SOLAR TODAY Blog

By Liz Merry
SOLAR TODAY "Ask Ms. Liz" Columnist

Q: Within the last few years, I have become interested in renewable energy and energy-efficient building practices. Being a commercial/residential contractor all of my adult life, I have been exposed to some great energy saving products and methods for the construction industry.
I want to build a housing subdivision consisting of homes that are extremely energy efficient and use renewable energy [with] little or no utility bills.
Do you know the locations of any subdivisions or homes that have successfully combined both energy-efficient construction practices and renewable energy resources to this extreme?
Thank You,
Brett

A: A conservative census estimate finds that 600,000 new homes will be built in the United States this year, down from more than two million in 2006, but still an impressive number in the economic downturn. (For more housing statistics, click here.) 

Each of these 600,000 new homes will use an average of 800 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity per month, or about 480 million kWh per year, and generate an average 1.5 pounds of CO2 per killowatt-hour, or 720 million pounds of CO2 per year. To serve these residential buildings, we will need to provide approximately 600 megawatts of electricity capacity - more than all the currently installed grid-tied photovoltaic output in California.

Why can't all of these homes be built to generate energy instead of use it?

I can hear my contractor/builder friends saying, "How naive! She doesn't understand the business. Green building cuts our profit margins. It's too hard." I heard the same groans at an event where I suggested policymakers should take this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to require all government-subsidized foreclosed homes to receive an energy retrofit before being resold. Think of the millions of homes that will change ownership this year and next - they'll have new carpets and paint as a matter of course, but they'll continue to struggle along with leaky insulation and air ducts!

There are plenty of projects demonstrating zero-energy homes are real, economically feasible and consumer friendly. What does it take to build a home that contributes, rather than requires, energy? Builders first need to reduce the home's energy consumption. The following considerations can help:
1) Design and orientation that use the sun's light and heat.
2) Best building envelope design practices.
3) Best available heating and cooling technologies.
4) Fewer and smarter appliances.
And then, renewable energy systems can be used to generate the rest of the load and maybe more. There are often major incentives for new home builders to use solar. The Environmental Protection Agency's site lists builder incentives, and, as always, dsireusa.org is a great database for all locally available incentives.

The Rocky Mountain Institute
The Zero-Energy Homes Project
The U.S. Green Building Council
The Department of Energy's Building Technologies Program and Zero-Energy Home Design pages

Finally, for  an inspiring picture of what real progress would look like, listen to Amory Lovins in "Reinventing Fire" (his talk starts around 16 minutes into the video).

I don't claim building zero-energy housing is easy, but I know it's possible. You'll need to find other leaders and vendors willing to learn what's best instead of settling for what's easiest. You'll need more time and more planning, and you may even need to recruit your buyers before building the houses.

As Amory says "It's about creating abundance by design.....About changing minds about what works best." The time is now. Just do it.

Are you in the home building business? Do you build "green"? Tell me why or why not in the comments section below.

Also, don't forget! Solar Power International takes place Oct. 27-29 in Anaheim, Calif.