SAN ANTONIO -- The City of San Antonio plans to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 but a Stone Oak family made some simple changes in order to make their house a little more energy efficient.
- San Antonio planning to be carbon neutural by 2050
- Stone Oak family already dedicated to the cause
- Energy efficiency has led to savings
"I wish we had done it 13 years ago when we moved in because we could have been making lots of savings that whole time," said homeowner Victoria Pollman.
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Pollman is a retired human resources executive who believes in conservation, recycling, and reducing her carbon footprint. She's using her retirement to make her home more energy efficient and she started with solar panels.
"We've saved over $6,500 in the last six years," said Pollman.
Pollman said the savings could increase because she recently added tinted windows to keep out heat from direct sunlight. Her hybrid Volvo, picked up from Sweden, allows her to not fill up her tank as often. She added rain barrels but those needed some extra help from her daughter-in-law.
"I had her camouflage it so that it blends in with the rocks on the front of my house because they are not all that attractive," said Pollman.
It's now a piece of art used to collect rain to water her native plants around the house.
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"We love it here in San Antonio and we love this location," said Pollman. "We thought the house is too big now with our kids grown but we do grandkids and kids coming back."
All that work would make the minds behind the city's Climate Action Plan proud.
"I think making personal choices around how you consume and what you throw away are really important first steps," said Doug Melnick with the City of San Antonio.
"There's always more to do around your house," said Pollman. "More improvements that you can make that we hope eventually will help reduce water use and energy consumption."
More ways to have less of a carbon footprint.