[oilfreeandhappy]

My wife and I bicycled through the Solar Home Tour here in Fort Collins. We saw a lot of interesting installations, and all the home-owners and builders should be applauded for their efforts.

One home in particular, really stood out for me, because it really seemed "cutting-edge". Some details:

1.) 6 KW photovoltaic array - roof mounted. Net-metering.
2.) Very, very tightly insulated, using Heat Recovery Ventilator (HRV) for air exchanges.
3.) Outdoor underground 1/2"-3/4" copper piping network. Freon is circulated through the piping, and the 4 deg F temperature reduction/pickup is used to heat the house with a floor-heated water system and for hot water service. The freon system is also used to air condition in the summer.
4.) All lighting was Compact Fluorescent, and all appliances were highly efficient energy saving models.
5.) Enameled concrete floors (very nice) on the lower level for thermal mass, using passive solar through state-of-the-art thermal windows.
6.) Many other sustainable building materials.

I spoke in length to the enthusiastic builder, who wants to build entire subdivisions using these techniques. He claims the house will be a zero-net-energy user. He claims the added building cost for the PVs, freon system, heat exchangers, etc. is about $40-50 K, and that with current and projected utility costs and savings, the payback would be 10 years to the homeowner. He's hoping to improve on costs to the buyer by purchasing in mass quantity and building entire subdivisions.

At the end of this tour, for a brief moment, I thought that there was still hope for mankind.

[oilfreeandhappy]

I should add to this, that, according to the builder the PV system would normally cost about $50K. XCel Energy, the local Electrical Utility, is rebating $25 K of that. This is largely due to a recent voted-in amendment in the State of Colorado, requiring that Utilities produce 15% (or was it 10%) of their electricity from solar by 2015.

[MD]

There is hope for mankind. But not before we go through what's to come.

Too bad these sorts of efforts didn't take root in the 70's.

[frankthetank]

Any pics of these homes anywhere? I'd like to see those floors...never heard of enameled concrete.....?

[oilfreeandhappy]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('frankthetank', 'A')ny pics of these homes anywhere? I'd like to see those floors...never heard of enameled concrete.....?

[WisJim]

How large of a house was this? I have about 1.8kw (peak rating ) of PVs and they provide 60% to 80% of our electrical usage, depending on time of year, etc. Probably 75% ion an annual basis. I am not sure of the climate of Fort Collins, but I wonder at the need for a heating system if the house is insulated well enough. Our former house, that we built from scratch, was super insulated, used about 100 to 150kw-hrs of electricity a month, and required a cord (128 cubic feet) of dry good quality firewood for winter heating in western Wisconsin.
The big problem that I have with most new housing is that the buildings are so big, and require lots of energy to build, operate, and maintain.

But, I am glad to hear that at least some folks are making an attempt to be somewhat energy efficient. It would of course be easier if homeowners were willing to reduce their "needs" and "wants" in order to reduce energy requirements.

[oilfreeandhappy]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('WisJim', 'H')ow large of a house was this? I have about 1.8kw (peak rating ) of PVs and they provide 60% to 80% of our electrical usage, depending on time of year, etc. Probably 75% ion an annual basis. I am not sure of the climate of Fort Collins, but I wonder at the need for a heating system if the house is insulated well enough. Our former house, that we built from scratch, was super insulated, used about 100 to 150kw-hrs of electricity a month, and required a cord (128 cubic feet) of dry good quality firewood for winter heating in western Wisconsin.
The big problem that I have with most new housing is that the buildings are so big, and require lots of energy to build, operate, and maintain.

But, I am glad to hear that at least some folks are making an attempt to be somewhat energy efficient. It would of course be easier if homeowners were willing to reduce their "needs" and "wants" in order to reduce energy requirements.