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Net-zero home eliminates energy costs
Last year, Jeff and Rachel Hohensee’s winter energy bill was $500.
Image courtesy Jeff and Rachel Hohensee
This year, they don’t even have an energy bill. Jeff, a consultant on sustainable-living topics at Natural Capitalism Solutions, was feeling guilty about his energy-wasting home, so he and his wife set out on a two-year project that transformed it into a net-zero home–meaning it generates more energy than it uses.
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They started with easy fixes like switching to CFL bulbs and low-flow showerheads, and getting an energy audit to see where air was leaking from their home. They used caulk and insulation foam to fill the leaky areas.
Eventually, they hired insulators to add materials to the home’s walls. Jeff says they took the process to a higher level by hiring someone from Standard Renewable Energy to follow the insulators with an infrared gun. The infrared photos would show areas where the initial insulation was too sparse, and more was added.
All the home’s appliances were upgraded to Energy Star-rated models. (The new refrigerator has twice the capacity of the old one, and uses less energy, Jeff notes). They replaced old propane stoves with wood-burning stoves and added a solar water-heating unit to pre-heat water going into their water heater.
The most visible change is the addition of a large array of solar panels on the home’s exterior. The final part of the project was to replace the exterior doors and windows with high-tech, energy-efficient versions made by Serious Materials in Boulder. The final window was installed in November.
The Hohensees used $35,000 out of pocket, a ClimateSmart loan for roughly $25,000, and tax breaks and rebates to finance the retrofit project, which cost $125,000, according to Jeff.
Read the full story at DailyCamera.com or find out more about green building.
–Lindsay Gulisano
