Results - MEA Webinar - Medfield Decarbonizers

The following provided by Medfield Environment Action (MEA).

Medfield Decarbonizers Webinar

On Monday, November 16 a group of Medfield residents attended a webinar hosted by Medfield Environment Action and the Medfield Energy Committee.

The event was a follow up to David Green’s presentation on Net Zero Home which was held in October. The November webinar included several Medfield residents who have taken various measures to drastically reduce their household carbon footprint. Jim James, owner of Park St. Books, shared his experience with participating in the Solarize Medfield project. He purchased and installed solar panels on his barn. Jim found it to be a very worthwhile endeavor in more ways than one. Once he ran the numbers, it was a “no brainer”. He not only is obtaining electricity from the sun for his house, but also for his barn and his store, Park St. Books and Jim does not have a monthly electricity bill!

Kirsten and Glen D’Abate told the audience about the two electric vehicles they have purchased. The first one was a used Toyota Rav 4 purchased as a “trial run” and when that worked out well, they purchased a used Tesla the following year. They installed a charging station in their garage – not a big deal according to them. No trips to the gas station or service station for maintenance for the D’Abate family! There was a bit of “range anxiety” in the beginning to figure out how long they could travel on one charge but once they figured they could visit family members out of state on one charge it was easy to plan accordingly. They also have solar panels, so the sun is charging up their vehicles!

Jim Nail had a decision to make when his central air conditioning needed to be replaced. What a perfect opportunity to research some greener alternatives and Jim did just that! Rather than install a new air conditioning unit, he investigated heat pumps to be used for cooling in the summer and heating in the winter. He is looking forward to the first winter with his new heat pumps. He took advantage of the rebates and incentives offered by Mass Save and was able to keep the cost down.

There were several polling questions during the webinar asking the audience to guess as to the number of electric vehicles purchased by Medfield residents and the number of solar panels and heat pumps that have been installed here in Medfield – over 150 solar panel installations, 57 heat pump systems installed and 48 electric vehicles purchased. All those folks, along with our panelists have dramatically decreased their household carbon footprint! Purchase wisely and keep the momentum going!

Fred Davis, Chair of the Medfield Energy Committee ended the webinar with a short tutorial on how to calculate your own household carbon footprint and charged those attending to take measures to decrease that number. It was a highly informative and worthwhile presentation on solar panels, heat pumps and electric vehicles from the perspective of the homeowner. It also provided information on reputable resources to assist you in your research. If you missed it, you could watch the video by visiting our website MEAMedfield.org.