It always bugged me that my dryer would gobble up SO MUCH electricity (we have a Sense monitor, which makes it super evident how much power those conventional dryers draw) AND how most the heat just went clear out the pipe into the atmosphere! So when our dryer broke, we looked into heat pump dryers. They work with the same technology that heat pump home-heaters and minisplits work: they recover heat. In this case, the dryer heats up and captures then reuses the heat from the steam, recycling it over and over. Makes total sense to me! We bought a Miele. There aren't many of these on the market yet, and the models are small compared to the average American dryer (for efficiency). They also don't come cheap. But they work well, are super efficient (and plug into an average 120 volt circuit), and you can even capture the water part of the steam into a container - so no need for drainage. Our Miele will last us a long time and we'll recover the expense of buying it through energy savings.

We have enjoyed Black Earth Compost service for two years now and the weekly compost pick up continues to be a real positive. Our household waste management is all around more pleasant to deal with, less to take to the dump, composting makes us happy, and it is all very easy! As a little bonus, Black Earth Compost personnel are always ready with a wave and smile when I happen to see them.

We were forced to shop for a new car when our old Prius was totaled and only looking at replacing with a newer used model, assuming an electric car was out of price range. Amazingly, this actually wasn't the case - a used Prius hybrid with low miles was more expensive than an electric car! We discovered that the market for affordable used electric cars is growing rapidly. We feel very fortunate and proud of driving around in our little BMW i3 - such a fun ride!

After hearing the webinar on community solar, we realized we could sign up even though we already have a roof top PV system. The Energy Sage site was easy to navigate and we ended up signing up for a NextAmp project that will come on line this winter. Brendan from Next Amp answered all my questions and we expect to save 10% on our electric bill and provide them http://wayland.3.139.183.78.nip.io/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/plugIN_250220_011405-67dae68786185-1.jpgs to support community solar. Win- Win!

My only visit to a gas station now is the annual vehicle inspection. They have learnt not to look for a tail pipe!

There are many great features in EVs and particularly in the Tesla Model 3 (pictured here). I could wax lyrical for a long time however overall I would say it's driving experience that makes me glad to own this car. It's as fast as you could ever want, comfortable, quiet and intelligently designed. But the feature I think I like best is that the car just keeps getting better. Over the air updates bring new features and updates. It is always interesting to see what new capability the car has when the update arrives.

The fact that there is no tail pipe emission is almost incidental. Yes, you do have to be a bit more planful on long trips but the onboard computer does a great job of figuring out your stops and the car will navigate automatically to them. The supercharger network is extensive now and stops rarely take more than the time to get a cup of coffee, visit the toilets and stretch your legs.

The autonomous driving on highways requires an attentive driver but substantially reduces driver fatigue. I tend to use the feature most of the time and believe one is less prone to get into accidents when using it. The car has 360 degree vision and can avoid accidents better than a human driver.

I would be happy to chat about my experience of almost three years with the car if you want to drop me an email at dap4583@gmail.com

If you decide to buy you can use my referral code and we both get some free supercharger miles.

https://ts.la/david39357

We went with rooftop solar back in 2012 during the solarize program that was offered that year. It was in the years of the sluggish stock market following the crash of 2008 and part of my rationale for taking the plunge was because I figured there had to be better use for my money. At the time, they projected my breakeven point would be 6.5 years out. But between the performance of my system and the SREC checks, we actually hit breakeven at 4 years! And now, 8.5 years after inception, I have realized a 250% return on my investment! It is routinely 6-7 months a year that I effectively have a zero-dollar electric bill. My only complaint is not a function of the system itself, but that the pitch of my roof is such that, after a heavy winter snowfall, the snow doesn't slough off as quickly as some of the neighbor's systems (who followed our lead some years later and have steeper pitches). Otherwise, my performance would be even better! I don't know what the pricing schemes are these days - and how long the SREC program will last. So I can't guarantee you'll have the same investment experience we did. But even if it's not about the investment return, the satisfaction knowing that we're making a difference would make me do it all over again in a heartbeat! It's quite fun to go out on a bright sunny day and watch the electric meter go in reverse!