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Net Zero Home Success Stories
By Solar energy | October 20, 2008
Success stories from Sustainable Future customers
Those of us on the road to solar home energy get discouraged from time to time. It is hearting to see how others successfully incorporate solar energy as well as other renewable practices.
Would you like to see how others are successfully using solar home energy? Me too! Here’s one.
Home in Concord, Tennessee
This home is approximately 3400 square feet, and was built in the early 1990s. It currently uses two old, inefficient, 10-SEER heat pumps for heating and cooling. The clothes dryer and all kitchen appliances are electric. Before the conversion to a solar hot water system, the home had two 50-gallon electric hot water heaters.
In October 2006, we began to improve the energy efficiency of the house. Our strategies included finding out where our electrical loads were, doing as much of the work ourselves as possible, and replacing inefficient appliances with Energy Star models as resources were available. To date, our projects have included the following.
Fall 2006: Installed compact fluorescent light bulbs and two programmable thermostats for the two heat pump units. We also replaced an old refrigerator with an Energy-Star model.
Spring 2007: The dishwasher was replaced with an energy-efficient Kenmore from Sears.
Summer 2007: With a sunny, near south-facing roof, this house was a good candidate for solar technology. A solar hot water system was installed in late June 2007. The new system has two 4ftx 7ft flat panel collectors tilted at approximately 45 degrees to provide a bias towards winter efficiency. The old 50-gallon hot water heaters were recycled, and replaced with an 80 gallon solar storage tank with an electric backup.
Fall 2007: A whole house meter was installed to monitor energy use. In addition, a plug meter was used to test individual appliances. An inefficient basement humidifier was replaced.
Winter 2007-2008: A blower-door test was conducted in the house to identify air leaks (house was very leaky). Air infiltration was found in the recessed lights, around fireplaces, and around windows and doors. Caulk and mastic were used where appropriate to seal air leaks.
Spring 2008: Gila reflective shades were installed on south-facing windows to reflect summer heat. Thermal imaging was also used at the house to identify areas where insulation was not doing its job.
Summer 2008: We installed radiant barrier in the attic, and added insulation. We used the results of the thermal imaging camera to improve insulation effectiveness. A draft-stopping air pillow from Battic Door was installed in the fireplace to eliminate air leaks.
With the exception of one month, the reduction in energy use (and the associated electric bill) has been dramatic. The following table shows electricity use in kilowatt hours before (from 2003-2006) and after (2007-2008) energy improvements were made.
Kilowatt Hour Use Per Month (Before & After Energy Improvements)
Information provided by Sustainable Future, LLC.
For most current information refer to http://SustainableFuture.biz.
Topics: Renewable Energy, home solar energy | 1 Comment »
October 20th, 2008 at 6:02 pm
I installed radiant barrier in my attic too. Here are some good instructions if you are looking to do it yourself:
http://atticfoil.com/foilinstallpics.htm