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Steve Thomas is the host of Planet Green's Renovation Nation, a program that focuses on making green renovations to homes across the country. In his regular column on PlanetGreen.com, Steve goes behind the scenes of the show and offers additional tips and insight on green renovation.
I live in the historic district in Salem, Massachusetts. So I live under many of the same constraints often found in historical buildings like the Edgar Degas House in New Orleans we worked on. The historic commission in New Orleans wouldn't allow me to install proper insulation in the structure. I face the same kinds of constraints when renovating my own house.
The historical commission in Salem won't let me take the windows off my home, but they will let me put storm windows on. That helps a little bit. It was eleven degrees in New England last night. So you can see why insulation is important.
Still, no alterations are possible to the exterior of the building. By and large, the way I personally come down on it, I am very much in favor of historic districts. I'm very much in favor of historic houses. I think that historic commissions have to expand their thinking a little bit and let homeowners make green upgrades. It will allow the homeowners to save money and ultimately prolong the life of the structure.
As technology gets more established and people become interested in doing green upgrades to historic houses, historic commissions will need to upgrade their technological thinking on it and allow homeowners to green their historic houses.
For more information on the Degas House in New Orleans, check out the Renovation Nation Episode Guide: New Orleans.
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