Green dreams

When I did the bed and breakfast, I had grand designs of taking it 'off the grid.'  It was already on well water and a septic system, and I talked to many people about solar farms, windmills, ground source heat pumps, and other green technologies.  In the end, I did none of it, because it was either ludicrously expensive, or local zoning laws would not permit it.  (A 1,000 acre farm, and I couldn't erect a windmill for fear of it impacting my neighbors' views?  Ridiculous.)  In addition, a 200-year-old stone farmhouse provided little by way of efficiencies.

Scaling down a bit, I was hopeful I could do something with the house but, alas, I hit the same brick walls, so to speak.  I did put some insulation in the attic, but could not insulate the exterior walls, because there is no cavity to put the insulation.  (I have looked into exterior insulation, and may do it when finances permit, but more because it would hide the ugly front of the house than it would be a good return on investment.)  I also looked into solar water heating or air source heat pumps, but the problem with those was they needed a water tank, and we were in the process of getting rid of ours.

Partly because the tank was 20 years old, and about 10 years past its due date.  Partly because it had a 'feed and expansion tank' in the attic, and we were trying to get everything out of the attic in preparation for turning that into a bedroom.  Partly because it was sitting on the joist that was no longer supported by the kitchen wall.  But mostly because it was sitting in the bedroom closet--who puts a water tank in the bedroom closet??  We don't have a garage, and it couldn't fit in the kitchen or the utility room, so we got rid of it and put in a combi-boiler, which doesn't require a storage tank, but also isn't compatible with any 'green' water heating.

And the final nail came this morning. A month ago, the electrician told me about LED downlights and I said I wanted those instead of halogen, both because they save electricity (10 watts instead of 50), and because the bulbs have a 50,000 hour shelf life -- in other words, they'll probably last longer than I will. Today, however, he asked if I'd bought any of the LED lights and I said I thought he was doing that.  He said I had to choose them, and then proceeded to tell me about color spectrum and angle of light and different wattages of different brands and the whole history of LED lighting, and by the time he was finished I was so confused, I told him to install halogen bulbs and I'd replace them in the future.

Thus marks my complete and dismal failure in lightening my load on the planet.  (Not to mention the 40 yards of household waste I've sent to the landfill during the remodel.)  There is some small ray of hope that when we do the loft conversion, and have to change the roof, I may put up some solar panels or other token gesture. In the meantime, I'll just be miserable in my warm, comfortable, well-lit home. :-(