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02/22/2017 07:30 AMIf you are a certain age, you probably remember being told the way to save energy was to turn off the lights. Now, Chester is going to save money by turning the lights on—with a major difference. The lights will be energy saving LED bulbs and installing them in Chester street lamps, according to Peter Harding, will save the town about $200,000 over a 10-year period. A town meeting last week unanimously endorsed the suggestion to replace the current bulbs with the LED ones.
“It will be a real savings to ratepayers,” Peter says, revealing his British origins by using a term for which American English speakers would likely substitute “taxpayers.”
Peter is a member of the Chester Energy Team, formed over five years ago, to help the town and its residents tackle issues of energy conservation and renewable sources of energy. Pat Woomer, whom Peter describes as a great leader, heads the team.
Under the guidance of the energy team, Chester has replaced the old fluorescent light bulbs throughout Town Hall with LED bulbs, installed a small solar energy generating system on the roof of Chester Elementary School, and encouraged residents to take advantage of state-sponsored programs to install solar for their own homes.
With Deep River, Chester is once again sponsoring a Solarize/Chester Deep River program, a part of Solarize Connecticut, that will include discounts and incentives for residents who convert to solar systems. The program will run through March. Peter says that on the energy’s team agenda at the moment are two projects: investigating the installation a larger solar electric system on the roof of Chester Elementary School and the installation of one on the Chester firehouse.
Peter points out that solar electric systems can require a significant investment to install but that they nonetheless pay for themselves, usually in a 10-year period or less, and that the cost can be further reduced through incentives.
“And then for the next 20 years, your electricity is free,” he says.
He adds that if electricity costs rise, the payoff period could be even less. An added benefit, according to Peter, is that studies show adding a solar-powered system, often referred to as a photovoltaic system, adds to the value of the home.
Peter’s connection with energy savings goes beyond the energy team: Energy saving is also his business. He is the founder of Home Energy Technologies, a Chester-based company that advises architects, builders, and homeowners throughout the state on how to construct energy-efficient dwellings. That involves working with architects to site houses to take maximum advantage of sunlight, and making the house as efficient as possible in terms of heat loss and associated prevention of drafts.
Peter says his business works though all phases of the process, including design, construction, and inspection. He says that what clients most often talk about is not the money-saving aspects, but rather the comfort of the energy efficient home.
“The commonest thing people say is that they never realized how comfortable a home could be,” he says.
Energy saving first became a public concern, according to Peter, in the energy crises of the l970s, the first in l973 and the second in l979. Today, he says, energy saving has become far more than saving on fuel bills; global warming is a related issue as fossil fuels emit planet-warming carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. New homes benefit from the technological improvements in solar panels, which can now be monitored by smart phones. There are smart phone apps that can calculate how much energy each solar panel is generating or note if it is not generating at all.
Older homes, Peter acknowledges, are often less suitable for solar installations because of location, and roof constructions like skylights and dormers. He says, however, that owners of older homes can get an energy audit, usually done by the utility company, at a very reasonable cost, to discover ways in which they can make their existing homes more efficient.
Peter didn’t start out as an energy consultant. At the University of Bristol in England, he majored in geology and worked for an international mining company in Iran and Canada. He describes the travel involved as a “difficult life,” and decided to return to school to earn a business degree.
That led to management consulting and a position in the United States.
“I just never went back,” says Peter, who has been here 40 years.
His interest in energy saving began during his career as a management consultant.
“I had scientific training and I was always interested in how things work,” he says. “And being efficient is important in management and also in energy efficiency.”
Peter and his wife Jane moved to Chester 10 years ago after longtime residence in Darien and he started his own energy business shortly thereafter. At the moment, he also serves on the Library Building Committee.
An avid sailor, Peter knew Chester from excursions up the Connecticut River. It was also an ideal location for Jane, who shows Portuguese water dogs, located between canine events in New York and Boston. Currently, the Hardings share their home with three Portuguese water dogs. In addition to local sailing, Peter has done a number of long distance races to Bermuda.
“Always finished, but never won,” he says.
He has sailed in the Atlantic, the Caribbean, and the Mediterranean, but he still has destinations in mind.
“I’d love to sail the Pacific; those islands have a certain attraction,” he says.
In terms of energy, Peter admits to a fondness for something that is not on the prescribed efficiency list.
“I probably have an occasional wood fire. It looks so nice, but it sucks the air out of the house and up the chimney. It’s energy inefficient,” he says.
To find out more about the Chester Energy Team, visit chesterct.org/town-services/e-team-energy-task-force.