One year of data

Here is the final first year tally.....

Cost per day: $0.93

Kw created on site: 1415

Kw sent out to the grid: 700

Kw purchased from grid: 2614 (wind and eco-friendly hydro power)

Yearly Cost: $339.86

Monthly utility Cost: $28.32

Total Kw used: 3329

Propane for cooking: 25 gal

Wood: 1.5 cords sustainably harvested from the land

So what is a net carbon impact this year??? The only thing that wasn't made on site or in Maine was the 25 gal of propane. Our last house used over 700 gallons propane, 3 cord of wood and 5000kw. I have to say that these number are impressive and have exceeded my expectations. I owe a huge Thank you to all that helped on this project.

Michelle and the kids

Karol Kawiaka (guiding us and keeping us on the path at the beginning)

Blueberry, Gaius and the crew from The Shelter Institute

Fortunat, Geoff, Jen and the crew from Revision Energy

Ray Robison Concrete

David Cressey of Cressey Electric

Barbara West (plumber)

Torri from Androscogin Bank (what a home town bank should be)

Andrea and Lisa from Remax Riverside Real Estate

Aqua Pool

Mike and family

George and Kelly

The Bank of Moms (our short term capital supply)

Chuck at Home Plans Software (doesn't know it but the final plans drawn with his program)

All the friends and family that helped hang siding, paint, pound nails and everything else

Everyone who helped along the way

We all have succeeded in building a simple, durable, easily maintainable, sustainable, energy efficient house that the average person can afford to build. It can be done, but we need to remember that conservation of resources is always the first step. We all need to use less and leave more for everyone else that will come after us. What is the next project???

I thought about retrofitting old houses, but I think the next project will be spreading the word about simple building and living. It has been such a relief to know that my utility bills are less than $30 a month and in building a small house my mortgage payment is affordable and sustainable long into the future, no matter what that brings.

There is a new project....

Raising a small flock of dairy goats and a small flock of vegtables. Any one like goat cheese???

Namaste