Radio Boston: Boston's Greenest Houses

I came across this great radio show that was aired a couple of months ago.  They talk a lot about renovating existing structures for energy efficiency.  And talks about some of the strategies as well as future projects for Symbiotic Home.

Boston’s Greenest Houses

Posted by Adam Ragusea, Associate Producer, Monday, February 23rd, 2009

There’s particular interest in green housing in our city, but also particular challenges. Harsh New England winters drive up heating bills, and our beloved antique housing stock is hardly energy efficient. With federal stimulus dollars possibly going to retrofit all Massachusetts houses with “smart” energy meters, what are YOU doing to keep your home’s energy use in check?

Peter Thomson, environment editor for PRI’s The World, hosts our live web chat.

Listen to the entire show if the embedded link does not work at wbur.org – Radio Boston

New life for Federal Tax Credits for Energy Efficiency

On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed a stimulus bill (The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009) that made some significant changes to the tax credits available to homeowners for energy efficient improvements for improvements made between 1/1/09 – 12/31/10 . Among the changes:

  • The tax credit has been raised from 10% to 30%.
  • The tax credits that were for a specific dollar amount have been converted to 30% of the cost.
  • The maximum credit has been raised from $500 to $1500, although improvements such as geothermal heat pumps, solar water heaters, and solar panels are not subject to the $1,500 maximum.

    • Visit Energy Star’s website for further explanation of the new Federal Tax Credits for Energy Efficiency.

    Spend your Weatherization Money Wisely

    by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.24.09 via Treehugger.com

    Now that the stimulus bill has passed and the word about tax credits and weatherizing incentives is out, you can bet that the tin men selling “insulating” siding and new “energy efficient” vinyl windows will be out in force to sell you stuff that “pays for itself in three years” and that “the government will pay most of the cost anyways”. Except these are two of the least cost-effective measures that you can take, and can significantly decrease the value of a house if they destroy its character and charm.

    To view full article, click here.

    What is a Zero Carbon Home?

    by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.23.09 via Treehugger.com

    In response to our post Crossway Zero Carbon Home Brings Back the Timbrel Vault, commenter rayn wrote: “I don’t see how this house could be anywhere near zero carbon even if all the bricks were sun baked. The windows had to be created in a furnace somewhere.”

    He has a point. “Zero Carbon Home” is a term with specific meaning in the UK:

    A zero carbon home is one that generates as much power as it uses over the course of a year and therefore has net zero carbon dioxide emissions.

    To view full article, click here.