Editor’s Note: I met David Lopes and Karen Hernandez at Reed Memorial Library at a Sustainable Putnam home energy workshop in April 2023. I don’t remember them mentioning at the time that they didn’t actually own a home. In hindsight, I’m not surprised. As you’ll learn, this young couple was thinking steps ahead of their closing. Seven steps to be precise! — Joe Montuori
Our year-long transition away from oil began in 2023 before we even closed on our home. When we learned our home-to-be was heated by oil, we knew we wanted to replace it with something more sustainable, but we didn’t know what. We attended a Home Energy Improvement Workshop where we came away with information that became our rough guideline for prioritizing home improvement projects.
Shortly after our closing on our new home, we scheduled an energy audit, as recommended by The Seven Steps to Clean Energy, and settled on heat pumps as our future heating/cooling system. We quickly became overwhelmed; the first quote we received for the weatherization and heat pump installation was well out of our price range. We scheduled a clinic with Joe to try and regroup. Unfortunately, the sticker shock from that first quote killed our momentum, and the project went on hold for months.
Flash forward to the tail end of summer 2024, and we were forced to revisit the issue when our central A/C system failed on us. Luckily, we were ready – Sustainable Putnam had already guided us toward being educated consumers. We got in touch with six contractors, and ultimately received four different estimates that felt more reasonably priced. While the prices were overall more affordable, the estimates we received were apples to oranges for what each contractor recommended. To try and navigate the information overload, we immediately scheduled another clinic with Joe to help us break down the quotes in a more manageable way.
With the tips we learned at the clinic, we set about comparing the quotes line by line. Eventually, we settled on the contractor that suggested a system that was best for our needs. A month later, these steps of the journey to a more sustainable home were finally done.
Every homeowner’s journey is different, but as this timeline shows, Karen and David researched and planned carefully.
All said and done, this entire process took us from November 2023 through to December 2024. We wouldn’t have been able to do it without the assistance and guidance that Sustainable Putnam made available to us. We won’t hesitate to get in touch again when we move on to the next step in our clean energy home journey!
Learn more with our Seven Steps to Clean Home Energy guide or schedule a consultation. You can help us reach more Putnam households like David and Karen’s in 2025 with a donation to our end-of-year fundraising campaign.
This is a great testimonial to the benefits of having access to a knowledgeable and unbiased expert who can help homeowners navigate an often confusing home improvement landscape. Thanks to Joe Montuori for his passion to help others lower their carbon footprint!
Congratulations, Karen and David! What a great accomplishment. I bet you’re enjoying the comfort of your new heating system, especially on these cold winter days. Thanks for sharing your journey!
Hi Suzanne, great to hear of your involvement with Sustainable Putnam!
So often it seems it’s new homeowners who won’t settle for burning fossil fuels to heat their home. It’s wonderful Sustainable Putnam was there to help this couple along.