 12:44:51 +0000

Like nature’s energy savings? Nothing does it quite like deciduous trees and shrubs.

They are a natural and effective way to help shade the house in the summer, thus cooling it, and let the sun through in the winter for additional warmth when you need it. Bushes also act as a windbreak in winter, which cuts down on your heating usage. So, now, have you thought about hazelnuts?

A good way to add to your energy landscaping—and make it edible landscaping, too— is to try hazelnut shrubs. Also called filberts, hazelnuts are a fabulous nut used in all types of cuisines.Up this way they tend to be shrubs, while is more southerly climes they grow into trees.

We are pleased to recommend that a community resource for hazelnut bushes in southern Vermont. Transition Town Manchester (http://www.TransitionTownManchester.org) is selling them and they’ll even plant your nut shrubs for you, too! Look at the order form on he website, and read about all they are doing here—you might want to support this noble cause in more ways than nuts!

New Mitsubishi Hyper-Heat Works at Subzero Temps!

deadmin — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 15:33:51 +0000

A brand new heat pump for residential and light commercial use is now available for easy installation and, unlike previous models, the FE-18 from Mitsubishi works super efficiently in frigid weather. Where a typical heat pump would only provide 60% heat capacity at 17° (and might not even operate when the temperatures fall below zero), this new FE-18 provides 80% heat capacity at a bone-chilling -13°!

What does this mean for you? You can now control the climate in an individual room or area in your home all season long—even in the very cold parts of the country (like the Northeast!). And don’t forget, this Mr. Slim does double duty and cools that same area in the hot weather!

Now – isn’t this the solution you’ve been looking for?

Watts Killing You?

deadmin — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 21:40:51 +0000

We found a new device that should really allow you to closely monitor your electrical usage with CSI specificity! And monitoring is the first step to controlling. And controlling leads to SAVINGS!

According to the description, the “Kill-A-Watt EZ Power” meter, allows you to plug any electric appliance and get a read-out of how much that appliance is using. It will assess the output of anything you plug in:
Shows the operating costs of your household appliances
Accurate within 0.2%
Calculates cost and forecasts by week, month and year
Displays eight critical units of measure on the large LCD display
Built-in battery backup
Now you’ll know if it is time for a new refrigerator or if that old air conditioner is still saving you money.

We haven’t tried it yet, but we’re very interested to know what you think. Please get back if you have experience with Kill-A-Watt and let us know.

It’s available at quite a few places, including Amazon, and costs between $22-$30. It should allow you to easily save that much or more! Your neighborhood hardware store or home center might have one, too.

Smart Strips!

Caroline — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 19:54:26 +0000

Hey all you volt conscious people out there! We have an excellent new way to save some precious watts: Smart Strips! These handy little gizmos replace your old power strips, and are a proactive way manage your power consumption. Even when they are off or asleep, your appliances are drawing unused power. This power strip is an easy way to prevent that excess draw. The strip works on a control system. There is one “control outlet,” which automatically disables power to six other outlets when it isn’t in use. So, if you plug your TV into the control outlet, when you are watching it the other 6 outlets on the strip are live, but when it is off the other 6 are disabled. Need to keep your wireless router on at all times? The Smart Strip has you covered with 2 outlets that are normal (power flows to them at all times). This is a great way to cut down on your costs without spending a lot. One review we read said that they had saved almost $6 a month!

You can get Smart Strips at R. K. Miles in Manchester for $35.49

As always, the best way to save on electricity is to thoroughly check your house for unused appliances and lights.

LED Nightlights!

Caroline — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 19:59:01 +0000

Want a really simple way to cut down those energy costs? We suggest using LED nightlights! These fantastic little gadgets use only 10% of the electricity of an incandescent bulb. Not only do they draw less juice, but they also emit less heat—meaning your AC system doesn’t have to work as hard. This cool running also means that little Bobby is less likely to burn his fingers when he touches the lamp. Another great thing about them is that many come with a photovoltaic sensor that automatically turns them on when it gets dark in whatever room they are in. They also last much longer than other incandescent lights—like years! We love them, and we think that will love them too.

You can get LED nightlights at Aubuchon Hardware in Manchester for $6.99-$14.99. For less than $10 you could save much more than that on electricity for years to come.

As always, the best way to save on electricity is to thoroughly check your house for unused appliances and lights. So, if little Bobby is all grown up now, unplug your extra nightlights!