Allegheny Power Bringing Efficiency

Mr. John Emerick an account manager for the old Potomac Edison Company now Allegheny Power has worked out of the Cumberland Office for the past twenty five years as a utility veteran.  Mr. Emerick stated, “Back in the 1990’s,  I was responsible for construction and energy efficiency for commercial and industrial structures.  This mostly involved upgrading existing lighting.”

 Mr. John Emerick is working with Maryland Industrial customers to promote the Potomac Watt Watchers Program. Most of his work is done at random Universities.  Mr. Emerick’s presentation showed the many ways that someone can make their home or business more energy efficient. He gave examples such as installing more insulation into your homes or businesses. This would somewhat help solve some of the problems. Also, to cut down on energy costs a homeowner can install more insulation into key heat loss areas such as ceilings, walls, and floors.  He later went on to say, “Making your house more energy efficient isn’t rocket science.” In the middle of the presentation Mr. Emerick accidentally turned off his power point presentation and he said “(expletive).”   The audience expressed their humor with laughter.  During Mr. Emerick’s presentation   he showed a house they determined that had substantial heat loss from the home.  By using a thermal detector he was able to determine exactly how much heat was lost.  A thermal dector shows hot spots and these hot spots are where heat is escaping. The devise revealed most of the heat escaped around areas of the doors and windows.  He went on to say that, “just putting in energy efficient lighting would cut down on energy costs substantially.”  Other sources of energy that businesses or homeowners can tap into are Small Wind Systems, Geothermal Systems and Solar Powered Systems. Businesses that install wind turbines with not more than 100 kilowatts of nameplate capacity are eligible for the 30% investment tax credit. For more information see www.awea.org

More information may be obtained through www.alleghenypower.com/EngConserv/ResEngConserv.asp

www.energysavers.gov/

By: Carson Mackie