Going Green . . . I Think . . .

Brassy and I are **considering** solar panels on the roof. Any experience out there?

 

Good for you. I have done a little research on it, BP solar has the best home plan, but it is quite expensive. 5kw system is roughly $45k installed (plus or minus). The down side, especially for Virginians, is the state does not offer any real incentives to purchase they systems. Additionally, we cannot sell back to the utility. So there is no real way to recoup expenses unless your here for the long haul. We are still contemplating it but it's in the air for us.

There is a Federal incentive of about $2k, so there is a little help from them. There is a solar decathlon every October on the Mall in D.C. Next October, go check it out. It's quite impressive.

I would like to go Solar with a wind generator on my next home. Just got to find the right area and HOA.

Keep us posted!

 

Agree on the incentive issue. I understand that if you could sell back to the utility, it would take 10-15 years to realize the savings. Then again, with energy costs on the rise, savings could be realized sooner. Hmmm, kinda like buying a hybrid vehicle:notfunny:

 

My My My...what did I expect. Having lived in Northern VA since 1979 (when I was 15) I thought nothing else could surprise me from this (keep my personal rights intact to the Extreme State)...but I can now say I am. OK, so this is not CA where things like this take hold. Our HOA allows them by policy, but the state doesn't seem to care enough to back this up by a rebate, and the domineering Dom VA Power says, "How dare you try to sell energy BACK TO US!"
Kaos and I do very well recycling...not composting yet. We are trying to lessen the impact of our carbon footprint. But since we don't plan to stay for the long haul...yep the price ain't right for panels, but will be when we design and build our own house - more compact, less wasteful of space heating needs, etc. So for the meantime, we've been using low VOC paint,etc. and we have big plants in the house. I told Kaos maybe we could've extended the screened porch all the way across the back of the house to give the family room more shade and relief from the summer heat. We'll have to have new fully closing curtains installed as I don't' have them like that now and last summer so much heat came in I had binder clipped bath towels and blankets to the windows where the shades were and pulled the side panels as far closed as they could be. Such a great look to come into the house and see...but it worked.

 

http://loudounextra.washingtonpost.com/blo...reen-bandwagon/

"According to Mike Tidwell’s op-ed in yesterday’s Post, Virginia’s per-capita use of electricity is almost twice as high as it is in California or New York. Mike Tidwell is the director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network.

Virginia needs to change its energy plan, say conservationists, and it may be a tough sell. Currently, Virginia ranks last in state investment in energy efficiency."

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Maybe if the state can figure out a way to tax us more by going green.....

 

If you haven't already, you can buy a "blanket" for your hot water heater to help keep it warm. A tankless water heater is a good alternative, too. Try to save the water that is left over from boiling pasta and use it for watering your plants. Or recycle your water with a "Sink Positive."

To save on your electrical/lighting bill, look into installing solar tubes, which are essentially skylights. Instead of regular window screens, try installing solar ones.

 

The Price of Going Green
Payback From Earth-Friendly Products
Takes Years; Can a House Be Too Eco?
By JUNE FLETCHER
February 29, 2008; Page W8

Most homeowners like the idea of going green -- until they get the bill.

With home sales slumping and consumers rethinking their remodeling budgets, building contractors and suppliers are dangling green upgrades. They hope that energy-efficient systems and products made from sustainably harvested materials will hook consumers concerned about global warming, pollution and natural resources.
[See enlarged image]

Yet with a few exceptions, green materials and construction cost extra, making them a hard sell. Enermodal Engineering, a Canada-based consulting firm, estimates the premium at 5% to 10%, depending on how extensively a builder uses recycled materials and water- and energy-efficient products. When Specpan, an Indianapolis research firm, surveyed builders recently for Building Products magazine, the greatest number estimated a 10% to 19% cost increase when going green.

There are signs, though, that the industry's sales pitch is resonating. In the American Institute of Architects' fourth-quarter survey of 500 architects, 61% said their clients are interested in "renewable" flooring materials like cork and bamboo, up from 53% a year earlier; 47% said clients wanted high-end appliances, down from 65%.

Being earth-conscious isn't always easy. Anna and David Porter decided three years ago to trade in their 4,000-square-foot Seattle home for a smaller, greener abode. They paid about $300,000 for an old house on a beachfront lot in Stanwood, Wash., and budgeted $450,000 to renovate it into a green showplace, with kitchen countertops made of recycled glass and concrete, a geothermal heat pump, a tankless hot-water heater, a solar electric system and cabinetry and flooring made from sustainably harvested wood.
LISTEN

[listen to interview]
• Podcast: June Fletcher discusses how the initial investment in going green in your home can pay off in the long run.

Contractor estimates ranged from $700,000 to $800,000 and still didn't include everything the couple wanted. In the end, they tore down the house, salvaged or gave away most of it and spent $1.2 million, not including the original purchase, to build a custom-designed, 2,700-square-foot replacement. It was "the right thing to do," says Ms. Porter, a nonprofit project manager. Even though many of the upgrades will help keep energy costs down, she adds, "I don't expect we'll get back all the money that we paid in our lifetimes."

In fact, earning back the green premium can take years, not counting rebates and incentives that may be available from government agencies. Enermodal calculates a payback period of more than 10 years for the most extreme green measures, including super-efficient furnaces and water-thrifty faucets. Systems integrator Solar Depot estimates a solar hot-water system will pay for itself in eight to 10 years, depending on the climate, site and home size; a solar radiant floor-heating system will take five to six years. But considering the average U.S. homeowner lives in a house only seven years before moving, many will need more than the hope of lower utility bills to inspire a green remodeling. (And some green products, such as bamboo floors, don't save any money.)

LIGHTBULB PAYBACK

Yet there are some items with relatively short paybacks. EnergyStar.gov, an Environmental Protection Agency Web site, estimates a 3.5-year payback period for the $200 premium on an Energy Star-rated electric clothes washer costing $500 and a 3.1-year payback for the $30 premium on an Energy Star side-by-side refrigerator costing $1,100. Compact fluorescent light bulbs -- which go for about five times the price of incandescent bulbs -- pay back their extra cost in about four months.

Mark Silberman, a retired wine-store owner, plans to tear down a four-bedroom split level in Norwalk, Conn., he bought seven years ago for $500,000 and spend about that amount again to rebuild. He has just begun making his way through the dizzying array of green options -- earthen roofs, gray-water irrigation systems, geothermal heating, recycled shingles. Since all these things could add 20% to his final cost, he figures he'll probably just pick those that make the house less drafty and expensive to heat. "If something helps save the earth's resources, that's an extra bonus," he says.

Cost has been a stumbling block to the green building movement ever since interest in solar homes, sod-topped buildings and dome houses took root in the 1960s. Ratings standards such as Energy Star and the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) point system help people evaluate costs and benefits.

GROCERY-BAG DECKS

John Kurowski, a Denver builder who began building "green" homes in 1974, says there is more to consider than just the bottom line. For example, one of the most cost-effective remodeling steps is to caulk and insulate thoroughly. Yet making a building too tight can hurt indoor air quality. "You have to look at the entire system," he says. And some green products can have other downsides. Deck-material makers Trex and TimberTech were early producers of composites blending plastic with reclaimed lumberyard sawdust to create a semisynthetic "lumber" that wouldn't splinter or rot. But with time, the embedded wood tended to stain, scratch and attract mold.

The companies say they have largely conquered the mold with chemical additives. But they also have launched "virgin" polyvinyl chloride decking that they say is more scratch- and stain-resistant. Tom Lent, policy director of an environmental group, the Healthy Building Network, calls pure PVC decks a "disaster environmentally." Anthony Cavanna, chief financial officer of Trex, says 99% of its products are still made using recycled plastic grocery bags. Carey Walley, a TimberTech spokeswoman, says a pure PVC deck, with a 25-year warranty, is "more sustainable" than pressure-treated wood, which may need replacing after 10 years.

The greenest home, though, may be the one you live in now, given the cost in dollars and pollution of ripping out old materials and producing and shipping new ones, the National Trust for Historic Preservation noted in a recent issue of the magazine Preservation. New York architect Andrew Kotchen reminds clients they can save energy and fossil fuels simply by building smaller mansions. "Bigger isn't better," he says.

Write to June Fletcher at june.fletcher@wsj.com

 

Oh, frack. The sell back was a major part of my even thinking about this, however the daily savings on electricity are still enticing. I never even considered that we might actually regain our costs before we leave.

However, I think thread has taken a great turn with some energy saving ideas that we will investigate also. I'll still look into the solar panels - as Brassy says; "Resale!"

 

DON"T do it my good friends if you are thinking you will get it back. Do the cheapest things possible like plugging all air infiltration through windows and doors and other places. More attic insulation can help a lot for the money and just make sure what was done was done properly. Replace the light bulbs or just keep them off Solar can be very expensive and very expensive to repair!!!!! Build a new "green" house that is energy efficient when you sell this one. Just my two cents For the windows get the energy efficient coverings, or some of the films but even those can have issues down the road. Ceiling fans. programmable thermostats and they don't have to be the real expensive ones either. Solar screens or awnings etc.

When you build that new home then look into the heavy duty stuff or look for someone that that has already done it in a resale and will take the hit

We have had real good luck with the in ground thermal systems on new construction but still very very expensive and expensive to repair if need be.

 

Thanks Lee. We pretty much have all that in place now. I am toying with enlarging the screened porch to take over the deck and that way the shade will help the back of the house. We have solar tinting on all the windows, but still doesn't keep out the heat. I go around turning off lights. We started buying compact flourescent, but then changed my mind when I read an article about how they interrupt serotonin. Not to mention they are not recylcable at this time.

 

We've been considering it, too. We sure would not recoup our investment (especially if we had to sell in this market), but there is the benefit of doing something to help rather than contributing to the problem. We're still not sure if we'll move to the new section being built off Truro Parish and Belmont Ridge, but solar panels would look nice on either house!

Frack (or frak), eh? The final season of Battlestar Galactica premieres on Friday, April 4 on Sci-Fi.

 

Charles - I am not so sure that wind turbines are out of the question... and I think there is a reasonable case for acceptance given the size some of these are now.

http://www.pacwind.net/
http://www.aerotecture.com
http://www.helixwind.com/en/
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/01/magwind_vertica.php

 

Hrrmmmm..... Wouldn't it be way cool if we could commondeer a large chunk of land and set up the SW wind farm?

 

Yeah, I know. These require alot of elevation and I live at the low point on the block. I would have to raise the turbine up at least 30 feet about my house and somehow I don't think that is going to be acceptable..

 

Well if you ever drove on I-10 from Los Angeles to Palm Springs as you come over the pass there is a zillion of things and man does it look ugly and a real bad SiFi movie

 

Ugly is in the eye of the beholder (or beer holder). One man's ugly is another man's efficiency.

 

Well, having just the landscape is the ideal, but the wind turbines aren't any worse than power lines.

http://picasaweb.google.com/potingwu/2007/photo#5112034471614114738

 

Our neighbors had their house evaluated (Van Metre built). They would get no measurable energy savings from adding insulation, and if their house was any tighter, they would have recommended adding ventilation to allow for more air exchange.

Don't just blindly seal up your homes without doing the research first.

Houses Need a Breath of Fresh Air
Donald Pellerin
Home Inspection

Many modern homes are sealed tighter than a drum. While that is a good thing for anyone trying to stay warm in the winter and cool in the summer, it also means such a house will have no fresh air.

To avoid "sick house syndrome" and other problems cause by stale and contaminated indoor air, many well sealed homes now employ HRV (Heat Recovery Ventilators), resulting in lower energy bills and eliminating poor indoor air quality.
To enlarge the picture, click on it.

HRV systems bring fresh air in from the outside, circulate this fresh air throughout the house at the same time heating or cooling this air as required using a heat exchanger. Such systems usually operate year round, revving up when the air in the house is unusually humid.

A common mistake made by homeowners with such systems is turning the system off thinking the system loses precious heat, or that it's cooling the house too much.

Fresh air is important for the health and comfort of the inhabitants. But it is also necessary for the safe operation of combustion appliances such as gas/oil furnaces, gas water heaters and fireplaces. A frequent cause of deadly carbon monoxide gas is incomplete combustion due to an inadequate supply of oxygen.

It is also vital household air be flushed to get rid of pollutants that built up and irritate humans and even threaten the health of people living in homes lacking proper air circulation. These irritants/contaminants may originate in building materials, furniture fabrics, cooking odors and yes, the family pet.

Some contaminants, such as carbon monoxide, radon gas, old formaldehyde, tobacco, and even dust and smoke can become deadly.

The only sure way to have fresh air is to have good ventilation, even more so in today's highly insulated, sealed virtually air-tight (R-2000) homes.

In winter, HRVs extract the heat from the stale air being exhausted from the house and use it to heat the incoming fresh, outside cold air. It takes less effort and fuel for the furnace to heat this fresh air up to room temperature. In summer, heat is transferred from the warm incoming air to the outgoing air, so the air conditioner has less work to do. HRVs are necessary in today's air-tight homes, and may be a good idea for older homes where these older homes have had added insulation, installed energy efficient doors and windows and plugged and sealed all cracks and crevices found.

It is important these HRVs function properly and be well balanced. If the system does not function as intended, either due to dirty filters, blocked ductworks, or blocked airflow, this may result in a pressure difference causing serious problems.

These HRVs are excellent devices for our North American homes. They do require regular maintenance. If properly installed, properly maintained, and left to function as intended, they can greatly improve the air in the home, reduce the cost of energy, resulting in a safer and healthier home to live in. Proper ventilation is the key word.
More supporting sites:
http://healthandenergy.com/is_your_house_too_tight.htm
http://energystar.custhelp.com/cgi-...star.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=2581

 

We should make the hospital cover their building with solar panels, and provide the power to the homes adjacent to their property, to offset the inconvenience.

 

No - the flat roofs get grass coatings. They then dedicate 35% of their land to solar panel farms. No AC, only geo-thermal cooling.