To advance our goal of reducing energy use in Needham homes, Green Needham has created a new team, the Home Energy Savings Team. This team will build on our success with the NStar Community Home Energy Challenge, during which we
Olin College Graduates Design an Eco-friendly Toothbrush
A recent article in the Boston Globe business section — Design Firm Looks to Reinvent Toothbrush — caught the eye of Green Needham members. The piece featured two recent graduates of Olin College of Engineering, Jake Felser and Ollie Haas,
Solar PV at the RTS and Home Energy Savings – Green Needham’s 2012-13 Initiatives
Green Needham’s September newsletter featured our two priority initiatives for 2012-13: Solar PV at the RTS – getting solar PV installed at the RTS to provide renewable energy and cost savings for the town Home Energy Savings – building on
Boiler replacement rebate program extended through September 30th
As a result of the tremendous customer interest and success to date, Mass Save is extending the boiler replacement rebate pilot program we told you about in June. If you have a boiler that’s at least thirty years old, you’ll
Up to $3,500 rebate for replacing an old boiler now
Do you have an old boiler that should be replaced but you’ve been holding off because of the expense, or because you only think about it during the winter when it’s cold and there’s a long wait? If your boiler
Needham Garden Tour – Sunday, June 3rd
After 14 years of beautiful Holiday House Tours, the Needham Women’s Club brings you the first Needham Garden Tour on Sunday, June 3, 2012. This year’s Tour will show the gardens of six homeowners…some large and some small…some imagined by
Enjoy the Boosters Club Celebrity Basketball Game on us!
The Needham High School Boosters Club’s annual Celebrity Basketball game featuring members of the New England Patriots against Needham’s best will take place Thursday, May 10th at Needham High School. It’s always a great event and Green Needham would like
Green Needham Among Top Performers in NSTAR Community Energy Challenge
Thanks to Green Needham’s persistence, over 150 Needham households have lowered their utility bills by taking advantage of no-cost home energy assessments and incentives for weatherization improvements. These energy savings have made Green Needham one of the most successful participants
Preventing Ice Damming
Green Needham and Next Step Living presented the first in a series of one-hour Weatherization Seminars on January 23rd, 2012. Our inaugural topic was ice damming. Those long icicles hanging precariously off the edges of roofs can cause significant long-term
Get paid to get rid of that second refrigerator
That second refrigerator you barely use is costing you money. Even a five to ten year old model can cost $75 – $100 each year in electricity to run. You could be spending $150 every year or more, if that
New Way to Reduce Energy Use
A month or so ago I was doing my laundry. Before putting my load into the dryer I had to take out a load of dry towels. I was in a hurry so not all of them made it out
Energy Star “Most Efficient” products designation announced
With so many products now bearing the Energy Star label, wouldn’t it be helpful to be able to easily figure out which were the most efficient? Now you can do just that, with the announcement yesterday by the EPA of
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
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: 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
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: Sustainable Gardening and Low-Impact House
Garden Philosophy – Create a small, beautiful and bountiful, local eco-system using as little input from outside as possible. This includes feeding the soil, watering and our choice of plants. We have a large flowerbed and grow about $500 of