Kermit Was Right
(... it's not easy being green)
Kermit was Right: It’s Not Easy Being Green … But it’s Possible and Profitable
Here you'll find documentation of my own efforts to walk the talk and eliminate my own home and cars' carbon footprint. Thanks primarily to energy efficiency improvements, followed by electrification, and then a small amount of grid-provided solar+geothermal power, we made it to zero, earning an 11% return on our investment.
Los Angeles Times op-ed (print version here). Follow-on Letters to the Editor (print and online).
Interview and real-time walk-through on KZYX Ecology Hour (Audio)
Approximate bill savings after switching from 96% efficient Munchkin propane boiler for water- and space heating to Harvest heat pump system. Actual energy use for each year is used. For cost-compatibility, energy prices for pre-retrofit period are applied to the pre- and post-retrofit periods. The nine unevenly spaced propane deliveries made in 2022 are converted to daily consumption and distributed over the respective periods between deliveries. Costs for each period include any and all propane and electricity used by the home for that period. The heat-pump installation was completed on October 25, 2023, with the final electrification measure (induction cooktop) installed November 29, 2023. Cumulative cost savings as of June 2024 were ~40%. Includes all energy uses in the home plus car charging for two EVs.
