The Green Communities Study Committee held a public hearing on Monday, June 13th to review their work to date and seek public input on Needham becoming a Massachusetts Green Community. The program, created under the Green Communities Act, supports Massachusetts
Green Homes tour featured on Needham Patch
This past Saturday’s Green Homes Tour, featuring six Needham homes, is featured in this article on Needham Patch. If you missed the tour, you can see detailed information on each of the houses here on our blog. The six homes
Summer book suggestion – Raising Elijah
If there is a book I highly recommend to be on a parents summer list of “great reads”, this is it – Raising Elijah: Protecting our children in an age of environmental crisis! Sandra Steingraber, PhD, is a biologist, mother
LWV honors Eleanor Rosellini
At the June 8 Annual Meeting of the League of Women Voters of Needham, Eleanor Rosellini received the League’s Greta Schirmer award. This award is given each year to honor Greta Schirmer – a member who died in 1980 and
Green Homes Tour: Solar Thermal Hot Water and Space Heating
House: Built in 2002, 4247 square feet plus 1700 finished basement System Description: Vacuum tubes on the roof contain copper rods filled with glycol. As the rods heat up from the sun, the glycol boils and bubbles to the top.
Green Homes Tour: Older home energy retrofit
House: 100 years old 1800 square feet Household size: 2 adults System Description: Radiant heating was installed under the kitchen and back hall floor to replace an old radiator in the cabinet under the sink. For more information about radiant
Green Homes Tour: Sustainable Yard
Saving energy and reducing the carbon footprint in your sustainable yard 1. Plant trees strategically to use less energy to heat or cool your house. Evergreen trees on the northeast side of a house buffer cold winter winds. Deciduous trees
Green Homes Tour: Solar Photovoltaic
House: Built in 2004; 2,992 square feet System Description: 30-panel photovoltaic array producing electricity (not hot water) of about 8,500 kWh per year. It is a grid-connected system, meaning that the unused electricity is fed into the electrical grid, making
Green Homes Tour: Electricity/Heat Co-generation
House: Built in 1950’s, remodeled multiple times most recent addition 2008. 2800 square feet System Description: The co-generation system produces electricity and heat at the same time. When the heat is turned on, a small generator (MCHP — micro combined
Green Homes Tour: Residential Geothermal Heating and Cooling
House: 90 years old System Description: In a closed loop piping system, water is pumped 300 feet underground, where it takes on the 55 degree underground temperature. It is pumped back into the basement to a heat pump unit with