Sustainability
Since 2000, we have been living in a 100% wind and solar powered home. Although we live in an all-electric house built in 1976, we generate more electricity than we use. Solar hot water panels, 15.8 KW photovoltaic panels, a hybrid car with plug-in aspirations, two geothermal a.k.a. ground source heat pumps (with thermal banking implemented), two ultra-high efficiency wood-burning stoves, one-pint flush toilets, LED and compact fluorescent bulbs, 0.03-watt LCD & 1-watt LED night lights, quilted thermal shades, 1.5 gpm showers, cloth napkins, and washable flatware/plates are the more obvious clues. Recycling and composting is standard practice. Blown-in cellulose insulation, foundation insulation, attic insulation, an ultra efficient dishwasher, top-loading horizontal axis washer, and wooden drying racks are more of a secret. Although we have not calculated the number of trees required to offset the carbon dioxide produced by our concert guests, we know we burn wood to heat our home in the winter. For all these reasons, we have purchased several thousand tropical hardwood seedlings (planted in 2001) in Central America. We encourage our guests to consider participating in carbon offset programs above whatever personal measures they can take at home, work, or school to reduce their carbon footprint.
Our home has been on the Boulder County Solar and Green Home Tour for multiple years. We are using less well water now even with our house concert series than we did when we moved here in 1996! We have an empty hot tub, don't water any outdoor plants, have only a dog, and drink bottled water. Our water meter shows usage of 5 - 15 gallons per day per resident compared to the typical indoor water usage of 50 - 100 gallons per day per person. Our typical monthly well water usage averages only 350 gallons per resident compared to the typical 2200 gallons per person per month. Less water pumped also means much lower electricity bills! :-)
Here is performing songwriter Pierce Pettis soaking up some sun.
