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King George house may be first certified net-zero home in Virginia Date published: 3/12/2010
BY RICHARD AMRHINE When is a test score of 21 on a scale of 100 something to be proud of? When it reflects a Home Energy Rating System score, and the lower the score, the better. When we last visited King George County to see this J. Hall Home last fall, it was a work in progress. With the drywall yet to be installed, it was a good time to get an idea of what area builder Jeff Hall was trying to do: build the region's first certified "net-zero" home, which means the house will generate as much energy as it uses. Today the home is completed, and new owners David and Jalna Rasmussen have moved in, although this winter's snowfall stalled the final grading of the lot. But that's not a top priority anyway. What's important is that the house is being lived in, is generating its own power and is responsible for a carbon footprint so tiny that the planet hardly knows it's there. This house is estimated to cost less than $200 a year to heat and cool. "Just about everyone who wants a house built today is interested in conserving energy," said Hall. "It's not necessarily the granite countertops or whatever, it's the attention to detail, to what you can't see that means saving energy and money." POWERED BY THE SUN Every aspect of the house is in some way tied to how it makes, uses and saves energy. Located just off Caledon Road, the house was situated at the exact angle--facing south--and the roof pitch given the ideal slope to allow its photovoltaic solar panels to operate as efficiently as possible. The German-made Schuco panels, distributed by Mid-South Building Supply, generate 3.6-kilowatts of power, which most of the time is enough to run the house. On sunny days, they will generate surplus power that is returned to the power company through an energy inverter, thereby reducing the Rasmussens' power bills to a minimum. For the owners, the benefits (economical comfort) and the fringe benefits (being "green") are wrapped up in a package that will serve them well in the short and long term.
Date published: 3/12/2010
what will energy cost 15 years from now?
the roi is what 15 years? presuming no unforseen issues?
If this house functions the way the article and builder says it
is, the rest of us should be paying close attention when the
industry groups and politicos (usually the right wingers) are
telling us that we cannot cut back on energy use and that
we have no choice but to pollute the crap of our the planet
we live on. Where is Dominion Power on this? How about
the State of Virginia? The main impediment to many is the
up-front costs - more than offset by the downstream energy
savings.
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