Many of us regularly reckon with our own personal responsibility when it comes to our effect on the environment. The increase in popularity of electric vehicles and the debate around the use of paper straws are just two examples that get a lot of attention in our culture.

This is why the existence of McMansions — extremely large, single-family homes — can elicit such anger and frustration.

One such home recently attracted that kind of negative attention when images of it were posted to the r/McMansionHell subreddit.

In the post, titled "40,000sqft of beige hell," the Redditor shows a Zillow listing for a gigantic house accompanied by several pictures of the behemoth.

The frustration with large McMansions stems from wastefulness. The amount of materials used to build such a large home and the land required are tremendous, as is what it takes to maintain such a home. Perhaps most egregious is the excessive amount of energy needed to heat and cool such a place. This is particularly frustrating as electricity costs for an average home are already substantial.

And they're bad for the planet. The burning of dirty fuels, such as coal, oil, and gas, leads to intense air pollution, which can cause health problems for all living things. It is also significantly contributing to the overheating of our planet.

Whether you have a tiny home, a McMansion, or any size home in between, one of the best ways to offset energy costs and the associated pollution is to install solar panels. Companies like EnergySage are helping make solar panel installation easier than ever.  The company offers a free service that allows potential customers to compare quotes from local, vetted vendors.

The benefits are enormous. Solar power can bring your energy costs down to at or near $0. And EnergySage can save customers up to $10,000 on installation. On the environmental side, solar power doesn't emit any air pollution. Any excess power collected by solar panels is often transferred back to the grid, lessening the need for dirty energy and lowering costs for entire communities.

Commenters on the original post were quick to vent their frustration with the unnecessary size of the home.

One said: "I am sorry, but that is excessive and disgusting."

Another added: "I just can't imagine what you'd do with that much space in your house. And apparently, the owner can't, either."

Do you think more places of worship should embrace clean energy? Yes — it sets a positive example ⛪ Only if it saves money 💰 No opinion 🤷 Absolutely not 🙅 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

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