Even the loudest environmentalists would find it difficult to cut their personal carbon emissions by 85 percent. But that’s exactly what each member of a Swedish family of four will be doing for the next six months. The Dad, Mom and two teenagers will become human guinea pigs—green ones—for six months as they agree to move into the ultimate energy-efficient home, powered by wind and solar, with high-efficiency appliances used to cook locally produced sustainable food and, of course, drive an electric car, the Volvo C30 Electric.

The family “won” the privilege, beating out 50 other families that applied. "It sounded really exciting,” Hannah, 16, said. “Who wouldn't want to live in a climate-smart house with solar cells, green electricity and an electric car in the driveway?" The family’s quest is for each member of the family to live within the limits of one tonne—that’s a metric ton—of carbon emissions per year. The average Swede emits about seven tonnes per year.

"We've always liked adventures and challenges, and working out a climate-smart lifestyle is just about the most exciting thing imaginable," said family father Nils. "So far we've been well-intentioned ‘wanabees'. We're aware of the climate problem and we want to make a positive contribution. But without any systematic choices available, all we've done is made well-meaning efforts here and there.”

Dad Nils, Mum Alicja and teenagers Hannah, 16, and Jonathan, 13, with their new electric ride.

The project is sponsored by A-hus, Vattenfall and Volvo Cars. ICA and Siemens are the project's specialist industry partners.

The family moved yesterday into the "One Tonne Life" climate-smart house just outside Stockholm. It was built by A-hus, wooden house experts. Vattenfall, the energy company, equipped the house with technology to measure the family's electricity consumption in real time, and provided solar cells, while supplying renewable electricity from windpower and hydropower via the grid. ICA, the grocery store chain, is helping the family members make conscious choices that reduce their meals' climate footprint. And Siemens equipped the house with appliances designed for low energy and water consumption.

The solar panels on the carport roof will meet a large portion of a household's heating and hot water requirements during April to October. When the sun is not shining and the accumulator tanks have no solar power stored, the Lindell family gets renewable energy from Vattenfall. And parked under the carport roof is a prototype Volvo C30 Electric, which takes eight hours for full charge, and provides about 90 to 100 miles of driving range—enough to cover almost all of the Lindell family’s needs.

The family will be ditching their two gas-powered Renault Scenics, one seven years old and the other ten years.

Mom plugs in.

The "One Tonne Life" project gives Volvo Cars the opportunity to study how an electric car fits in a modern family's lifestyle. "The project will give us clear information about what we need to deliver so buyers feel that a battery-powered car is attractive and cost-effective to drive and own," says Lennart Stegland, manager of Volvo Cars' Special Vehicles division.

At PluginCars.com, we can monitor the Lindell family’s progress during the six month experiment. In fact, we have a direct line into Volvo and I’m pretty sure we can get questions about the car—and our messages of good will—delivered to the family from our online community of plug-in car drivers. What do you say? Should we adopt them?