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FeedEfficiency Expert
A local green-home guru preaches enviro-friendly savings.
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The amazing transformation of Charles and Cynthia Szoradi’s Wayne home is best summed up in the dramatic before-and-after pictures—some of which you see here. The well-matched couple (he’s an architect, she’s a real estate agent) purchased their two-bedroom, ’50s-era bungalow in 2005. Five years later, the house now has four bedrooms, with a new family room and modern eat-in kitchen, plus an outdoor living area.
But the Szoradis’ house is more than just another stylish and spacious Main Line renovation. It’s environmentally sustainable—powered by the sun, and loaded with state-of-the-art recycled and energy-efficient products and appliances.
From the start, Charles has focused his 15-year architectural practice on sustainable, green and salvaged buildings. He and his wife wanted to follow the same philosophy at home.
“My wife and I didn’t have the luxury of building a house from scratch,” says Charles. “We wanted to demonstrate that you could cost-effectively transform and expand an inefficient 1950s home into a high-performance, energy-saving residence while still maintaining great style and functionality.”
The couple succeeded—and then some. Total monthly utility bills are often under $60. And Charles found himself with an abundance of useful information he wanted to share. “We’d done so much research that we didn’t want to keep it to ourselves,” he says.
So he started GreenandSave.com, an increasingly popular, comprehensive online resource for those looking to make the most effective, eco-conscious decisions for their homes or offices.
“Measurement is the key to management,” says Charles of the process. “If you didn’t have any controls on the dashboard of your car, and at the end of the month, you got a bill that told you how much gas you’d used, how many miles you’d driven and your average speed, you’d be driving blind. Well, that’s how we are driving our houses. We don’t know the ongoing operating costs.”
That’s going to change. Within two years, a new generation of “smart meters” will be hitting the market. They’ll enable homeowners to monitor their utility costs minute by minute. So when you turn the lights off before leaving the room, you’ll literally be able to see what you’re saving.
“These are all great incentives to measure and manage the operation of our homes and offices,” says Charles. “But while you wait for these smart meters, just make sure you turn off the lights when you leave the room.”
