published on www.greenworks.tv in September 2002 Just a few trees interrupt the view of the downtown skyline from Caren Glotfelty and Wim Schoonhaven's ecologically-renovated home on the lower slope of Pittsburgh's Mount Washington. The modest, two-story structure was built around 1880 and sits on Sycamore Street, the steepest in the city, near several similar homes, some of which still have no plumbing though the location is nearly ideal - within walking distance of a stop on the electric light-rail "T." Caren and Wim plan to keep their home small though an addition is in the works. The Glotfelty-Schoonhaven family is showing a great commitment to the ecology and the city, though they have been in Pittsburgh just two years. Caren's current position, as Program Director for the Environment Program at The Heinz Endowments, brought them to the city. She was previously the Goddard Professor of forestry and the environment at Penn State, and before that, deputy secretary for water quality for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Wim, now retired, worked for Pennsylvania Power and Light helping communities plan for industrial development and helping PP+L locate new plants where they would have the least impact on the environment. Recently, the Glotfelty-Schoonhaven family hosted an open house to show off their home's energy conservation improvements, as well as to give the Safe Energy Communications Council a forum to announce their new guide to cutting home energy costs. After finding and buying the 950-square-foot house, Wim and Caren have had to spend much of the last two years living elsewhere during the renovation. "It was a total gut," said Wim. Though hampered by the property - "the slope made a ground-water heat-pump heating system too expensive," he said, and undermining required them to do a geologic study for their planned addition - the family continues to be pleased with the project. The original home's renovation is nearly complete and the groundwork has been done for the addition. Their radiant floor heating uses water heated by an electric ultra-insulated water heater. Though more expensive than a forced-air system, the radiant system will decrease their energy usage and bills, and will pay for itself in about 5 years. Their high-velocity, small-diameter-duct air conditioning system, on the other hand, presented no additional cost because "the walls were all already opened up and getting redone," Wim said. Insulation will provide the home's biggest energy savings. The original home had none whatsoever. They selected blown cellulose, and their research showed "several myths, such as the one that fires in houses with this paper insulation are more dangerous, are untrue." Cellulose was also less expensive, has a greater resistance to energy moving through it (R-value), and lower air infiltration than fiberglass. All the penetrations needed for wiring the house were air-sealed with foam. Caren described other special measures they've taken, including low- or no-VOC (volatile organic compound) paints, wood from sustainably-managed forests, compact fluorescent lighting, and high-performance replacement windows. All these measures have reduced their monthly energy bill to about $100 for the original structure. "It will be easier to implement energy-saving measures in the addition," said Caren, citing their ability to orient the addition for maximum solar benefits. The 2000-sq.-foot addition will include a garage, living room and master bedroom, and will likely be heated by solar power or a fuel-cell system. When the addition is complete, Caren believes the house will be valued at "about what we put into it." The day's open house also featured the release of "Pennsylvania Home Power Boosters: A Guide to Home Energy Savings," and a presentation by author Christopher Sherry. The book includes Pennsylvania success stories, and "a how-to manual of energy saving tips," all of which is available free at www.homepowerboosters.org online.