[E-updates] NEWS RELEASES Keeping Home Fuel Costs Low AND Douglas County Sust ainable Homes Tour

Thu Sep 29 11:10:06 CDT 2005

NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:              

City of Lawrence, Kansas

Waste Reduction and Recycling Divisionl www.LawrenceRecycles.org <http://www.lawrencerecycles.org/> 

September 29, 2005

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Keeping Home Fuel Costs Low 

http://www.lawrencerecycles.org/energyconservationmedia.shtml <http://www.lawrencerecycles.org/energyconservationmedia.shtml>  

Douglas County Sustainable Homes Tour

http://www.lawrencerecycles.org/energyconservationmedia.shtml <http://www.lawrencerecycles.org/energyconservationmedia.shtml> 

Contact:  Michelle Crank, Recycling Specialist, (785) 832-3030, mcrank at ci.lawrence.ks.us <mailto:mcrank at ci.lawrence.ks.us>  

Keeping Home Fuel Costs Low will be Focus of Energy Conservation Fair

http://www.lawrencerecycles.org/energyconservationmedia.shtml <http://www.lawrencerecycles.org/energyconservationmedia.shtml> 

LAWRENCE - As the prices of natural gas and propane are expected to rise by as much as 25% this year, the costs of heating an average Kansas home will no doubt increase dramatically.  Featured speakers at Lawrence's Fifth Annual Home Energy Conservation Fair are slated to address the diagnosis of home energy inefficiencies and offer practical solutions to counter potential skyrocketing winter utility bills. The Home Energy Conservation Fair will be held at the Douglas County Fairgrounds in Building 21 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, October 9.  The fair is free and open to the public.

Bill Hanlon, author of Building Outside the Box, teacher and builder, will be speaking on affordable energy efficient building techniques.  Mr. Hanlon combines his knowledge of energy efficiency with new ideas, low-impact materials and the latest technologies, to provide viable alternatives to standard home construction.

John Craft, owner of Kaw Valley Home Care and certified home energy rater, will conduct on-site demonstrations of blower door tests twice during the day.  Blower door testing is a practical and effective technique for identifying air leakage in homes.  The test gauges the rate of air leakage and helps determine where sealing work may be necessary.  'Smoke tests' allow actual visibility of where inefficiencies may exist.

Workshop presentations and speakers at the fair are as follows:

- 10 a.m., Home Energy Conservation Fair opens with exhibitors

- 10:15 a.m., WORKSHOP: Keep Home Fuel Costs Low: Blower Door Demonstration with John Craft. Blower door tests monitor air tightness in homes and show where home efficiency improvements can be made.

- 11:00 a.m., SPEAKER:   Energy Efficiency and Renewable Systems:  Rich Wenzel gives practical applications for a Midwest climate: biofuels and renewable systems for the home.

- 12:00 p.m., Legislative Update on Energy Issues with Representative Tom Sloan.

- 1:00 p.m. KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Building Outside the Box: Author and builder Bill Hanlon, speaking about a new approach to building an affordable, energy efficient home.

- 2:00 p.m., Bus tour leaves for Douglas County Sustainable Homes Tour

- 2:15 p.m., WORKSHOP: Keep Home Fuel Costs Low: Blower Door Demonstration with John Craft of Kaw Valley Home Care.

 - 3:00 p.m., SPEAKER: Wind Energy: David Johnson of Pinnacle Technology 5:00 p.m., Fair closes.

Exhibitors at the Energy Fair this year include area builders, architects, heating and cooling experts, home energy supply systems, and alternatively fueled vehicles displays.  In response to the popularity of compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulb sales at the fair in recent years, Cottin's Hardware and other retail exhibitors, will be offering a host of home energy saving products on site, including CFL's, weatherstripping and programmable thermostats. 

Premier Sponsors of the 2005 Home Energy Conservation Fair are; Cottin's Hardware & Rental and Hughes Consulting Engineering.

WHAT: Fifth Annual Home Energy Conservation Fair

WHEN/WHERE: Sunday, October 9, Building 21, Douglas County Fairgrounds, 2120 Harper St., Lawrence, KS.

Douglas County Sustainable Homes Tour

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Alternatives to High Energy Costs to be Showcased at Fifth Annual Douglas County Sustainable Homes Tour

LAWRENCE - On Sunday, October 9 guided bus tours to homes across Lawrence and Douglas County will showcase advances in energy efficient construction, new products and renewable energy technologies.

Homes and structures featured on the 2005 tour include a passive solar/earth bermed home; a straw-bale art studio with radiant floor heating; a home utilizing solar radiant-floor heat and hot water; and a 'recycled home'; the Ad Astra Student Cooperative. All homes have been fitted with natural materials and landscaping where applicable. New on this year's tour is an open house, which uses structural insulated panels and other efficient designs by the owner/architect.

Buses for the Douglas County Sustainable Homes Tour will leave from the Douglas County Fairgrounds, Building 21 at 2:00 p.m.  Tickets are $5, or free with a membership to the Heartland Renewable Energy Society, and may be purchased prior to tour departure in Building 21.

As part of the American Solar Energy Society's National Solar Tour, Lawrence joins 43 states and the District of Columbia in showcasing solar-power options as a part of the 10th annual National Solar Tour. For more information please contact Michelle Crank or go to www.heartland-RES.org <http://www.heartland-res.org/>  .

_____________________________

Lisa K. Patterson

Communications Manager

City of Lawrence

PO Box 708

Lawrence, KS 66044

(785) 832-3406

fax (785) 832-3405

lpatterson at ci.lawrence.ks.us

http://www.lawrenceks.org

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