This program has been postponed due to the recent positive changes in federal support for sustainable energy options. After some time to research and process these new incentives and programs the rescheduled date will be announced here and on Chase's Mill's social media and mailing list.

With: Jim Gruber, Dan Lewis and Joe Kohler

Class Fee: Free / registration required

Class Size: Maximum of 50 / Adults

A panel of knowledgeable and experienced local individuals will share sustainable energy options for your home and our community that move us away from carbon-based energy sources. These approaches include hydro-electric power, photovoltaics, energy conservation, geothermal, wind power, and heat pumps. The panel members and all participants will be invited to share their knowledge and experience with these technologies, and on how you could reduce your energy costs as well as move toward a carbon-free future.

Jim Gruber has been involved in energy conservation consulting and passive solar home design for many years at TEA. As a civil engineer, he has worked as an energy and environmental consultant for home builders, and state and federal agencies, both nationally and internationally. His passive solar energy home in Alstead has been heated with two cords of wood per year for the last 40 years. He is a professor emeritus in Environmental Studies at Antioch University New England and is enjoying a busy retirement with his wife, Patience Stoddard.

Daniel Lewis, PE, received a Masters in Mechanical Engineering from UMass and joined TEA in 1978, where he was head of Consulting Services. Dan and his wife Leslie live in Lost Alstead and installed a 8kW solar PV system in 2010.

Dr. Joseph Kohler taught Chemical Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute prior to joining Total Environmental Action (TEA) in Harrisville, NH in 1977 as a Research Engineer. Joe and his wife Mona Anderson built a super-insulated “net zero” stone house in 1979.

Joe and Dan developed a mainframe-based computer model to simulate the hourly energy performance of passive solar houses. They later founded Kohler and Lewis, a mechanical engineering firm that specialized in designing energy efficient HVAC systems. For their research in the solar field, Joe and Dan were designated “Solar Pioneers” by the International Solar Energy Society (ISES) in 2021.