Howdy, folks. Hope this little rainstorm that’s blowing around outside didn’t dampen anyone’s Labor Day celebrations (I felt a little sad thinking of the farmers and organizers who’d worked hard to prepare for the Meet Yer Eats farm tour Monday, but at least it wasn’t precipitating all day long).
Speaking of weather, the prevailing winds are about to change, as the year swings from one season to another. That always gets me thinking about how to battle the cold (not my favorite). And step one, as the September issue of ABODE makes clear, is to have a reasonably tight house.
Our feature story this time around touches on some new City houses that are way more than "reasonably" tight–they’re built to some of the world’s strictest standards for energy-efficiency. It’s exciting to know that in all likelihood, we’ll soon claim Virginia’s first certified Passive House right here in Charlottesville, with others in the pipeline.
But it’s also exciting that we can boast a local nonprofit, LEAP, that exists just to help the rest of us (who live in what, passive-aggressive houses?) improve our homes. I talked to one family, the Poncys, who have seen a big jump in the comfort of their place after doing some relatively simple upgrades with a LEAP grant. Their bills went down, too.
Meet the Poncys, see the Passive House, and much much more in the September ABODE. Pick it up and be in touch!