Energy Cafe March 27 on Home Energy Audits

Wednesday, March 27  *  6-7:30 p.m.  *  Farmers Gastropub, 431 S. Jefferson, Springfield

Mark Goss with the Ozarks Area Community Action Corp. will speak on "Low-cost, High-impact Energy-saving Tips for the home" at the Energy Cafe hosted by Ozarks New Energy March 27, 6-7:30 p.m. at the Farmers Gastropub, 431 S. Jefferson, Springfield.

The event is free, but registration is requested at 581-4018.

Goss will discuss the home energy audit process, which he describes as a fact-finding mission that concludes with recommendations to help homeowners cut costs, stay comfortable and reduce electricity use. "The bottom line is I like to give people cost-effective recommendations that have a high impact. These are practical recommendations that people can do themselves or have a plan of action for someone else to do it for them," he said.

The audit, he explained, identifies leaks in the seal between "conditioned" air space in a home--what's heated or cooled--and "unconditioned" space, such as garages, basements, attics, crawl spaces and the outdoors. Often, simple caulking and weather stripping can make a 20 to 30 percent difference in energy use, Goss said.

He performs home energy audits for customers of electric cooperatives that have contracted with OACAC for that service. He has been an energy auditor since 1997 and worked for OACAC for nine years.

Past Energy Cafes have featured energy-efficient building codes for Springfield, Zach Miller on green Multilist features, Dustin Dover of MFA Biofuels on its miscanthus giganteus project in Missouri, Nathan Jones of Power Source Solar on solar thermal, Cheryl Marcum and Mitch Ross on their solar-drenched home near Stockton Lake, Renew Missouri on energy legislation in Missouri, Art Boyt on Serious energy-efficient windows, Jim Evans on his impressive array of solar panels, Russel Gehrke on low-cost energy improvements, Jonathan Gano on Springfield's CNG project, Matt O'Reilly on Springfield natural environment component of its strategic plan and Dr. Thomas Pirotte on energy improvements at South Slope Farm. Our fall season featured Rick Scarlet and Gloria Johnson on their mid-town home energy improvements, Jeff Dawidowski and George Van Hoesen on Christian County's first off-the-grid home and Neal Farrar of Sunbelt Environmental Services on ground source heat pumps.

See photos of past Energy Cafes on our Facebook page.