Think of it as a green-building advocate’s version of “touch a truck.”
Brattleboro-based Sustainable Energy Outreach Network is hosting its first “sustainable home tour” on Saturday, Oct. 15, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It features seven specially outfitted, environmentally friendly houses in Brattleboro, Dummerston, Guilford, Putney, and Saxtons River.
The idea is to let the public get up close and personal with new and renovated homes that have been designated as “high performance.” Energy efficiency plays a big role in that label, but there’s a lot more to it, said Guy Payne, the network’s executive director.
“When we use the phrase, ‘high-performance homes,’ we’re trying to get away from the idea of ‘green homes,’ because people don’t really know what that means,” Payne said. “We’re really talking about homes that are oriented toward high efficiency, durability, indoor air quality, and renewables.”