To protect and preserve
In celebration of National Preservation Month, Old House Web teams up with Matt Grocoff for a series of blog posts and videos to prove that 'Old is the New Green.'
Tue, May 11 2010 at 8:50 AM EST
I can't deny that I spend a fair amount of time focusing on the new: innovative building materials, state-of-the-art, energy-saving technologies, forward-thinking gadgets and gizmos, and wow-inducing futuristic renderings. I also can't deny that this emphasis on the newfangled might leave those living in older homes wondering: “is there anything I can do to dramatically lower my household eco-impact while leaving the historical integrity of my home in check?"
The answer? Yes. And to drive the point literally home, Old House Web has teamed up with Matt Grocoff of Greenovation.TV for a special month long — it's National Preservation Month, after all — ‘Old is the New Green’ initiative that focuses on the preservation versus conservation debate.
There's plenty of excellent new content up on Old House Web already — including a nine-chapter restoration guide — with the centerpiece being Grocoff's special Going Green in an Old Home video series. Over the coming weeks, Grocoff will share how he's gone about doing what many might consider to be the impossible: restoring a 110-year old Victorian fixer-upper in Ann Arbor, Michigan, into a green showcase home that produces more energy than it consumes. For further inspiration, Grocoff will also be checking in and swapping eco-preservation tips with a neighbor living in a petite-sized 150-year old LEED Platinum home.
The first couple of Grocoff-hosted videos are up and running on Old House Web so be sure to check them, along with the rest of the 'Old is the New Green' content, out. It's certainly a nice change of pace and inspiring for green-aspiring homeowners who feel like their hands are tied because of their home's age.
Old home fixer-uppers: feel free to share an anecdote or two in the comments section about your own experiences scaling back the ecological footprint of an antiquated abode. How did you start in? What's been the most challenging aspect so far?
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