Net Zero Energy Homes: The PowerPlay

Mr Anonymous hasn't paid an electric bill above $11 for his 3,150-square-foot home in the two years he has lived in it.

Air conditioning? He runs it as little or as much as he wants. Christmas lights? He hangs more and more every year.

he not only lives in a net-zero-energy home but in an entire community where solar panels provide at least some power to every home. Every garage in the Trilogy adult community 30 miles west of Orlando includes an electric charging station. Each home sports luxury amenities with prices that start at $172,990 and top out at $366,495. This is a fact of life for many in Florida

Florida utility executives and state regulators portray rooftop solar as too much of a luxury to play a significant role in the state's energy mix. In fact, regulators approved proposals by the utilities to gut their energy-efficiency goals and end solar rebates because they said neither is "cost-effective."

Now the utility industry also wants homes and businesses that use solar to pay more for a connection to the electric grid to help share the costs of power lines and big-box power plants. Significant increases in solar's costs could erode the benefits Martinez and his neighbors enjoy.

Bt Mr Anonymous urges anyone looking for a home to consider solar, as the savings each month allows him to enjoy higher-quality entertainment and lifestyle choices.

"To me," He said, "it's a no-brainer."

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Solar would seem a natural for the Sunshine State. But what about Massachusetts a place where the sun doesnt shine every day is it still a viable alternative? The People in Jamaica Plain and many other communities in the State would tell you,YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT!

Farmer Green (A pseudonym) purchased a five-acre former cornfield in the town of Shelburne, Mass. The site affords wide views over the Pioneer Valley and excellent solar exposure; the photovoltaic system installers later confirmed that the site has a 98% solar window. The land slopes in various directions but the ideal house site is relatively flat, albeit constrained slightly by an eastern buffer zone from a nearby pond and property line corner to the west. Given the site conditions — lots of ledge — we opted for a small 10’x18’ basement and an insulated slab on grade with 4-foot frostwalls.

To collect roof rainwater we installed a “ground gutter” — a perforated drain pipe set in a 12-inch deep, poly-lined, stone-filled trench. The drain pipe runs along the perimeter of the house to a 50-gallon plastic storage barrel set up with an overflow pipe to daylight. The future plan is to install a float activated pump that will lift rain water to a larger tank on the hill to the west. Water from this tank can gravity-feed the gardens below.

The rain barrel is enclosed in a well tile with a lid for protection and access. (The volume of roof runoff is estimated at 450 gallons per inch of rain; if we capture 50% of this, the 42-inch annual rainfall for our area could yield approximately 9,753 gallons.) Mr. Greens family saves thousands he would otherwise have spent on utilities and is contemplating buying 2 new Chevy Volts because it would mean no more gas stations except every few months. People who care about a high quality of life and comfortable living are seeking ways not only to have those things but to protect their investments a mortgage is not so terrible a thing when you are'n worrying about utility bills at the same time. But the best thing about Net Zero homes are its the new haven for the retired couples and those who lived their lives in the city and want peace and quiet away from crime and the hustle of city life.The U.S. undergoing a vast demographic shift, with millions of people moving back to cities. The suburbs, and those places beyond the suburbs, the exurbs,seem like they will dry up and blow away. The notion appeals especially to people who like to think they'll be in charge after the revolution. They would apparently love nothing more than for the population to be confined to Soviet-style concrete-block high-rises and be forced to take state-run streetcars to their little jobs at the mill. But life in the burbs is undergoing a transformation with new technology living on a fixed income in a burb with a net zero energy home is preferable to a city condo in terms of cost,quality and ambiance.People are growing gardens again and breathing clean air and saving money to vacation even on retirement wages with net zero homes. Add electric vehicles to the mix and you have mobility safer than any gas driven car and rare if ever trips to the car shop plus no oil changes!With suburban homes cost staying around the same price they were in 1990, young married couples who can commute easily and cost effectively withelectric vehicles are also discovering the life that net Zero affords them is a serious Power Play!

#NetZeroEnergyHomes #Massachusetts #suburbanlife #rebirthofburbs