Houlton Pioneer Times photograph/Gloria Austin
GIVING INFORMATION — A vendor at the Southern Aroostook Development Corporation Energy Expo explains how a product works to potential customers. The Energy Expo was well attended and because of the positive response is being planned for next year.
On Sept. 14, the John A. Millar Civic Center was filled with vendors displaying every imaginable source of alternative heating systems as the Southern Aroostook Development Corporation held “Energy Expo 2013.”
Working in collaboration with the Aroostook Partnership for Progress in Caribou, it has been the two groups’ mission to find ways that Aroostook residents and businesses can reduce their dependency on fuel oil as their only means of heat, thus saving money and keeping that saved money rotating within the Aroostook economy to help it grow and flourish.
In the past there have been shows hosting bio-mass, whether it be wood pellets or wood chips, as the means of saving on oil.
While these two means are still very dominate and successful in reducing heating costs, within the past couple of years there are many other technologies that have become commonplace and are successful in reducing heating costs as well. It was the goal of SADC’s energy expo to showcase these many technologies under one roof so that the public could see first hand all of the many possibilities that are available to them.
Almost 350 people walked the aisles of the civic center and saw displays of the most automated wood pellet boilers on the market. They viewed pellet and wood stoves and outdoor boilers, saw solar panel technology and the latest in hybrid hot water heaters. There were propane systems and oil burner conversions to be viewed and the latest in sprayed insulation to button up your home and make it tighter.
Who would have thought a few years ago that there are substantial savings to be had by installing electric heat pumps or electric thermal storage units, made even more viable given the low cost of power within Houlton’s own Houlton Water Company’s service area.
A very exciting technology displayed was the geothermal heat pump system which extracts heat from well water and converts it to heat for the home.
In addition there are new means of wood pellet delivery as bulk delivery can be made using the services of two longtime area businesses, both whom had their delivery trucks on display right inside the civic center.
The day was highlighted with a raffle every half hour for 10 bags of wood pellets made possible with a sponsorship of SADC and Northeast Pellets of Ashland, Aroostook County’s own wood pellet manufacturer.
By all standards of measurement, the show was a success as the vendors were very pleased with the turnout and found the folks attending were very well informed of the technologies and asked excellent questions. As a result, they asked SADC if they could make this an annual event. SADC will try to accommodate them.
Jon McLaughlin, executive director of SADC said, “This successful show could not have been possible without the help and guidance of Jane Torres, Greater Houlton Chamber of Commerce executive director; Lori Weston, Houlton community development director; Haley Nickerson, John A. Millar Civic Center supervisor; and the town of Houlton.”
