Archive for the ‘Solar’ Category
July 8th, 2008
My Solar Hot Water Experience
Editor’s note: this piece has been contributed by guest blogger Kevin Hughes. Kevin was generous enough to share his own experience with installing a solar hot water system on his home. Thank you, Kevin!
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I live in Los Angeles and I prefer the ugly one! Please don’t get me wrong, my wife is very beautiful, but when it comes to solar power, I prefer the ugly one.
Let me explain, for the past few years there has been huge interest in Solar Electricity (photovoltaic’s, PV, or solar panels), there are lots of incentives at both a state and federal level, there are often photo opportunities for politicians, gazing towards the future over a vast array or solar panels. But there are problems with this vision: solar electricity is expensive to purchase and install; it has a long pay back period; it converts sunlight to usable energy fairly inefficiently, and because of that, you need quite a lot of roof space or land to put up enough panels to power your home.
The ugly one that I prefer is solar thermal, specifically solar hot water, a much older technology. It is also much cheaper to install, much more efficient, and has a much faster pay back. It can even be a do-it-yourself project if you are reasonably handy. As for the payback, that’s easy: you don’t have to pay for 70-100% of your hot water heating costs, and with a clever tweak, you can save 10-15,000 gallons of water annually, and reduce your water and electricity costs.
Let’s start with a few details, then I will tell you how I added solar hot water (SHW) with a twist, to my house. I live in Los Angeles on a hillside in the Santa Monica Mountains, about 2 miles inland from the beaches in Malibu. We heat water with propane which comes from a storage tank filled every month or so by a delivery truck, and until recently we used about 30% of our total home energy to heat water. We are an ordinary family, with 2 kids at home, and have the usual uses for hot water, washing clothes, running the dishwasher, bathing and so on.
My wife and I have become more eco-conscious over the past few years, and have taken some steps to being green. For instance we have switched all of our light bulbs to compact fluorescent bulbs (CFL’s), and we’re using tote’s rather than plastic or paper shopping bags. So I was looking for a project that would make a real difference, and would give me something to keep me busy for a while. We could afford to invest maybe $2-3,000, preferably spread over a few months. I had known about solar hot water from our travels in Greece, where pretty much every house has it installed. I got hold of a book, and spent some time reading up on Solar Water Heating by Bob Ramlow and Benjamin Nusz.
The concept seemed pretty simple, and could be added to our existing hot water set-up, effectively using the sun to pre-heat water before it went into the propane hot water tank. I used Microsoft Excel to draw up some plans, and a system schematic (see image below), and marched off to the local permit office. Here is a schematic of the eventual system, which has evolved a bit from my first permit office visit. Largely as a result of their help, and the help of a yahoo group called Solar Heat, the design evolved into something that works.
There are actually only 6 new components, plus pipe work, (which seemed daunting at first, but with patience and practice, was actually pretty simple). The main components were: (1) Solar Collector, (2) small Solar Panel to power the (3) Pump, a (4) Solar Storage Tank, a (5) Tempering Valve, and finally the twist, the (6) Hot Water Recirculation box.
July 3rd, 2008
U.S. Could Get 10 Million Solar Roofs in Ten Years
by Andrew Williams, courtesy of Red Green and Blue
U.S. Senator Bernie Saunders (I-VT) has introduced a Bill to the Senate that would help homeowners to slash the cost of installing solar panels. The 10 Million Solar Roofs Act of 2008 will offer rebates for up to half the cost of installing solar photovoltaic systems, and run for ten years. A wide range of people and organizations, including homeowners, businesses, non-profit organizations, state and local governments will be eligible to apply.
The Bill will be formally introduced when the Senate reconvenes on Monday following the 4th July recess. Co-sponsors come from across the political spectrum, including Senators John Kerry (D-MA), Ben Cardon (D-MD), Arlen Specter (R-PA), John Warner (R-VA), and Robert Menendez (D-NJ). The proposal looks very similar to an initiative launched in San Francisco late last month that will provide rebates of $3,000 to $6,000 in the largest city-wide solar promotion scheme in the U.S.
The past few weeks have been quite tumultuous for the solar energy industry. Firstly, the Senate voted to block progress on a bill designed to introduce $17.7 billion of tax breaks for the renewables industry. Shortly afterwards, to howls of protest from solar energy industry, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) introduced a twenty two month moratorium on new solar projects on public land, in order to properly assess their environmental credentials. A few days later, they decided to reverse the decision. Last week also brought news of the introduction of a Democrat-backed Bill to introduce a national feed-in tariff for renewable energy projects. Phew! things are moving on rapidly in the world of solar - I wonder what next week will bring?
Click here to find solar installers across the U.S.
June 27th, 2008
The Bottom Line: Green Home Upgrades & Home Values
With many cities experiencing a real estate “slump”, homeowners around the country are looking for ways to stand out from the slew of homes on the market, while improving their home’s resale value. Other homeowners are planning for the future: a future of ever-rising energy prices.
Regardless of your situation, you may be asking yourself if green home improvements increase the home’s value. The answer isn’t as straight-forward as some might hope.
The old rules still apply…
Before we dive in, there are a few things to consider when thinking about making home improvements – green or not. First, remember the three rules of real estate: location, location, location. The return on your investment will depend on the value of your house and others in the neighborhood, as well as your local housing market. Other factors like the quality of the workmanship, and how soon you move after making the improvements weigh in as well.
One man’s treasure…
That said, there are actually two different values to consider when judging the return on home improvements, according to Dr. Harold Hunt, a research economist at the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University: value in use and value in exchange.
To explain these concepts, let’s use a little story. Ted owns a home, but is looking to move soon. Ted is concerned about climate change. After some research, Ted decides to make a few eco-friendly improvements around his home that will increase its resale value, including a new energy-efficient air conditioning system and installing bamboo floors. This is exciting to Ted. He looks forward to bragging about going green to all of his friends, and selling the house at a premium.
Bill is looking to buy a house. Bill wants to get the best deal that he can on a new home, closer to work. When Bill sees Ted’s house, he is excited – with high energy costs, the new air conditioning system will save him money. Bill looks forward to seeing how much smaller his energy bills will be in his new home. Oh, and the new floors look nice, too.
OK, back to reality! Ted provides a very good example of value in use. His satisfaction in the green improvements can be measured in both monetary terms (saving money on energy) and non-monetary terms (reducing his impact by using bamboo versus hardwood flooring, and bragging to his friends). Unfortunately, Bill may not value the non-monetary rewards enough to pay a premium for them, illustrating value in exchange.
So how does Bill and Ted’s adventure apply to you? If you’re not planning on moving any time soon, invest in changes are eco-friendly and that you’ll most enjoy. Until green features become mainstream – and corresponding increases in home values can be measured – it’s hard to know what buyers will be willing to pay for. Just keep in mind that come moving time, green amenities and features may not appeal to everyone, but energy- and money-saving green features will.
Hedge your bet…
If you’re building a new house, or diving into a significant remodel, you might want to consider getting it certified as green. Come resell time, certification can provide buyers interested in all kinds of green benefits assurance that they are getting what they paid for.
Nationally, the US Green Building Council, developers of the LEED rating system, have put forth a new residential certification called LEED for Homes. LEED certified homes use less energy, water and natural resources, and their construction creates less waste, among other benefits. LEED is probably the most well-know certification standard in the US, mainly due to its widespread commercial acceptance. Certification by LEED comes with a significant amount of cache, though some feel that the requirements need refinement and that the registration process is cumbersome.
Other nationwide programs include the Environments for Living certification, which includes an energy usage guarantee, and the EnergyStar program, which focuses on home energy efficiency.
Other programs exist locally, like Austin Energy’s Green Building Program and Earth Advantage in Oregon and Boston. For homes certified green by Built Green in Colorado, Countrywide Home Loans even offers ½ point off for home buyers. There is also the Build It Green program in California. For links to programs in your state, check out the Public-Private Partnership for Advanced Housing Technology.
The Big Question: Solar
One of the biggest dreams that many green homeowners have is living “off the grid”, meaning that they can supply all of the energy needed to power their home. If you dream of this, or even if you just dream of reducing your electricity bills, solar is usually part of the equation.
Residential solar installations have always been an expensive prospect, but as technologies have improved and costs have come down, solar has become feasible for many. Still, full systems can cost upwards of $30,000, so it’s important to understand the economics up front. Fortunately, some incentives exist at the state and federal level.
June 24th, 2008
Green Condos Coming to a City Near You
Do you long to live in an attractive green home with the latest and greatest in green building technologies, but know you can’t afford to build one? Then you and I have something in common.
But do you know about all the amazing green condo developments cropping up across the country? There are gorgeous, cutting-edge eco-friendly condos available or being built now in cities all around the U.S. We can’t possibly cover them all in this post, but we’ve selected a good sample. I will cover green condos in the West next week. Read on to find what might become your dream green home!
In Chicago, eco18 is an interesting development currently underway. Located in Chicago’s South Loop area, it provides access to plenty of public transportation options and also green spaces. eco18 is striving to attain a Gold Certification under the LEED program of the US Green Building Council. This is a lofty goal and we hope they make it! Their plans include a massive green roof, solar water heating, geothermal heating and cooling, rainwater reuse, energy-efficient lighting and much more. You can get a 1 bedroom/1 bath unit for around $285,000 or a 2 bedroom/2 bath unit for about $430,000. Learn more about eco18 here.
In New York there are many outstanding green condo developments. One I particularly like is the Kalahari in Harlem. The Kalahari’s distinctive facade design is modeled on motifs from the San Bushman of Southern Africa. The building was designed and built to the US Green Building Council’s LEED Silver Standards with the goal of limiting the building’s impact on the environment while still providing luxurious and modern living options. The building features 25% renewable energy sources (solar and wind), stainless Energy Star appliances, air filters for good indoor air quality, bamboo flooring, native landscaping and (we love this!) an on-site Zip Car service for residents. Learn more about Kalahari here.
Other green condos in the New York area worth checking out are Greenbelt in Brooklyn, The Lucida, and the Williamsburg Edge.
In New England, there are several great options. The Villages at Brookside are lovely Cape Code-style townhomes. (Shown at right.) Homeowner benefits associated with these LEED-certified homes include lower utility bills through energy and water conservation, reduced carbon footprints due to lower greenhouse gas emissions and improved air quality for occupants. The Macallen Building Condominiums in Boston are another exciting green option. In Vermont you’ll find the snowy, sustainable get-away of Spruce Creek at Stowe. Spruce Creak says of its environmental commitment: “Stewardship of the land is a Vermont tradition that has guided Spruce Peak at Stowe since its very beginning…From recycling to the protection of bear habitats, plumbing to wetlands protection, nothing has been overlooked.”
The Southern United States has some wonderful green condos cropping up– in Atlanta, Nashville, Chapel Hill, and several other cities. In Chapel Hill, East 54 will be a new urban eco-village. The project is currently being developed and it is a participant in the US Green Building Council’s Neighborhood Development pilot program. Incorporating sustainable site development measures, water and energy conservation, materials re-use, and indoor environmental features, East 54 plans to achieve or exceed a Silver LEED Certification. Learn more about East 54 here. And to learn about the Terrazzo project in Nashville, click here. To learn about the Brookwood in Atlanta, click here.
Please tune in next week when we cover green condos in the West!
To find green real estate for sale across the US., please click here.
To find real estate agents specializing in buying and selling green homes, click here.
June 16th, 2008
Win $500 For Your Great Green Home!
We’re amazed at how many of you have taken action to make your homes green, based on what you’ve entered in our Environmental Impact Calculator. So amazed, in fact, that we’re going to reward the greenest home of them all with a $500 credit for green products and services from Low Impact Living. We’re going to identify the single family home (and its proud owners) that has the lowest Low Impact Living Index (calculated using our Environmental Impact Calculator), and we’re going to share with you what that family has done to get there. Don’t worry if you haven’t installed solar panels or a graywater system - as the calculator shows, many of the best projects aren’t that expensive. Also, we’ll be giving a second prize of $250 to a randomly-selected entrant, even if you’re at the very beginning of your green path! So, even if you’ve just started out, throw your hat in the ring and see where you stand!
What you have to do
- If you’ve already created a LILI account, then you need to return and, at a minimum, log in again. We’ve added some new features recently, and they won’t work unless you refresh your account. If you haven’t used the LILI calculator before, then visit www.lowimpactliving.com/scores and get started.
- Once you have entered all of your base inputs, move on to the “select projects” page of the calculator. Make sure you only check projects that you’ve finished (or will finish by July 18th) before you log out.
- Make sure that you log out or save your profile before leaving - if you just move on to another web site without logging out, your inputs could be lost.
- The calculator isn’t all-encompassing yet, so there may be projects that you’ve done that don’t show up. If this is true, send us an email at contest@lowimpactliving.com describing what you’ve done. LIL staffers will review your efforts and award up to a 5% additional deduction for compelling projects.
How we’ll select a winner
The contest closes on July 18th (extended from July 15th), but we won’t announce winners until the week of July 28th. This will give us time to check with the finalists to make sure that they’ve completed all of their checked projects.
If you are a finalist (in our top 10 lowest LILI scores), we may ask you to verify that your projects are actually completed, via photos or receipts / invoices for work performed. We’ll also ask for your address (not to be published!) so that we can verify entered information about your home.
If you are a winner, then you have to be willing to let us share your projects and process with everyone via our blog, and to provide us with the photos and project descriptions necessary to do that. You’ll become a green star overnight!
What You Could Win
The greenest homeowner will receive credits for $500 of products or services found on LIL’s website. If it is a product or products that can be purchased via links from our site, we’ll simply purchase your “wish list” for you and send it your way. If instead it is services (say, a few visits from a green cleaning service or a small down-payment on solar panels), then we’ll pay the vendor directly once you’ve agreed on a price and have a quote from them. The same goes for our randomly-selected $250 second prize. It’s as simple as that!
At the end, we’ll also publish the collective impacts of our calculator crew - even if you don’t win, you can feel proud once you see the tons of CO2 and tanker trucks full of water that we’ve collectively saved!
So, good luck, and get greening!
June 12th, 2008
Green Prefab: Everyone’s Going Modular
It seems everyone is “going modular” these days with the rapid growth in the movement of green prefab design and construction. The buzz in modular construction is causing a rush of new designs, innovative products, and advanced modular systems being introduced. The goal of prefab is still the same as minimizing waste while maximizing efficiency. To learn more about prefab design and what makes it a compelling form of green building, please click here.
No longer are the days when just calling yourself a prefab company is considered environmentally progressive. Homes are now being made from materials like reused shipping containers, recycled steel, and certified sustainably-harvested wood. The new challenge for prefab companies is balancing the economics of innovative sustainable design with the realities of construction and raw material costs.
We want to highlight some companies doing some very interesting work in the prefab space.
Envision Prefab shows their commitment to the environment by attempting to maintain a zero carbon footprint in both manufacturing and production of their models. Their e-House reuses shipping containers transformed into seamless interior spaces, while including a laundry list of green systems such as tankless water heaters, solar panels, and LED lighting.
Eco-Steel Homes focuses on streamlined design and their homes use 76% recycled steel sourced from recycled vehicles, appliances and industrial scrap metal. They encourage us all to “start dreaming in steel.” Their models use no wood, making them mold and insect resistant, and come pre-engineered and pre-insulated making them ultra-efficient. You can combine different modules to create your dream (metal) home.
In sharp contrast to these visions of ultra-modern prefab, look at these warm, rustic homes from International Homes of Cedar. Their homes carry an impressive insulative value using interlocking layers of construction lumber from sustained yield second growth forests. Cedar is an extremely durable wood and one of the best choices for construction due to its moisture resistance, pest resistance, and thermal resistance.
Prefab structures don’t always have to be an entire home. With gas prices soaring, why drive to the office when you can set up a modern working space right in your backyard? Start small and own a prefab home office or even a prefab garage. Modern Shed designs are colorful, fun, and utilize green materials in both the interior and exterior finishes and options for their prefab structures. For example you can choose insulation made from recycled denim, cork flooring, recycled decking and more. Modules start as small as 8’ x 10’ sheds for under $5,000 and go up to 1,200sf dwellings. The sheds are ideal for home office space, artist’s gallery, machinery work space, or even a child’s playhouse.
Envision Solar sees the garage as an opportunity to have not only a prefab structure, but having it powered by energy from the sun! The Lifeport garage (23’ x 23’) or its smaller counterpart the LifePod solar structure (10’ x 12’) allow homeowners to own cost-effective and attractive shade structures to protect their cars or serve as a pool house that will pay for itself over time. The entire roof structure is covered in solar panels and will not only power your garage, charge your vehicles, and can also contribute to offsetting the electricity use for your house. The modules are easy to construct and actually give back to the environment rather than taking away.
Lastly, maybe you just can’t get to the gym but would rather have a workout room like the Nomad Yurt by EcoShack? This yurt can be used as an outdoor luxurious portable room for yoga class or as an office. Kids would love it as a play-space as well. Think “outside the house” and maybe you will come up with a use of your own.
Click here to see still more examples of top-notch companies doing work in the green prefab sector.
We hope you have enjoyed our modular outburst of new ideas. Personally I am still waiting for someone to come up with a Biomimicry-inspired prefab structure. Until that happens, we can all feel good about the progress that prefab is making and will look forward to new innovations and technologies.
