Habitat For Humanity’s Environmental Progress

It is amazing to me to experience the changes in construction policies over the last ten years! Although the houses built by our affiliate, Habitat for Humanity North Central Massachusetts, have always been well insulated and conforming to local codes, current practices now include installing gas hot water furnaces no larger than a big suitcase, and so efficient that the exhaust is simply through the nearest wall! Couple that with zoning for every room, the distribution boards look like a master work of art with many tubes radiating from the supply main. The savings are a substantial boon to the homeowner. With help from a special grant, a recent home was equipped with solar roof panels and automatic backfeed to the local utility. Foundation walls were also insulated. Combined with the use of engineered beams that permit column free basements, homeowners of today are offered a much wider choice for future development of living space in a comfortable environment.

Carleton Finch is a retired high school mathematics teacher and coordinator for the Leominster, Massachusetts School Department whose avocations include woodworking and gardening. Descended from the First Families of Boston, Massachusetts and Stamford, Connecticut, and influenced by both his father and uncle, Carleton’s abiding love of the environment and his fellow neighbors has made him a New England fixture and Founding Member of Habitat for Humanity in North Central Massachusetts.