by Rich Marcello ·
Friday, August 14, 2026
I’ve known Bill and Susan Holcomb for years. Our kids went to school together, and in a town the size of Harvard, you come to recognize people at the General or on soccer fields long before you spend time with them over coffee. Recently, though, I had the pleasure of sitting down and talking with Susan.
It was a generative conversation about many topics, but mostly about how ordinary people can transform the way they live by making one thoughtful decision after another. You see, the Holcombs aren’t environmental activists. They aren’t technology evangelists. They’re practical, thoughtful people who, when faced with replacing something in their home, ask a simple question over and over: “What’s the smartest long-term choice?”
Their approach has gradually transformed nearly every part of their home and transportation. It’s an approach almost anyone in Harvard can follow.
Like many of us interested in the climate crisis, the Holcombs started by learning. Before installing a single solar panel, they spent months reading books, researching online, talking with friends, visiting homes featured during Harvard’s Earth Day event, and learning about federal and state incentives. They took a course on how solar systems work. When the time came to make a solar choice, instead of accepting the first sales pitch, they received multiple bids through EnergySage (an online comparison marketplace that helps consumers shop for clean energy solutions) before selecting a local installer. I mention these things as examples of their first learning, which may be the one that matters the most. They didn’t rush. They educated themselves.
The Holcombs made progress over many years. In 2011, they acquired and installed a pellet stove. In 2015, they switched to an induction cooktop. In 2018, they replaced their wood stove with a more efficient Hearthstone model.
Then came 2022.
Rather than making one upgrade, they tackled their home as a complete system. They added attic and basement insulation and air sealing, installed high-efficiency heat pumps, and put in place a rooftop solar array.
But they didn’t stop there. In 2023, they purchased a Tesla Model 3 and installed a Level 2 charger for it. Then they replaced their gasoline lawn mower, snow blower, and backpack blower with electric equipment. In 2024, they installed a heat-pump water heater.
None of these decisions, by themselves, transformed their home, but together, they changed almost everything.
When solar companies first evaluated the Holcombs’ home, the companies recommended installing 16 panels, based on the Holcombs’ electricity use. Instead, Bill and Susan installed 28. Why? Because they planned for a net-zero future. They knew they would one day add heat pumps, purchase an electric vehicle or two, and electrify much of their lawn equipment. Rather than designing for their current needs, they designed for tomorrow’s.
The numbers are telling. The Holcombs were using 6,300 kilowatt-hours of electricity each year before their rooftop system, 28 REC 395-watt panels, went online in 2022. Since then, the system has generated 10,000 kilowatt-hours (10 megawatt-hours) of electricity every year.
Despite adding an electric vehicle, heat pumps, a heat-pump water heater, electric lawn equipment, and an induction stove, their solar production has kept pace with their needs remarkably well. By early 2026, after more than three years of operating the system, their total electric bills since installation amounted to only $294. Think about that!
Many discussions about energy focus only on expense or climate, but the Holcombs think about what they call the Three C’s: cost, comfort, and climate. What’s cool about this framework is that comfort isn’t an afterthought. Heat pumps provide plenty of summer cooling and shoulder-season heating. Better insulation translates to fewer drafts. Updated windows improve both efficiency and livability. Even after expanding their home from 2,000 square feet to 2,900 square feet, their house became more efficient.
The Holcombs haven’t eliminated every fossil fuel in their home. They still use propane for their outdoor grill. They do some winter heating with wood cut from their own property or shared by a neighbor. They purchase about 15 bags of wood pellets each winter, costing $100 for the season. Their philosophy isn’t about perfection. It’s about substantial, regular progress.
Doing all this work didn’t require a single massive investment. It required within-budget investments over 15 years, one decision at a time. A pellet stove. New windows. An induction stove. Better insulation. Heat pumps. Solar. An electric vehicle. A heat-pump water heater. Electric lawn equipment. Each improvement built upon the last. Each decision made the next one easier.
As I was driving home after my conversation with Susan, it occurred to me that her story wasn’t only about going green. It was about the benefits of learning about the climate crisis and of exhibiting patience, thoughtfulness, and detailed planning in addressing what they could control. And it was about two ordinary—no, extraordinary—Harvard residents who kept asking how they could make their home a little better each year. That’s the second big learning in their story. You don’t have to do everything at once. You can start where you are and go at your own pace.
Rich Marcello is a member of the Climate Initiative Committee. In writing his latest novel, “The Means of Keeping,” he spent several years researching the climate crisis.