Sustainability Begins at Home

Energized is an ongoing series following my education about living a more sustainable life.

For the last 20 years, I’ve lived on the suburban fringes of Austin, Texas. It just seemed like the place to be with small children. The homogenous neighborhood, with its chain restaurants and strip shopping centers, was the price paid for parks, pools, schools, and a large yard for the kids and pets. But now my daughters are in high school and college. With my congested daily commute to frog’s downtown studio, and both kids driving as well, we saw our monthly gasoline bill triple. We started exploring a move.

Mueller Austin is an urban “infill” project, with a vision to transform the former 700-acre Robert Mueller Municipal Airport site into a mixed-use urban village. The community concept follows the principles of “New Urbanism:” anti-sprawl, walkable neighborhoods, a spirit of sustainability, a range of housing types and prices, and a focus on the smart integration of residential and retail, rather than segregating properties by their types and uses. It values community closeness over individual separation. The neighborhood is still in development and the reality is far from the ultimate vision. But I was sold on the concept, Mueller’s central location, and bought one of the last home sites in the first phase of development.

Our new Mueller house is a top-rated, 5-star green home for its energy and water efficiency, safe and renewable materials, building techniques, and smart products and appliances. Austin Energy, the city’s leading utilities provider, has a nationally-recognized, point-based system for rating green building. I must admit that the environmental focus of the neighborhood was a secondary consideration; I was more focused on Mueller’s central location. But ultimately it piqued my interest to learn more.

My move brought a few new realizations:

Sustainability begins at home.
The green aspects of my house have heightened my awareness. Paying attention to features such as the attic insulation, heat-blocking windows, the tankless water heater or programmable thermostat during the building process has made me notice other areas that could be made more efficient.

Living greener is a sequence of small choices, every day.
I make hundreds of seemingly trivial decisions every day that impact my energy consumption and conservation. Turning off lights and water, closing curtains on a hot day, adjusting the thermostat when leaving the house, or replacing a light bulb with one that's more efficient. Recognizing those moments is quickly redefining my habits.

Adopting just a few green practices builds momentum.
Anyone that’s ever tried to lose weight knows that if you exercise, you’re much less likely to cancel that investment with overeating. Making just a few small changes in my energy habits has made me less likely to waste my savings with careless consumption.

As excited as I am to learn more, I’m not ready to “be green” at any cost. I suspect that it isn’t always cheap or convenient. I'm not sure if all the “little things” will really add up to make a meaningful financial or environmental difference. I’m looking forward to comparing my time and cost investments with the real savings they produce.

Next post:
Baselining my own energy consumption and cost.

As Vice President of frog’s Design Realization group, Collin works closely with our design and engineering teams to bring innovative ideas to market. With over 20 years of experience in both creative and engineering management, Collin brings focus and multi-disciplinary expertise to this critical phase of the delivery process. In 1996, Collin co-founded frog’s digital media group and has worked extensively with frog clientele in the USA, Europe, and India.