Climate + Action: Evaluating Energy and Cost with Sustainable Solutions

My Climate and Action students (Erin Schwartz, Caitlin Coyne, and Kat Holleran) have been working on evaluating the energy and cost savings for the school if we insulated our attic in the Classics Building. Martin Berry of Berry Insulation has been working with us on this. He came in earlier in the term and walked through the attic with the girls, talking through the approach he would take to air sealing and insulating the space. Then he gave us some basic instruction on how to calculate the energy savings. The girls measured the main attic space, calculated the pitch of the roof, and then calculated the roof surface area. We also worked on doing calculations on the difference in annual heat loss from our uninsulated roof vs. an insulated roof and figuring out the associated financial benefits.

Through this project, they not only learned about energy savings, but also learned about different measures for estimating financial benefits, including Return in Investment, Net Present Value, and Internal Rate of Return. Our initial calculations show that we would save between $3,500 and $6,000 annually if we did this air sealing and insulation work, for a payback time of between 7 and 11 years. The Internal Rate of Return for the project is between 7 and 16% (depending on the price of natural gas). We are so grateful to Martin Berry for his time and expertise!

Torrey McMillan is the Director of the Center for Sustainability at Hathaway Brown School

Learn more about the Center for Sustainability at Hathaway Brown School. https://hathawaybrownblog.com/2016/05/05/climate-action-evaluating-energy-and-cost-with-sustainable-solutions/

Flag Flown at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan

Berry Insulation was presented with the American flag and certificate flown on November 11, 2014 at Bagram Airfield (BAF), Afghanistan by our own Staff Sergeant De’Angelo Gainer.

De’Angelo was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He joined the Army in November of 2008 and attended Basic Training at Fort Sill Oklahoma and AIT (Advanced individual Training) AT Fort Leonard, Missouri to be an Interior Electrician.

Staff Sergeant Gainer was Berry Insulation’s first employee hired outside of the Berry family over four years ago. De’Angelo has been with us throughout our tremendous growth.

During his career, Staff Sergeant Gainer served as a Section Leader, Squad Leader, Team Leader and M2 .50 cal Gunner. SSG Gainer is assigned to the 486th Vertical Engineer Company, which is headquartered in Monclova, OH. He’s also been assigned to the 300th MP Brigade and the 304th Engineer Company Lima, Ohio.

Staff Sergeant Gainer deployed in 2014 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom with the 304th Engineer Company. He spent time in Kuwait and Afghanistan during his deployment. In 2015 SSG Gainer deployed to Canadian Forces Air Base Goose Bay, in the municipality of Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador. The exercise is designed to enhance international interoperability and military readiness, develop peacekeeping capabilities, and build military-to-military relations between the United States and Canada. We appreciate and thank De’Angelo and all of our troops for their courage and unwavering commitment to the Red, White and Blue. Thanks D!