Energy Conservation

Lean and Green

 CHP (combined heat and power) is a marriage of electric generation and thermal  power—the use of an engine, usually gas-fueled, to simultaneously generate electricity  and heat. It can be done on a grand scale, as in manufacturing, hospitals and  residential districts—or less massively, in condominium developments. As successive generations of  systems emerge, CHP has become a leading option for lowering condo expenses.  CHP generators are small—lean, green, and smart—but they take a big whack out of energy costs. Read More

Choosing Your Energy Source

 Public utility companies like NSTAR and National Grid are going the way of Bell  Telephone, which for over a century was simply “the phone company,” the sole provider of telephone communications delivered over its vast infrastructure. Now, of course, we buy  our service from any of a number of telephone providers which use the lines Ma  Bell laid.   Read More

LEEDing the Way

Real estate professionals, developers and builders are all reporting the same thing: today’s homebuyers who are looking for maximum value are asking for more than granite countertops and hardwood floors – they want energy savings and green buildings. Read More

The Greening of New England

We diligently sort our recycling. We drive our hybrids to the nearby market to buy locally-produced organic food. We are looking for ways to live more harmoniously with the planet. Real estate developers have carefully noted this trend, and many have been building new “green” energy-efficient condos as well as retrofitting existing units to decrease their impact on the environment. Read More

The Hot and Cold of It

 Utility submetering is the implementation of a system that allows a condominium  association or other multi-tenant property to bill tenants for individual  measured utility usage by making use of individual water, gas, or electricity  meters for their relevant utilities.   Read More

Getting Away from Gas

 When it comes to being green, New England’s condos have gone far beyond recycling bins. They’re doing everything from recycling water and switching to cleaner  propane-powered gasoline lawnmowers to installing bike racks and walking  trails. Read More

Green in Real Life

As Kermit the Frog once sang, it’s not easy being green. In many cases, going, “green” for condominium units (which can encompass a wide range of practices) comes with paperwork, additional maintenance, and, least appealingly, increased cost. Read More

"Green" Carrots

Because they are relatively large and must maintain sizable common areas, condominiums have been hit particularly hard by rising energy costs. But because they are shared ownership communities, and because they often share walls, condominiums are also well-suited to benefit from utility or government-sponsored energy conservation programs, as well as green technology upgrades. Read More

Button Up

 Winters these days don’t seem to be quite as brutal as they once were, due in part to the fact that in  recent years, the Northeast has had more flooding and ice storms than  blizzards. But pipes still freeze in the dead of night, and winter conditions  still take their toll on New England homeowner associations. Carefully-planned  landscapes can be brutalized by winter, with trees and other plantings damaged  or killed by the weather. Read More

Green Myths

Mom was right.

Her admonition to “turn out the lights when you leave the room” is as valid today as it was a generation ago. And yet many condominiums today, while energy-conscious in so many ways, seem to feel it’s better to just leave the lights on – sometimes, 24/7.