Editor’s Note

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WHEN WE launched Green & Healthy Maine HOMES 10 years ago, our goal was to provide you with information and resources to create a comfortable, safe and healthy home using the latest advances in renewable energy and efficiency. We wanted to show that homes that incorporate these technologies are not only healthier for the people who live in them and for the planet, but also practical and cost-effective.

While our mission hasn’t changed in the past 10 years, I’m happy to share that Maine has experienced great advances in these areas. Then & Now shows us how far clean energy and green building in Maine has come in the past decade.

Our first issue featured a 1,200-square-foot, off-grid, net-zero home in Parsonsfield. It was designed by BRIBURN using passive solar principles and built with super-insulation, triple-pane windows, solar photovoltaics and hot water, balanced ventilation and a ductless heat pump. Many of the finish materials were crafted from lumber harvested onsite. I recently caught up with homeowner Lyn Sudlow and her partner Cliff Krolick, to ask how their house has performed over the years. After exclaiming that she loves her house, Sudlow told me that she heats primarily with a small wood stove (with a dedicated air supply) and rarely needs to use the heat pump or gas generator. Her home is so efficient that with all heating and electricity costs combined, she spends only $300 a year on energy. The key, Krolick says, is the 10-inches of darkly stained concrete slab polished flooring that absorbs the sun’s warmth and reflects it back into the home. 12-inches of high-density foam underneath keeps the heat from escaping. Even on the coldest of days, without the heat on, they only lose 1 or 2-degrees of temperature overnight. Pretty impressive!

Over the past decade, we’ve featured an array of local businesses helping to reduce building emissions. In Carbon-cutting made easy(er), we highlight four builders specializing in panelized construction using carbon-storing materials such as hemp, straw and cellulose; a business that makes wood-fiber insulation; and a manufacturer crafting economical triple-pane windows right here in Maine. In Maine’s best-kept wood secret, we profile a small Cape Elizabeth lumber yard and clearinghouse for locally grown lumber that has become one of the state’s leading retailers of eastern white cedar and is spearheading a “buy local” movement for Maine’s wood mills.

If you’re curious about the cost-saving opportunities that energy-efficient heat pumps provide for both heating and cooling, you’ll want to check out Are heat pumps right for my home?

And if you’re itching to get your hands into the dirt, you’ll enjoy two articles in this issue. Resilient yards shares what happens when a community rolls up its sleeves together. We also explore the ecological benefits of shrinking your lawn in our new Sustainable landscaping column Turf matters.

Green & Healthy Maine HOMES would not be what it is today without the help of the many people who contribute their energy, passion and expertise towards its mission every day: our staff, advisory board, writers, photographers, editors, designers, distributors and more. To our advertisers and sponsors—thank you for trusting us to showcase your businesses. And to you, our readers and subscribers, a very special thank you from the bottom of my heart for supporting us and local, independent media.

In gratitude,

Heather Chandler
Editor & Publisher

On the cover over the years

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Contributors

Christy Crocker is the executive director of the Maine Indoor Air Quality Council, a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating healthy, environmentally sustainable indoor environments through education, communications and advocacy.

June Donenfeld is a Midcoast Maine writer, editor and writing coach focusing on sustainability, design, education and social entrepreneurship. In previous lives, she also worked in philanthropy and cross-cultural communication.

Dan Kolbert has been a contractor in the Portland area for over 20 years, specializing in energy-efficient homes. He is coauthor of Pretty Good House (Taunton Press, 2022).

Steve Konstantino is the founder of Performance Building Supply in Portland. He is dedicated to helping builders build better by sharing technical knowledge and sourcing high-performance European windows and doors, air-sealing/weather barrier tapes and membranes, cabinetry and more.

Kerry Lewis leads the Landscape Architecture team at Knickerbocker Group. She has been a registered landscape architect for 30 years, focusing on ecological gardens for the Northeast.

Parlin Meyer is the director of BrightBuilt Home, a design firm in Portland that uses off-site construction manufacturers to build modified and custom versions of its high-performance home designs.

Amy Paradysz is a contributor and editor at Green & Healthy Maine and a longtime Portland Press Herald columnist.

Raine Raynor is a contributor and editor at Green & Healthy Maine. Her other creative interests include graphic design, photography, and landscape architecture. She lives in Portland.

Julia Bassett Schwerin is a National Association of Realtors-designated Green Broker and a member of the Sustainability Advisory Group of the Greater Portland Board of Realtors. She teaches and consults on green building subjects throughout the United States.

Staff

Editor & Publisher
Heather Chandler

Copy Editing & Proofreading
Amy Paradysz
Raine Raynor

Account Executive
Cheryl Denis

Marketing & Design Specialist
Raine Raynor

Design
PELLE Graphic Design

Advisory Panel

A special thank you to the Green & Healthy Maine HOMES advisory panel members.

Bill Bell / Maine Pellet Heating Association
Chris Briley / BRIBURN Architecture
Richard Burbank / Evergreen Home Performance
Christy Crocker / Maine Indoor Air Quality Council
Anna Heath / Maine Passive House
Ashley Hopwood Farrar / Meldrum Design
Dan Kolbert / Kolbert Building
Steve Konstantino / Performance Building Supply
Michael Maines / Maines Design
Emily Mottram / Mottram Architecture
Randy Rand / Tekton Fine Living
Meredith Randolph / Four Winds Design