Switching to an electric car felt like a concrete thing I could do, since I commute to Worcester several days a week.  I loved my Mini Cooper, and an electric Mini would have met my commuting needs - but I also wanted something we could use for family trips.  I've been delighted with my new Hyundai Ioniq 6!  Charging at home is easy, and while I could easily charge at a DC fast charger on a longer trip, so far my range seems to be 300+ miles, so I haven't needed to.  We took a weekend trip to the beach in Newport, Rhode Island, and not only was the car comfortable and a pleasure to drive, but we all felt good knowing that we weren't burning any gas to do it.  Even better - we were using energy collected from the solar panels on our house and garage!

In 2012, under the Solarize Massachusetts program, we added a 7.7 kW solar array to our south-facing roof.  In 2013 we added a 20 kWh residential battery backup for power outages. It can support about one day of normal electricity use, or about three days with stringent conservation.  If the solar panels are not covered with snow, they can recharge the batteries for even longer outages.

We used New England Clean Energy for both projects.  They were very helpful and experienced, and we are happy with the results.

Initially the solar array provided about 85% of our electrical usage.  Since we installed EV chargers and GSHP, solar provides only about half of our power.  However, our total annual energy cost is now 25% lower than it was in 2011 (adjusted for inflation).

Just over a year ago I had 3 mini splits (air exchange heat pumps) installed in my colonial-style home:  I upstairs in the master bedroom and 2 downstairs at opposite ends of the house (family room and my office).  The first year has been a learning process for sure, especially given the house has multiple heating zones which enabled me to heat only those areas I was in.  That said, I've learned how to balance heating with the mini splits and am looking into adding at least one more in the addition to the house.  An added bonus:  being able to have air conditioning in my bedroom and office on those very hot/humid nights and days this summer!  Great improvement over fans in the windows!!

We opted not to have the backyard composting, but we haven't put food scraps in our trash for over 4 years.  We use compostable bags (for all our trash except for the dreaded Harvard required trash bags for the transfer station) and we put ALL of our food scraps (meat included) into the bag.  We then freeze the bags until we are ready to go food shopping at Whole Foods where we put the bags into their compost bin can at the front of the store.  

Our lower yard is planted with wildflowers, and has developed into a small meadow.  Our backyard garden includes milkweed, mullein, dandelions, clover, and many other "weeds" and additional wildflowers that attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.  We compost all our food scraps and add that to the garden whenever we plant anything.  And oh, yes, we have some lovely plants from the Harvard Conservation yearly giveaway that are thriving, too--redbud, witch hazel, and dogwood, among other things.And the most exciting thing is that for the first time since we've moved to Harvard, we saw bats this summer!!

I bought a 2023 VW ID4 in January so it is still a pretty new experience.  That experience has been pretty positive.  It handles well and the acceleration is impressive.  I love not filling up at the gas station and love charging at home - it so convenient!  The one somewhat negative aspect is charging away from home where there are not that many chargers. Still I know people who don't have home chargers and use outside chargers for all their charging.  It works.