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
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
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
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
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
Don’t miss the League of Women Voters’ Green Energy Tour on Saturday, June 11 between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. You can visit homes right here in Needham that feature the newest clean energy technology. Find out how one family
Question: How You Can Win a $100 Gift Certificate to Volante Farms? Answer: Go to www.greenneedham.org. Click on 10% Energy Challenge. Make a plan to reduce your home energy consumption and submit it before midnight on June 11, 2011. If
The Needham Community Farm is offering a unique educational experience this summer that will teach participants how to plan, prepare and maintain a vegetable garden using organic methods. Each week of this exciting series will have a different instructional focus as participants go
On May 22nd, the Needham Community Farm (NCF) broke ground at our new location off Pine Street. Over 40 volunteers, children and adults, spent the day building raised beds, to be used for educational programs at the site. These beds
Summer is (nearly) upon us. Many of us will be spending a lot of time in the car, traveling to vacation spots, or getting the kids to and from camp. Keeping an eye on efficient fuel consumption is important for
