East Bay Green Home Tour 2022
This past weekend I participated in a fascinating two-day virtual tour of green homes in the East Bay. 2022 was the second year of the tour, which highlights what neighbors are doing to combat climate change, improve air quality, generate clean energy and move towards a safer, healthier, greener future. The pre-recorded virtual tours were followed by live Q&A sessions with the homeowners and in some cases, their designers or architects. Sponsors and community partners presented on topics such as using compost and mulch to keep carbon in the soil, programs available to low and middle income households as well as renters, and how to upgrade your home to all-electric appliances without upgrading from a 100 amp electrical panel. I loved seeing the range of homes, including two ADU projects - one that is all-electric and one built out of straw bales. Rainwater collection and grey water harvesting for landscaping was fairly common, as were electric heat pump systems for heating and cooling. Only one of the homes had done a full-scale complete green remodel. Most of them are doing incremental changes as they can afford them, which is similar to my 100th Birthday Project. Some of the resources they discussed are only available in the East Bay, but many are available in San Francisco and Marin.
Brenna and Jahan’s stone walls and wide paths at their home in Lafayette.
Most fascinating takeaway? Brenna and Jahan have done quite a bit of work to their home in Lafayette including installing solar powered fire sprinklers on their roof that can pull water from their pool in the event of a fire. They created dry stacked rock walls and a six foot wide stone pathway on their property. Brenna shared that the property is surrounded by grass and trees, attracting deer ticks that carry Lyme Disease. Ticks don’t like crossing flat pathways, so a stone path at least three feet wide can keep them away from the main outdoor areas. Not only that, but the stone walls attract California lizards, which have a natural inoculation against Lyme Disease. So - if the ticks bite the lizards before they get to you, you are protected. Who knew?
Click on the image above to check out their website, including tours of the 12 homes that were featured, and links to a wealth of resources. Inspired by the success of the East Bay Green Home Tour, the first ever Marin Green Home Tour will debut October 22 and 23, 2022. And I am going to be a sponsor! I’m so excited to be a part of this effort. Maybe my house will be on it when I complete the 100th Birthday Project. If you know of a home in Marin where the owners are doing interesting projects to combat climate change, we’d love to hear about it. I’m hoping to present on how making green upgrades not only makes your home healthier, safer, and helps the planet, it can increase your property values too!
