Albemarle Soundsis published monthly by

Albemarle Electric Membership Corporation

P.O. Box 69Hertford, NC 27944

(252) 426-5735

Gary Ray, General ManagerChris Powell, Editor

Website and member portal:www.aemc.coop

Outages:1-800-274-2072

24-hour payments: (252) 426-4419

Albemarle EMC is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

We are members of NC 811. Call 811 or 1-800-

632-4949 three business days before you plan to

dig.

December 2019 Proudly serving the members of Albemarle Electric Membership Corporation

Albemarle EMC Carolina Country DECEMBER 2019 21

2020 Washington, D.C. Trip Available

Albemarle EMC is offering two high school juniors or seniors the chance for a trip of a lifetime.

Applications are now being accepted for Albemarle Electric Membership Corporation’s Washington Youth Tour. High school juniors and seniors can apply online by visiting aemc.coop/Washington-youth-tour-online-form. The deadline to apply is Jan. 10. Two students will be selected based on the quality of a written essay and

extracurricular activities. The trip will be June 20-26, 2020.

Youth tourists from across the state will meet in Raleigh, then board a bus for Washington, D.C. While at the nation’s capital, youth tourists from across

the country will meet with legislators, take a harbor-party cruise, visit museums, memorials,

monuments and make many friends. For more information, call Chris Powell at 426-2586.

Youth Tour posters are displayed at high schools in the Albemarle EMC service area.

AEMC Recognized for Storm Work

Albemarle EMC recently received a North Carolina House of Representatives Certificate of Appreciation from Rep. Bobby Hanig. The co-op’s personnel

were recognized for tirelessly working to provide aid to thousands who experienced power outages due to Hurricane Dorian.

Albemarle EMC linemen, Lee Electric contract crews and Xylem Tree

Experts worked throughout the day, Friday, Sept. 6, to restore power outages caused by Hurricane Dorian. More than 4,000 members were without power at the height of the storm. By mid-morning Saturday, Sept. 7, power had been restored to all of the co-op’s members.

Albemarle EMC will be closed Dec. 24-26 and Jan. 1 for New Year’s

Day. Merry Christmas and happy holidays!

We would like to thank the following Light Up Christmas Golf Tournament Sponsors:

Dinner Sponsor:Booth and Associates

Beverage Sponsor:Lee Electrical

Albemarle EMC Carolina Country DECEMBER 2019 22

Tar Heel Teacher of the Week Announced

Brandi Richardson, of White Oak Elementary School in Chowan County, has been named the Albemarle EMC Tar Heel Teacher of the Week.

Richardson was selected based on her 2019 Bright Ideas project “Plant, Grow, Eat, Repeat.” The goal of her project is to teach her students about

plant life cycles by growing herbs in a greenhouse.

Richardson and her project will be featured on radio spots during University of North Carolina basketball and football games. She will also receive tickets to a UNC football game.

While trimming the tree, you can also trim your energy usage with a few simple changes to how you celebrate the holidays.

Consider using LED lights to decorate instead of incandescent bulbs. LEDs use less energy and last longer. Only buy lights that contain the Underwriters Laboratories label to ensure they meet adequate safety requirements.

You can also keep holiday lights on automatic timers to minimize the time lights stay on overnight and during the day. Don’t leave a lit Christmas tree unattended and always turn off tree lights before going to bed or leaving the house.

Have an Efficient Christmas

Lineman Completes Safety

Training

Lineman Aaron Pippen recently completed 10.5 hours of instruction in safety training at the System Reliability, Technology & Safety Workshop, hosted by the N.C. Electric Membership Corporation.

AFLACAltec Industries, Inc.American Safety Utility Corp.Anderson Uniform Co., Inc.Beach BoysBellwether Management SolutionsBiggs GMCCape Hatteras ECCentral EMCChick-fil-ACoBankC&W GradingDell TechnologiesDominion EnergyEdgecombe-Martin County EMCEnsalesHalifax EMCHaywood EMCHistoric HertfordJimbo’s JumbosJones-Onslow EMCKleen Line LTDLekson Associates, Inc.Lumbee River EMCMcNair, McLemore, Middlebrooks & Co.Michael Adams & Associates

Nash LoggingNRUCFCNational Transformer Sales, Inc.NCEMCPee Dee EMCPepsi Bottling VenturesPerquimans County Schools FoundationPowerTechRoanoke Electric CooperativeSafe-T-Works, Inc.Scotch Hall PreserveSEDCSound Golf Links at Albemarle PlantationSurry Yadkin EMCTEMAThe Carolina ClubThe Links at Mulberry HillThe Okonite CompanyThe Pines Golf ClubThe Sound Golf LinksTown of WinfallTransformer Maintenance & Service Inc.Tri-County EMCVidant HealthWalmart of Elizabeth CityXylem Tree Experts

All Other Sponsors:

LED Christmas bulbs are one of the many ways to conserve energy.

How Albemarle EMC works to provide its members with the highest-quality service possible.

Albemarle EMC is at Your Service

Albemarle EMC Carolina Country DECEMBER 2019 23

In rural areas, manufactured homes account for 18 percent of all housing units, according to the Population Reference Bureau. The unfortunate reality is many of these homes are older and not energy efficient. As a person who conducts energy audits, I’ve often heard complaints from owners of manufactured homes, who can’t understand why their neighbor’s larger stick-frame home uses less energy. The reason is those larger homes are built to a more exacting energy efficiency code.

Back in the 1970s and 1980s, there weren’t many standards for the manufactured home industry. To keep these homes affordable, they often came with inexpensive electric furnaces, leaky ductwork, and poor insulation. Of course that affordability came at a cost. While money was saved on the front end purchase, the back end cost was a higher power bill. Many of those inefficient homes are still in use today.

The good news is that those homes can be every bit as comfortable as a custom, site-built home. But it will take an investment in both time and money.

The first thing to tackle is the electric furnace. The electric furnace was and still is an industry standard for manufactured homes. It costs a manufacturer around $400 per unit to install an electric furnace. An electric furnace is really nothing more than a giant toaster oven with a fan behind it. To achieve effficiency in a home, the furnace has to be replaced as the main source of heat.

The cheapest, most efficient option to replace a furnace with is a mini split ductless heat pump system. The mini split system involves the installation of heating and cooling units (called heads) that are placed on the wall of each room in the home. Attached to each head is copper tubing through which refrigerant brings heat or air conditioning from an outside compressor. Because no ductwork is used, there is no loss of conditioned air through leaky ductwork. A person who has installed a mini split system can seal the holes for the ductwork leading into the home and never worry about replacing ductwork again.

Also because there are heads throughout the home, each room can be its own heating and cooling zone. For example if

a person is spending most of the day in their living room, they can heat or cool just their living room and shut the rest of the house off. That simply is not possible with a central heating and air system.

A mini split system does cost more than an air-source heat pump, but the extra cost is well worth the efficiency gained.

Homeowners who just can’t afford that cost difference are left with only one other option, the air source heat pump. This unit attaches to the existing ductwork. Ideally, however, new ductwork that is sized to the new system should be installed.. Air-source heat pumps are typically backed up by electric heat strips, so most people

use the pre-existing electric furnace as the backup system. The problem is that the existing electric furnace is way larger than what is needed. Preferably some of the heat strips would be disconnected to prevent your backup system from eating up all of the efficiency gained through the heat pump.

If the existing ductwork is used, then that ductwork must be sealed using mastic. This can be done by cutting through the belly liner.

Once the electric furnace has been replaced, it’s a good idea to concentrate on sealing and insulating. All plumbing and electrical penetrations must be sealed with spray foam or caulk. Once these are sealed, then concentrate on the insulation. To insulate the space between the ceiling and the roof, an access hole must be cut in the ceiling. Insulation can then be sprayed in that space. The U.S. Department of Energy recommends adding insulation 10 to 14 inches deep. Insulation can also be added to the underbelly liner of the manufactured home. To accomplish this, holes must be cut in the liner, insulation sprayed to about 6 inches deep and the holes must be patched. Insulation can also be sprayed into the walls of the home by cutting holes or removing interior walls completely.

Manufactured homes so have one inherent advantage - size. With less square footage to heat and cool, it only takes a few changes to make them very energy efficient. Then these homes can truly be considered affordable.

Manufactured homes can be made highly efficient with the proper upgrades.

How Manufactured Homes Can be Efficientby Chris Powell, coordinator of public relations