Green living in action

This weekend I stopped by one of the houses on the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association's (http://www.nesea.org/) Green Buildings Open House tour, featuring homes around New England that are putting green living into practice. The unseasonably warm day seemed apropos for the purpose of the tour, which was to highlight how photovoltaic technology (i.e., solar power), geo-thermal, wind power and other renewable technologies can reduce a homeowner's carbon footprint, while shaving dollars off the household budget.

The owners of the house I toured in North Andover, Massachusetts had taken the opportunity of renovating their two-centuries-plus year old house to replace the heating and electric generation systems with the newest, greenest technology. This including a bank of solar cells to generate household electricity and a geothermal heating system (http://www1.eere.energy.gov/geothermal/heatpumps.html). It was a great example of the dollars-and-cents practicality of choosing the most long term cost-effective and greenest solution when replacing household systems.

This weekend's tour was a testament to the fact that green living is not theoretical, and it's not just for environmentalists who are trying to live sustainably - it's for anyone who wants to wean themselves off of the instability of our current energy system (i.e., middle-east oil sources), and save money in the process. Which means green buildings are for everyone. Check out the resources on the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association's web page, and I guarantee it will get you thinking differently about your next home renovation!