Energy audit to help library save fuel and money

    DEXTER — From 9:30 a.m. to noon on Thursday, Jan. 30 an energy audit on Dexter’s Abbott Memorial Library building will measure how well insulated and air-tight the structure actually is.

    The library and DDATT (Dexter Dover Area Towns in Transition) invite the public to watch Maine certified energy auditor Mike Bonney of Penquis Home Heating and Utilities program set up a “blower door” to test the infiltration rate (how much air leaks in) and also use an infrared camera (to see where insulation is working well and where it is not). Sometimes it’s difficult to tell with the naked eye where the cold wind is getting in and where the gaps in the insulation behind the wall or ceiling are, and that’s what these tools help to do.
    The result of an energy audit is a report that defines the current level of energy use (how much electricity and fuel it takes to run the building), any problem areas noticed (where insulation or cracks need improvement), solutions and estimated costs to solve those problems, and a projection of the energy and cost savings which will result from making those changes.
    Anyone in the area who is interested in seeing how this process works, and learning more about how an energy audit will help reduce the heating and cooling costs of any building can come. For more information, please contact  either info@ddatt.org or 277-4221.