R eal People. Real Power. Surge solution Your home, and the major appliances and electronics in it, represent a significant investment that needs to be safeguarded. Start at the meter base with a Tideland-installed surge protector. Each installation includes an inspection of your electric service grounds and placement of a Kenick lightning arrester. The cost is $290 with on-bill financing available. For more information, visit the products and services page at tidelandemc.com. Credit where credit is due Federal tax credits provide a credit valued at up to 30% of the cost of the following residential projects: • Solar panels that generate electricity in a home • Solar-powered water heaters that perform at least half the home’s water heating • Wind turbines that generate energy • Geothermal heat pumps for heating and cooling • Fuel cells that generate at least 0.5 kW and have an electricity- generating efficiency of more than 30% To claim the credit, complete IRS Form 5695. MARCH 2019 • TIDELAND TOPICS • CAROLINA COUNTRY • A NC residential building code Energy Updates North Carolina’s energy conserva- even cold during the winter. In tion code has recently been updated. addition, leaky ductwork has been We’re particularly pleased to see the found to greatly increase the use of code more seriously addressing the electric strip heaters in heat pumps issue of duct leakage. during the heating season. Leaks in forced air duct systems Leaks in return ducts draw air into have long been recognized as a the house from crawlspaces, major source of energy waste. Stud- garages and attics, bringing with it ies indicate that duct leakage can dust, mold spores, insulation fibers account for as much as 25% of total and other contaminants. Dryer house energy loss, and in many cases has a greater impact on energy Household depressurization from use than air infiltration through the duct leaks and imbalanced duct safety building shell. Just as important, duct leakage can prevent heating and cooling systems from doing While cleaning your lint filter their job properly, between every load of laundry is resulting in hot or cold recommended, don’t ignore the rooms, and humidity dryer vent. It needs an annual problems. Worse yet, clean out; semi-annually if you duct leaks can create have a large family. air quality problems. A clothes dryer vent clogged with Leaks in the supply lint not only reduces the unit’s ductwork cause energy efficiency, it can also expensive conditioned be a fire hazard. Be sure to air to be dumped into the attic, crawlspace Duct leakage testing equipment or garage instead of into the house. systems can cause spillage of com- Return leaks pull outside air (hot bustion products (from furnaces, in summer, cold in winter) into the water heaters and fireplaces) into duct system, reducing both the house. efficiency and capacity. In humid climates, moist air being drawn Duct systems lose energy in two into return leaks can overwhelm main ways: by air leakage through the dehumidification capacity of cracks and seams and by conduc- air conditioning systems, causing tion of energy through the duct immediately replace the vent homes to feel clammy even when wall. cover if it is damaged or missing the air conditioner is running. to prevent pests or birds from To address the latter, the code now nesting in the vent. Heat pumps are particularly requires that supply and return susceptible to comfort complaints ducts in unconditioned space (attic, More than a gallon of water from duct leakage, especially crawlspace or outdoors) be insu- can be extracted during the during the heating season. Duct lated to a minimum R-8. That’s an clothes-drying process, so never leaks can cause the air coming from improvement from R-6 insulation. vent the dryer into your home, heat pumps to feel luke-warm or attic or crawlspace. It must be continues on page F vented to the outdoors. B • MARCH 2019 • TIDELAND TOPICS • CAROLINA COUNTRY FlexPay Members Minimum Payment Reminder Nearly 700 Tideland members now utilize the co-op’s FlexPay program and have said “Goodbye!” to monthly electric bills. Most FlexPay members choose to pay weekly on their account based on prompts received via email or text mes- sage. While those prompts may indicate that a payment less than $10 is needed to continue active service, FlexPay members are reminded that the program guide- lines stipulate a $10 minimum payment. The $10 minimum is intended to reduce transaction fees associated with credit Beat the and debit cards, which are passed along to the co-op. If prompted to pay less buzzer! than that when making a payment via the mobile app, automated phone system, or the member portal, please Tideland EMC is currently override the auto populated amount and increase it to $10 or higher. accepting applications for full scholarships to renowned Last day to submit college scholarship basketball camps at two North applications is March 8 Carolina universities this summer. We are now accepting college scholarship applications from high school Young men can apply for a seniors in Beaufort, Hyde, Washington, Pamlico, Dare and Craven scholarship to attend the Roy counties. Applicants must be the dependent of a Tideland EMC member. Williams Basketball Camp at the Tideland will award eight $1,000 scholarships. Two of the scholarships University of North Carolina at will be designated for students who plan to attend community college. Chapel Hill, and young women can apply for a spot at the Students have until Friday, March 8, 2019, to apply. An application may Wolfpack Women’s Basketball be downloaded at tidelandemc.com or see your high school guidance Camp held at North Carolina State counselor. University in Raleigh.* Williams selected to represent Tideland To apply, students must be a rising during Youth Tour to Washington, DC sixth, seventh or eighth grade student residing in a Tideland Emma Williams of Pantego has EMC served home. Applicants been selected to serve as Tide- will be judged on their academics, land’s representative during the Electric Cooperative Youth Tour extracurricular activities and an to Washington, D.C., in June. She essay. will join more than 1,500 other teens from electric co-ops across Applications must be received the country during the week-long by March 31. To learn more or to event. download an application, visit Emma is the daughter of Chuck tidelandemc.com. and Paula Ruark Williams. She attends Pungo Christian Academy The Roy Williams camp will be in Belhaven. held June 22-26.. Dates for the Lady Wolfpack camp are June 9-12. Emma Williams CAROLINA COUNTRY • TIDELAND TOPICS • MARCH 2019 • C Right-of-way Message to members maintenance Forging comebacks that are schedule greater than the setbacks Tideland has hired Lucas Tree Ex- by PAUL SPRUILL perts to trim trees in our right-of- GENERAL MANAGER & way. During March they will be CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER working in the Washington area. In late January, Tideland hosted We also know that during Osmose crews will be testing poles a series of workshops focused a major disaster it can be a on the Sidney and Gaylords Bay on energy-improvement challenge to know that the work circuits. Their testing can include opportunities in flood-damaged being performed is technically minor digging at the base of the homes. During one session a correct, in compliance with pole. Poles are also “sounded” member asked why Tideland today’s building codes, and with a hammer to detect any was reaching out to the reasonably priced. Member internal decay. community in this way. advocacy is certainly a driving force behind the energy Thank you for your support of services we provide. these important maintenance activities, which improve system But the overarching reliability and promote public reason we are taking an safety. active role in disaster recovery is to help our members turn a setback into a major comeback. We want members to be able to return to restored homes that are healthier, more comfortable and more energy efficient than the ones they were forced out of by Hurricane Florence. Achieving all three makes homes more affordable and sound for years to come. Tideland energy auditor Jim Rapin Prior to Hurricane addresses plumbing cutouts during an Florence, the worst storm energy seminar for flood damaged homes. in our co-op’s history was Irene in 2011. Nearly From an energy perspective, a decade later, many of the gutted homes present easy homes impacted by that storm access to problem areas that have never been reoccupied our energy auditors often or replaced. The ripple effects see via infrared cameras. It of that on a community and a isn’t very practical to suggest co-op can be devastating. We opening up a wall to air seal refuse to let Hurricane Florence during a routine audit. With stake a similar claim. insulation and drywall removed for remediation, homeowners Recovery on a large scale is have the perfect opportunity never a sprint. It’s a marathon. to address those issues with We’re commited to helping you silicone caulk, low expanding cross the finish line no matter foam and other low-cost items. how long it takes. D • MARCH 2019 • TIDELAND TOPICS • CAROLINA COUNTRY CAROLINA COUNTRY • TIDELAND TOPICS • MARCH 2019 • E Real People. energyCode Real Power. Continued from Page B Supply ducts inside semi-conditioned space must be insulated to a www.tidelandemc.com minimum R-4. Return ducts inside condition or semi-conditioned space are BOARD OF DIRECTORS not required to be insulat- Paul Sasnett, President ed. Ducts located inside J. Douglas Brinson, Vice President conditioned space are not Clifton Paul, Secretary required to be insulated David Ipock, Treasurer other than as may be nec- Rudy Austin, Mark Carawan, essary for preventing the Garry Jordan, Dawson Pugh, formation of condensation Wayne Sawyer & Charles Slade on the exterior or cooling ducts.