Meeting Minutes 20140611
Town of Underhill
Energy Committee
11 June 2014
DRAFT MINUTES
CALL TO ORDER
Bob
Murphy, Tom Moore, Jerry Adams, Peter Duval, Pete Bennett and Chris
Miller in attendance, the regular meeting called to order at 6:38pm in
the Town Hall Kitchen, with Chris in the chair and Peter D. recording
minutes as secretary.
Minutes
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MOTION
Tom moved, Jerry seconded to accept the minutes of 14 May 2014 as submitted. Passed unanimously.
Town Plan
*********
Chris said that he has been
asked to present the Energy Committees draft of Chapter 8 -- Energy to
the Planning Commission (PC) next week, and he would like to consider
feedback on the chapter before the presentation.
Jerry reported that the PC discussed one aspect of
the Chapter 8, the "gold standard" for new construction. The PC probably
won't accept a draft that contains it. The following day, he emailed
the Committee Draft to the PC Administrator for forwarding to the rest
of the PC. He suggested looking at the bronze and silver standard.
Chris asked Jerry to clarify what he meant by gold, silver and bronze. Bob described some standards, in increasing rigor:
* State standard, Residential Building Energy Standard, RBES
* Energy Star, which was broken into three named standards:
1) Code Plus
2) Energy Star
3) High Performance
Chris
read the building code objective from the Committee Draft: "The town
should require a High Performance Home certification as a requirement
for a certificate of occupancy for new buildings."
Jerry said the town plan "goes in a drawer, until
there's a problem." Later, someone could sue the town based on a claim
that the plan is exclusionary.
Chris pointed
out that the Committee had removed 'shall' from most of the document,
and asked Jerry if 'promote' would be more acceptable.
Pete B. asked why the town should require new construction to meet a higher building performance standard.
Peter D. said that buildings have a long life, much longer than the life the person who decides to build them.
Bob said that he wished the town would enforce the
existing code. Discussion ensued about the details of enforcement. The
state requires that the code compliance documents be filed with the town
clerk. Using the "owner/builder" form absolves the builder from
complying with the state standard.
Pete B. asked if there was a revision that we could
consider. Chris asked for a straw poll on modifying the code objective.
Peter D. said that the PC could change the chapter on its own, and that
it is the Energy Committee's role to forward its best work. Tom said
that the Energy Committee would do a better job revising the chapter
than the PC.
Chris asked for a motion.
Tom
suggested offering an incentive for high performance buildings, with
suitably "fluffy" wording to make it a recommendation to the town.
Jerry said that there will be at least one area of
the plan that will not be fluffy: the town will not takeover any private
roads.
Peter D. suggested writing a letter
about the state standard enforcement issue, and focussing on the higher
performance standard in the plan.
Pete B. asked if there are other mandates, or codes to consider. Jerry asked about the STRETCH code.
Discussion of enforcing the state standard.
Pete B. proposed wording for objective. Discussion ensued.
MOTION
Pete B. moved, Tom seconded to
replace the objective with a "strategy": "The town should enforce
current state energy codes as a requirement for the issuance of a
certificate of occupancy. At the same time, the town should promote
residential building practices which exceed these current state
requirements." Passed 4-1, 1 absent.
Discussion was directed to the section on emissions standards.
Tom moved, Jerry seconded to strike (line 84) ", in consultation with the Conservation Commission," Passed unanimously.
Jerry asked if the references to the survey had been removed. Peter D. confirmed that they were removed at the last meeting.
Pete B. asked about the process. Chris encouraged all members to attend the PC meeting.
Peter D. suggested inserting a recommendation for a
dark sky policies. Discussion ensued about the wording of the
recommendation.
MOTION
Jerry moved,
and Bob seconded to insert (at approximately line 192) a strategy "The
town shall promote the minimization of night lighting, commensurate with
safety and utility, in both public and private properties." Passed
unanimously.
VHEC Grant
**********
Bob
previously circulated the grant application by email. Most of the
projects can be accomplished under the grant funding limit. He reported
on quotes for the various projects: $5700 for the garage lights (Green
Mountain). LEDs would cost about $3000 more. Jerry reported that the
garage project could be delayed. No contractor interest has been shown
so far in the roof project. Bob said that a delay was alluded to in the
grant document, so it should not be a problem.
The post office audit was the basis for the project
and requoted the project. The net, considering incentives, was $4404.
Pete B. asked if there was a benefit to the town for this project. Bob
noted that the postal service had to make an extraordinary requisition
this season for heating oil. Tom said that the improvements do not cost
the town any money and become part of the town-owned building,
regardless of whether the post office remains.
Bob noted concern about the low temperature
operation of the heat pump. Different models function at different low
temps. Bob consulted with Vermont Energy Contracting in addition to
Roland Maheux. It was agreed that the model selection will be confirmed
before the project is undertaken.
In reviewing the heat pumps, it was determined that
the new air-conditioning system at the town hall is actually a heat
pump, with a lower operating limit of 5 degrees Fahrenheit. Bob plans to
recommend that the Selectboard raise the outdoor packages above the
snow, so that they can be used for shoulder season heating (a $500
project, beyond the scope of the VHEC grant).
Town hall main room lighting will cost $1000 for equipment. The Energy Committee will take care of the labor.
The exterior light at the post office is also included as equipment only.
It was agreed to go forward with discussing the projects with the selectboard, in anticipation of receiving the grant.
Solar/VHEC Challenge
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Bob said that we will be receiving a
project-by-project report from the Renewable Energy Resource Center for
the past two years. SunCommon has said that in the past two years it has
completed 29 projects in Underhill. The goal was 40 renewable systems.
It appears that the goal was met. Pete B. will check with Sunward, which
did solar hot water.
Heat Pump Vendors
*****************
Bob
noted that SunCommon is interested in giving a presentation on heat
pumps. Pete B. asked about a "neutral" presentation by Efficiency
Vermont and whether the state incentives are forthcoming. The incentives
were just recently enacted in law, and it will take about a year for
implementation. There is a contact at Efficiency Vermont who Bob can
invite.
Pete B. reported that the Co-op will have a leasing
program. Heat pumps are of high interest to the public. Bob described a
system that he is planning to install at his house.
Discussion turned to system-wide effects of large scale adoption of air-source heat pumps and electric cars.
This agenda item will be carried over to the next meeting.
On a MOTION from Pete B. and second by Tom, the meeting was unanimously adjourned at 8:19.
Respectfully Submitted,
Peter Duval, Secretary
