Living Green at Lively Lane

At Lively Lane, we believe caring for the future is rooted in the everyday. That’s why we’ve made it simple to live sustainably from the comfort of your new home. Read on for some of the ways that all homeowners can live green at Lively Lane, and in many ways without even thinking about it!

Composting & Recycling

Not every new city or home comes with the integrated ability for community Green Waste/Composting and Recycling. We’re fortunate that the City of San Marcos Resource Recovery has worked with Texas Disposal Systems (TDS) to bring these services to town - and we worked further with them to make sure homeowners at Lively Lane enjoyed easy access to these same services, as well, with management handled through the Condo Association.

In the community trash enclosure, neighbors will find three distinct bin types - one for landfill, recycling, and green waste / compost - accompanied by corresponding signage to help educate and direct residents on where to put what. From kitchen scraps to cardboard boxes, most day-to-day materials can be handled right here in the neighborhood.

We always encourage donating things that still have a useful life but if you have something bulky to dispose of such as furniture that is beyond donation, the City also offers bulk landfill pick-ups that can be scheduled in advance. For items like paint cans, dead electronics, etc. these can be taken to the City’s Household Hazardous Waste & Reuse Facility.

To learn more about what goes where, check out the foll City of San Marcos’ Residential Service Quick Facts Brochure, TDS’s Waste Wizard.

Community Solar

Solar at Lively Lane is built into the neighborhood. Rather than every homeowner having to individually research, purchase, install, and hook-up to the City’s grid, Lively Lane’s community solar array is already installed and producing clean, renewable energy as we speak (check out the current production) — and has the ability to grow with demand. Instead of dealing with a new project for your to-do list, you can simply opt in to a Go Zero package or buy shares a la carte.

When you opt into Lively Lane’s community solar, your home’s energy use is offset by power generated right here on-site*. Each home’s electric connection is sub-metered, which allows the Condo Association to apply your solar generation offset to your energy use each billing cycle—making it easy for homeowners to see the savings and sustainability benefits.

*All solar production estimates are based on assumed annual production of 1.45 kilowatt hours per solar share. The projected electricity use is based on Fox Energy Specialists’ ekotrope energy model reports of each 2026 home as designed. All 2026 homes within each home type are then averaged together to blend differences in consumption for corner vs. middle homes. Fox Energy Specialists inspect each home multiple times during construction and issue a final energy rating at the end of construction. Inquire to receive an energy rating projection or certificate. All production and consumption calculations are speculative and assumption-based. Factors including, but not limited to, weather, resident usage patterns and preferences, and occupancy, will lead to variation between actuals and projections/estimates. Seller offers no guarantee of production or consumption.

Dedicated EV Charging

Do you already own or plan to own an Electric Vehicle (EV) in the future? We’ve got you covered! Every home includes a dedicated parking space that’s EV Charger-Ready, equipped with the necessary conduit, wiring, and metering capabilites for Level 2 charging.

Simply add a ChargePoint Level 2 EV charger when you purchase your new home for effortless at-home charging. And just like our Community Solar, each parking spot is sub-metered to your home, ensuring your monthly statement accurately reflects your EV energy use and savings.

Space to Garden

Brown thumb? Green thumb? All are welcome here! Your Lively Lane home includes multiple locations for cultivation. Next to every front door, an irrigated steel planter pre-planted with culinary herbs provides a welcoming and easy opportunity for standing height plantings. Out back, each home’s private rear garden is a good spot for the more adventurous to explore larger undertakings. For those that enjoy container gardening, a second story balcony offers yet another spot to harness some photosynthesis.

And if that isn’t enough, homeowners can join Lively Lane’s Gardening Club to help guide the growth, beautification, and ecological value of the pocket neighborhood’s common spaces. Thanks to the native plants in the neighborhood, over 120 unique species of flora and fauna have already been documented in the neighborhood with the help of iNaturalist!

Whether it is enjoying fresh herbs fresh for cooking and home remedies, or creating a spot to attract and observe pollinators, each home has space to get your hands dirty and watch living things grow should you seek it!

Efficient Hot Water Systems

Most people are familiar with two types of hot water heaters - tanked and tankless, whether that is electric or gas powered. But at Lively Lane, each home is equipped with cutting edge technology - smart hybrid electric heat pump hot water heaters and plumbing manifold systems. These advanced pieces of equipment make it easier and faster to get hot water where you need it.

Hybrid hot water heaters pull heat from the surrounding air for more efficient water heating. So instead of your refrigerator pumping out hot air that then has to be cooled by the HVAC system, all hybrid hot water heaters at Lively Lane are actually ducted to pull hot air from above or behind the refrigerator, which reduces the work that both the hot water heater and air conditioner have to do. These innovative pieces of equipment can take on the same demand as traditional heaters while using far less energy (and saving you money*).

On top of this, the manifold plumbing system acts as a breaker box for the water supply. Each fixture has its own hot and cold water line that can be turned on and off for ease of plumbing maintenance. This design also lowers heating costs and provides more instant hot water since heat is only distributed to the fixture in use.

Being eco-friendly doesn’t mean taking cold showers. Quite the opposite! And at Lively Lane you can set your hot water heater to heat pump mode and feel even better knowing that hot shower is helping to keep your home cool…

* Please refer to Rheem for additional insights regarding the Hybrid Electric Heat Pump Water Heater and its benefits.

Efficient HVAC Heating and Cooling - desire to replace photo with our own photo of the thermostats

Quiet, efficient HVAC systems are standard at Lively Lane, as well. Using similar heat pump technology as each home’s hot water heater, Daikin Fit heat pump HVAC systems work to transfer heat from the air to help warm your home, using significantly less energy than traditional heating. It also works in harmony with a whole-home ventilator that continuously supplies fresh, filtered air from outside to ensure healthy indoor air quality.

Smart Daikin thermostats also provide remote monitoring and control from a mobile app, keeping your home’s cooling and heating comfortable and easy to control. Whether you have left on vacation and forget to turn down the thermostat or want to set regular schedules to preheat or cool your home, this smart technology and integrated systems have you covered.

Induction Ranges & Integrated Air Fryers

Speaking of cutting edge technology, GE induction ranges are literally the coolest, hottest pieces of kitchen equipment of today. These ranges are the crème de la crème of cooking and are actively catching on in both home and commercial kitchens. They work with electromagnetic fields rather than gas or coils for super fast boiling, superior energy efficiency, and better indoor air quality (no harmful emissions from gas, which have been linked to things like childhood asthma).

Induction ranges also offer precise temperature control and provide more accurate temperatures than gas and electric ranges. Plus, the surface stays cool when a pan is not in contact, making it safer around kids and pets.

And for all the bakers out there, integrated convection and air fryer functionality in the oven below eliminate the need for extraneous appliances.

So, whether you bring a deep love of cooking and baking or just a tea kettle and the need to reheat, this induction range and oven has you covered.

Walkable Location

Our team has worked hard to specify, inspect, and ensure each home is as efficient in person as it is on paper so you can move in and enjoy all the sustainability benefits from day one. However, one of the major green benefits of living at Lively Lane is the location, location, location.

Our Neighborhood Tour does a great job at showing off the surprising amount of walkable local cuisine, retail, and recreation nearby in the South End. From coffee shops to kolaches, japanese cuisine to tex-mex, yoga studios to bouldering gyms, pharmacies to book stores, there is more to explore in this area than your typical subdivisions on the outskirts of town. Plus, nearby bike routes and San Marcos bus route, connect residents to downtown San Marcos and beyond.

So, for those days when you don’t feel like cooking and are ready to venture out beyond your cozy and energy-efficient home, just take a walk right outside your door. We guarantee you’ll find something tasty or fun to do.

Check out our Neighborhood page to learn more.