As part of our decarbonization plan, we recently replaced our gas hot water heater with a heat pump alternative. The new water does a great job, water is hot and plentiful. We went with a Rheem and a slightly bigger tank as it can take the water a bit longer to heat up than the gas option. Coming in 2023 there will be robust $2,000 federal tax credit for heat pump appliances. Don't wait until the water heater fails, plan for it and proactively replace it. We had a scare with brown water and issues that made us take the plunge for our 12 year old heater.  We loved our plumber DH MacLeod, office@dhmplumbing.com ; (617) 828-6126‬. They offered competitive prices, transparency about the state rebate, and a referral to an electrician, we needed to update the electrical service. 

It always bugged me that my dryer would gobble up SO MUCH electricity (we have a Sense monitor, which makes it super evident how much power those conventional dryers draw) AND how most the heat just went clear out the pipe into the atmosphere! So when our dryer broke, we looked into heat pump dryers. They work with the same technology that heat pump home-heaters and minisplits work: they recover heat. In this case, the dryer heats up and captures then reuses the heat from the steam, recycling it over and over. Makes total sense to me! We bought a Miele. There aren't many of these on the market yet, and the models are small compared to the average American dryer (for efficiency). They also don't come cheap. But they work well, are super efficient (and plug into an average 120 volt circuit), and you can even capture the water part of the steam into a container - so no need for drainage. Our Miele will last us a long time and we'll recover the expense of buying it through energy savings.

After hearing the webinar on community solar, we realized we could sign up even though we already have a roof top PV system. The Energy Sage site was easy to navigate and we ended up signing up for a NextAmp project that will come on line this winter. Brendan from Next Amp answered all my questions and we expect to save 10% on our electric bill and provide them users to support community solar. Win- Win!

We were forced to shop for a new car when our old Prius was totaled and only looking at replacing with a newer used model, assuming an electric car was out of price range. Amazingly, this actually wasn't the case - a used Prius hybrid with low miles was more expensive than an electric car! We discovered that the market for affordable used electric cars is growing rapidly. We feel very fortunate and proud of driving around in our little BMW i3 - such a fun ride!

We went with rooftop solar back in 2012 during the solarize program that was offered that year. It was in the years of the sluggish stock market following the crash of 2008 and part of my rationale for taking the plunge was because I figured there had to be better use for my money. At the time, they projected my breakeven point would be 6.5 years out. But between the performance of my system and the SREC checks, we actually hit breakeven at 4 years! And now, 8.5 years after inception, I have realized a 250% return on my investment! It is routinely 6-7 months a year that I effectively have a zero-dollar electric bill. My only complaint is not a function of the system itself, but that the pitch of my roof is such that, after a heavy winter snowfall, the snow doesn't slough off as quickly as some of the neighbor's systems (who followed our lead some years later and have steeper pitches). Otherwise, my performance would be even better! I don't know what the pricing schemes are these days - and how long the SREC program will last. So I can't guarantee you'll have the same investment experience we did. But even if it's not about the investment return, the satisfaction knowing that we're making a difference would make me do it all over again in a heartbeat! It's quite fun to go out on a bright sunny day and watch the electric meter go in reverse!

My only visit to a gas station now is the annual vehicle inspection. They have learnt not to look for a tail pipe!

There are many great features in EVs and particularly in the Tesla Model 3 (pictured here). I could wax lyrical for a long time however overall I would say it's driving experience that makes me glad to own this car. It's as fast as you could ever want, comfortable, quiet and intelligently designed. But the feature I think I like best is that the car just keeps getting better. Over the air updates bring new features and updates. It is always interesting to see what new capability the car has when the update arrives.

The fact that there is no tail pipe emission is almost incidental. Yes, you do have to be a bit more planful on long trips but the onboard computer does a great job of figuring out your stops and the car will navigate automatically to them. The supercharger network is extensive now and stops rarely take more than the time to get a cup of coffee, visit the toilets and stretch your legs.

The autonomous driving on highways requires an attentive driver but substantially reduces driver fatigue. I tend to use the feature most of the time and believe one is less prone to get into accidents when using it. The car has 360 degree vision and can avoid accidents better than a human driver.

I would be happy to chat about my experience of almost three years with the car if you want to drop me an email at dap4583@gmail.com

If you decide to buy you can use my referral code and we both get some free supercharger miles.

https://ts.la/david39357

So happy to fiinally be able to put the electric snowblower aside 🙂 Time to switch over to the weedwhacker, the leafblower and the lawn mower - also electrical! 

They're all the Ryobi brand and they are less noisy and lighter than the gas-powered ones, and I don't need to deal with stinky cannisters of oil in my carport. They also pack the punch I need. I've not used other brands so I can't compare, but these do just fine.

I suggest if you go electrical to choose a brand and stick with it: each machine comes with a battery, and between brands they're interhangeable, so one pack can be charging. By themselves the batteries cost almost as much as the equipment.

I'll  never go back to gas-powered. I've been eyeing an electric chanisaw...

I am constantly getting compliments on our landscaping - which birds and butterflies and dragonflies and native bees also clearly love - and most of which is very low maintenance! We like the natural variety of green leaves and textures that is the foundation of classic layered ‘English gardens’.

With a few years of weeding and transplanting we have encouraged the spread of oceans of groundcover that now do the work for us! They crowd out weeds, retain soil moisture so no watering is ever needed and also help trees and shrubs survive periods of heat and drought - but perhaps the most amazing part of all is Zero raking or leaf-blowing!!!

It’s as though the ground cover swallows up the leaves and turns them into an annual dose of free fertilizer. Observing how efficiently leaves are ‘disappeared’ by nature during winter and early spring, we no longer even clear leaves off our lawns - nature seems so eager to take care of the leaves when left to do so I wish more people would try it!

We purchased a used 2014 Prius V in 2017 which we recently transferred to our son who lives in NYC, he loves the car.  Recently we purchased another used Prius, a 2013 with relatively low mileage which we love..  Our plan is to make our next car purchase electric.

I used to own a high quality gas-powered Honda lawnmower, which I used to mow our front yard in Wayland - after "mow and blow" crews repeatedly infested our lawn with crabgrass.   I had to drain the gas out every fall, then try to get it started again in the spring.  The Honda was also heavy and tough to wrestle around the curves in our yard - show in the photo above.

All of my battery powered construction tools are Ryobi One+, so I was intrigued when I saw Ryobi's new range of 40 volt lawn care tools at Home Depot.  I bought the 40 volt string trimmer first, which worked great.  Then the 40 volt mower.  It weighed less than half as much as my big Honda, and also worked great -- no "startup" challenges!  I was concerned about battery life with the mower, however.  How many batteries would I need to finish both sides of our front yard?  It turned out that one 5aH 40 volt battery lasted the entire time - even with thick grass - and still had 50% left!  I used the same battery with the string trimmer to finish the job.

So I bought the 40 volt blower too, which gare me a complete set.   They all use the same 40 volt batteries, so I can swap them out an put one back on the charger for big spring and fall cleanups.

I would never go back to gas powered lawn equipment.  Battery power is much easier to use.

One important tip with these and all lithium batteries:  Immediately recharge them after they are depleted.  If you leave a lithium battery in a discharged state for more than a day or two, this can damage the battery.  Also store batteries on a charger over the winter.   

Something that often prevents me from eating vegetarian is that I don't know how to cook as well without meat. All the recipes I learned from my parents are meat-centric, but this winter I learned an awesome recipe from my friend who is a fantastic vegetarian cook. •Coconut Milk •Cauliflower •Carrots •Onions •Garlic •Ginger •Lime zest and juice •Brown sugar •Fish sauce •Thai Curry Paste Steam veggies in big covered pan for 5 min, then uncover and brown on pretty high heat for 10. Meanwhile, whisk together a can of coconut milk, about a tablespoon of fishsauce and thai red or green curry paste and however much red pepper you want When the veggies are done sauté three cloves of garlic and a tbs of shredded ginger root in the center of the pan for a minute and then pour in the sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes and taste test it. You can add paprika, curry powder or chili powder if you'd like to. Also you can add cilantro to pretty much any meal and it will taste good. Sometimes I put a scoop of greek yogurt on the side as a sort of creamy sauce and protein boost. Enjoy!

We have enjoyed Black Earth Compost service for two years now and the weekly compost pick up continues to be a real positive. Our household waste management is all around more pleasant to deal with, less to take to the dump, composting makes us happy, and it is all very easy! As a little bonus, Black Earth Compost personnel are always ready with a wave and smile when I happen to see them.

Our insulation project was great. We took advantage of MassSave incentives resulting in a warmer house. And the attic insulation solved an ice dam problem, along with some roof repairs that had been a chronic issue. 

We recently installed rooftop solar on our house. The Energize Wayland Team was extremely helpful including explaining the process, comparing the three different quotes we received and answering any questions we had. The Energize Wayland Team provided their expertise and experience with solar, which gave us the confidence to move forward with the project. One concern we had was with the aesthetics of the panels as they would be on the front of our house. We worked with the solar company to ensure any metal piping would not be visible and that black panels would be installed. We are extremely happy with the look and energy output of the panels so far. 

I am trying to take a step each year to decarbonize my home. This year, I removed my 12-year old natural gas water heater and installed a Heat Pump Water Heater. I could not be happier with it! The water is hot and plentiful, it has leak detection feature so that when I am traveling it will text me if there is a problem, and the new federal tax credit of up to $2000 went into effect in 2023. But really, it is knowing I took the next step to fossil fuel freedom that makes me happy!

Bolivar heating & plumbing, a Wayland based small business did a great job. Ron Bolivar was knowledgeable, got me a Rheem and passed through the MA $750 rebate off the cost of the equipment. 

We LOVE our new hot water heat pump. Obviously, it's great that we're no longer using oil to heat our water, but the main thing is that this is a stable piece of machinery. We got a Ruud 65-gallon one, and it has a bunch of modes (Vacation, Energy Saver, Heat Pump, and High Demand among others). It's certainly enough for a family of four plus visitors. We also pay a bit extra to have our electricity provided via wind power, so it's neat to think that our water is wind-powered. It has a built-in dehumidifier (a bonus for a basement). It's quiet. It came with an instant rebate of $7500, so it was around $4200 plus $500 to get the electricity connected to it. Our old indirect water heater kept having its coil damaged from the hard water of Wayland, which led to pressure imbalances and then the overflow valve kicking in - in other words, basement flooding. We are really happy to be done with that setup. Great conversion, done fast. Dana McLeod and team were excellent.

We have a large 1800s colonial and guest house, both with clear south facing roofs and limited tree cover next to the homes, so basically an ideal situation for installing solar panels. But due to previous MA laws, we couldn't maximize the roofs wtihout breaking residential caps (ie 1 net meter and production limits).  I interviewed 8 solar companies looking for creative solutions but all besides Isaksen really took a higher volume, cookie cutter approach.  One of Isaksen's founders, Brad, spent 3 hours at our house, explained everything and provided a custom solution which would not cost us anything more but would require them to do more legwork and paperwork with the utilities.  Long story short, Isaksen was head and shoulders above everyone else we interviewed, very competitively priced and explained things the best because they clearly love what they do and it's a purpose not just a business for them.  We have recently installed the solar panels and are very happy with results.  

We are thrilled to be getting a nice tax credit for our new hot water heat pump! That’s really the bonus because the heat pump itself has been a game-changer. We're enjoying a consistent supply of hot water and have had no more plumbing issues! Making eco-friendly decisions has proven to be quite rewarding – for our planet and our daily lives. Here's to a greener future, one hot shower at a time!" 🌎💧🔥

Our roof top solar was a great financial deal, paid for itself in 5 years.  And now we get credits on our electric bill each month. We leased ours but would suggest folkks buy their systems as its easier to handle any issues that come up 

For years, I looked at my south-facing roof and thought "I should get solar panels". In 2023, I began the process with an outreach to Energize Wayland, and ultimately selected East Coast Solar.  We have been hooked up to the grid for about two months now, and have started to see a substantial drop in electric bills. East Coast Solar was great.  Our project was somewhat complex because our house had multiple roof surfaces.  They proved knowledgeable, responsive, and very professional.  Thank you also to Energize Wayland; Kaat helped us at several points in the process. 
(The Town inspectors and the grid operator worked more slowly, however things finally got into gear and we got our new meter and grid certification.)
I still love looking at the solar app to see how much power we are generating.
If your house is a fit, I definitely recommend rooftop solar, and if you go that route, I highly recommend East Coast Solar. 

I signed up with NexAmp for community solar, and saved over $380/year on my electric bill. I was on a waitlist for a year -- but it's worth it. One caution: you can build up credits during the summer when the community solar project produces more energy credits than we use; I then use up the credits in the winter. And we know we are helping support more solar production with a MA company 

I remember in March 2016, on a business trip, staying up until midnight to go online and put a deposit down on a Tesla Model 3. The wait was worth it as my Tesla was delivered in June 2018. The joy of owning an EV is, partly, knowing it is so important to our climate crisis but also the car is a joy to drive. I most enjoy the security of not needing to calculate if I have enough gas to get to work for that 8 am meeting (w/o stopping at the gas station) or whether I will make it home in time for that parent-teacher conference. Like my phone, when I arrive home, I plug my Tesla into my charger in the garage, and in the morning, I am fully charged and ready for the day! I have made longer trips with my car, to my sisters in NJ – I can make it all the way in warm weather w/o stopping to charge. I have made 12 hour trips to western Maryland and the Tesla navigation system determines the best route and at which Tesla Supercharger station to stop. The Tesla Superchargers are placed near restaurants, shops, and fast food so you can charge your body along with your car. Without hesitation I would recommend a Tesla!

After my kids left home I didn't need the giant double-door refrigerator any more so I exchanged it for a much more energy efficient smaller one. I got this one from Jarvis, and I'm quite happy with it.

We installed the Sense monitor a few months ago in order to see exactly where our electricity use was going. As the Sense unit "learned" what was using electricity, we discovered that way too much of it was powering a 40-year old freezer that was much larger than needed. Between the state rebates for removing an old appliance and the savings on electricity of a more efficient new unit, our new freezer will "pay for itself" in less than three years. Recently we have used the Sense unit to figure out how to reduce our minimum "always on" electricity use by 40%. This by itself saves enough electricity for 20% of the daily use of our electric vehicle!