A MARRIAGE OF ELEGANCE AND EFFICIENCY The owners have a passion for education in renewable energy and home restoration. Forty years ago, Stewart Herman wrote a book (Energy Futures) about tapping new sources of energy. He also helped rescue from deterioration the 130-year-old family house on Shelter Island, New York. For the past ten years, he has worked to advance sustainability at Concordia College in Moorhead, MN. Through all the house projects, his wife, Linda, has kept a warm and welcoming home for the family and guests.
Now Stewart and Linda are retiring from college teaching (religion and history, respectively) and have decided to reduce their carbon footprint by renovating the 1907 house to the new Green Star standard. They both want to leave a legacy for their children, and also inspire other retiring baby boomers to revitalize their urban neighborhoods by renovating for quality as well as environmental improvement.
THE PROJECT HAS TWO PRIMARY GOALS for the house to produce as much energy as it consumes, and for the traditional character of the 1907 to be preserved and enhanced.
The house at 2021 Harriet Avenue was built in 1907. By 2014 it was in foreclosure, unoccupied for more than two years. To tear down, or to renovate from ground up? While it would have been less expensive to demolish the house and rebuild from scratch, we chose to demonstrate that older housing stock can be recycled for the 21st century.
The housing stock of the Whittier neighborhood is aging, as is much of Minneapolis. To tear down or renovate? Many homeowners are reluctant to let go of the traditional charm of their older houses. Our project is demonstrating that it is possible to make an old house as energy efficient as new construction, all while retaining the traditional charm and cozy comfort that owners cherish.
Whittier Netzero 