Energy prices have been quite stable over the last three winters. This is unusual. We can expect spikes in some heating fuel prices before too long, and one of the best ways to protect yourself from spikes in energy costs is to make your home more energy efficient. 

The most effective way to make your home more efficient and protect yourself from spikes in oil prices may surprise you. Yes, it’s improving your home energy efficiency, but it’s probably not the insulation or windows you hear about so much. Instead, it’s something called air sealing. If your home is drafty, and always feels colder than what it says on the thermostat, or it’s always freezing in the spare bedroom, you need to do some air sealing. 

Some of this work stopping drafts is obvious, but the lion’s share of it is in hidden spaces that can most easily be found with specialized equipment such as a thermal imaging camera. This device can see hot and cold spots behind the walls and ceilings. It’s amazing to see the cold spots around ceiling lights and electrical outlets that this thing can find. It can also find animal nests in the walls (because they’re warm) or other problems.

The best way to get started on this is to schedule an energy assessment through a program from Efficiency Maine. At my house, the test crew found huge open spaces in the attic where the plumber had made some connections and cut away insulation. They were leaking in cold air. The assessor thought that if air leaks in my house were put together, it was as if I was leaving a large window open all the time. 

From there, I needed to schedule a crew to come in and foam up all those gaps, which was a full day’s work, but there are programs from Efficiency Maine to support that, too. Just visit efficiencymaine.org to get started. It definitely made a difference for us, for an investment of about $600, or roughly one tank of oil. It will pay back forever (it’s not like it wears out), and our home is less drafty.

If your water heater has a 12-year warranty and it’s been in service for 15, it might be time to get a new one. One of the best items you can consider is a heat pump water heater. Water heating amounts to 20 percent of a typical home’s energy costs. If you’ve been hearing about heat pumps, these devices work the same, surprising way. They can take heat out of 60 degree air and make it into 125 degree water, perfect for a hot shower. Heat pump water heaters are about 60% more efficient than regular electric water heaters, and because they work like a dehumidifier, they dry out your basement, too. Efficiency Maine is offering a $750 rebate on these types of heaters right now, which puts them in the same price range as a regular water heater. They’re not a good choice to go in a closet or an air-conditioned basement, however — they need to be placed in an area with some circulating air that stays 40 to 90 degrees. And just like a dehumidifier, they need a drain for the water they collect.

The Low Income Heating Assistance Program (known as LIHEAP) is available again this year. LIHEAP is targeted to low and very low income Maine homeowners and renters. The biggest thing I find people don’t know about this program is that it is available for renters, even if your heat is included in your rent. However, funding for this program, which is set annually by the federal government, hasn’t yet been announced for winter 2017-2018. York County Community Action handles all applications for York County. Visit yccac.org or call 324-5762 to get started.

Today in Maine, oil, natural gas and wood are roughly equal in price. Like many Mainers, at our house we have multiple heating systems. We have an oil furnace, solar hot water, a wood stove, and a pellet stove. Believe it or not, we’re also looking at propane, which is a clean burning fuel. Then we can really hedge our bets! A new rail-based commercial distribution center for propane in Biddeford is a positive thing, too.

If you’d like to make an environmentally-minded choice for your electricity supply, there’s a simple way to bring renewable energy into the mix. Maine Green Power is a program of the Maine Public Utilities Commission. This program sources renewable electricity from solar, hydro, biomass, wind and tidal technologies. We’ve got some of the cleanest power in the nation here in Maine, so there’s plenty of it. There is no need to purchase or install any equipment, you just make a selection on your power bill.

At our home we use this program. It costs $7.50 per month. It’s a nice way to support the growth of Maine’s renewable energy economy, especially if, like me, you always forget to turn off the light in your basement workshop. At least I’m supporting Maine’s hydropower industry.

Maine Green Power is available for commercial customers too. Consider making it part of a package to market your company’s environmental awareness. Visit megreenpower.com to set it up.

Looking ahead to how we’ll be heating our homes and driving our cars 20 years from now, I spoke to Jeff Marks, executive director of the Environmental & Energy Technology Council of Maine. This is a business group which is working with The Governor’s Energy Office to develop a statewide energy plan. They’re looking at combining energy efficiency improvements with alternative heating and transportation. As you’ve seen, lots of these options are available now. The opportunity is making them more widespread and being sure the economics work for both home and business, which we’re well on a path to do. 

Winter in Maine is beautiful, but sometimes cruel. As I believe they’ve done every year since 1818, the Farmer’s Almanac is calling for a snowy winter. I hope you can take advantage of some of these ideas and programs to take off the chill. 

— Rep. Martin Grohman of Biddeford is an Independent state Representative serving his second term in the Maine Legislature and is a member of the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee. Outside the legislature, he is chair of the Biddeford Solid Waste Commission. Marty hosts a podcast for Maine entrepreneurs called The Grow Maine Show. Find it on Apple Podcasts and Google Play, and sign up for legislative updates at www.growmaine.com or facebook.com/repgrohman.