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Sustainable Living, Smarter Tech: Remodeling Your Home for Efficiency and Comfort

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Sustainable Living, Smarter Tech: Remodeling Your Home for Efficiency and Comfort

Building or remodeling a home is an opportunity to align your living space with both modern technology and sustainable living. A truly eco-friendly smart home isn’t just about throwing in a few smart bulbs and calling it a day—it’s about designing a system where efficiency, automation, and environmental consciousness work together seamlessly. You want a home that reduces waste, conserves energy, and ultimately makes your life easier. Whether you’re starting from scratch or upgrading an existing space, the key is to think holistically, balancing cutting-edge tech with sustainability.

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Innovative Solutions and Strategies for Eco-Friendly Living

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Innovative Solutions and Strategies for Eco-Friendly Living

The fusion of technology and sustainability creates opportunities to address pressing environmental issues. Incorporating digital tools into daily life can encourage more eco-conscious habits and reduce waste. Technologies like energy-efficient devices or digital alternatives to paper are reshaping routines in favor of greener choices. Embracing these advancements enables individuals to contribute to a healthier environment while simplifying their lifestyles. Such actions reflect a broader movement toward responsible and thoughtful living. This article can help you understand how.

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Electrifying Our Old Oak Park Home #5: EV Road Trippin’

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Electrifying Our Old Oak Park Home #5: EV Road Trippin’

This is Part 5 of my series Electrifying Our Old Oak Park Home. Read the rest here.

In August 2024, our family took our first multi-day road trip with our electric car: 1,200 miles from Oak Park, Illinois, to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. We had to do some research for this trip to be a success, so I’m sharing what we learned with you!

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#4 Electrifying Our Old Oak Park Home: Appliances

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#4 Electrifying Our Old Oak Park Home: Appliances

This is Part 4 of my series Electrifying Our Old Oak Park Home. Read all 4 parts here.

A little over a year ago in April of 2023, we completed the electrification of our house. Since then, I’ve received a lot of interest in this project, was awarded a Green Award by the Village of Oak Park, and was even featured in the Chicago Tribune!

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Oak Park's Unity Temple: Preservation Meets Green Innovation

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Oak Park's Unity Temple: Preservation Meets Green Innovation

Since Unity Temple’s latest renovation in 2017, led by Harboe Architects, a plethora of modern features, many cleverly hidden from view in columns or ductwork, have coexisted with historic elements. Moreover, a lot of the newfangled improvements—a geothermal heating/cooling system, energy-saving LED lights, upgraded skylights, motion sensors—might even qualify the Temple as a certifiable green structure. Thanks to the geothermal apparatus' connection with the moderate temperatures of the earth, the building is air-conditioned for the first time in its history.

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Lean Mean Green Machine

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Lean Mean Green Machine

We are thrilled to announce that One Earth Collective and Laurie Casey of COOP are both recipients of the Village of Oak Park’s 2023 Green Awards, recognizing outstanding efforts in sustainability and environmental stewardship in the community.