The 'experts' in the field continue to tell us we can reduce our energy bills with available products and the article below, that includes a Massachusetts builder provides some interesting ideas to achieve it --
‘Net zero’ house to be built in Maryland should produce as much energy as it uses
...Fanney says much of the “net-zero” building approach is within many homeowners’ grasp. Betsy Pettit, president of Building Science Corp., who served as the architect and building sciences consultant, agrees.
Pettit’s firm recently built a 4,000-square-foot traditional Cape Cod net-zero home in Concord, Mass., for $600,000. High-end finishes, she says, can “easily add $50 to $100 a square foot” to the price.
“In most buildings, you can lower energy usage by 40 to 50 percent by using existing off-the-shelf technology, if it’s selected properly, installed properly and maintained properly, and attention is given to detail,” Fanney says.
To reach net zero, the test house will have state-of the art energy-saving insulation, windows, ductwork, efficient heating and cooling units, Energy Star appliances, a solar photovoltaic array and solar thermal panels on the roof. They generate electricity by capturing energy from the sun during the day and feeding excess energy to the electricity grid. At night, the house can draw power from the electric grid.
Scientists and policymakers are zeroing in on buildings — commercial and residential — because they represent the biggest end user of energy, accounting for 40 percent of U.S. energy use, more than the transportation or industrial sectors. “People are taken aback when they learn this,” Fanney says.
Buildings are also the fastest-growing sector, according to government researchers. They account for “73 percent of all the electricity used in our nation,” electricity that could be better directed elsewhere, Fanney says. “It’s important that we cut down on consumption in general, and it’s even more important as we transition to electric cars that we free up electricity from buildings.”
Even if the United States moved toward using commercially available technology to cut energy use rather than net-zero, “it would make a huge difference,” says Jerry Therrien, president of contractor Therrien Waddell. “If you can get 70 percent of this, you’ve gone a long way.”
‘Net zero’ house to be built in Maryland should produce as much energy as it uses
...Fanney says much of the “net-zero” building approach is within many homeowners’ grasp. Betsy Pettit, president of Building Science Corp., who served as the architect and building sciences consultant, agrees.
Pettit’s firm recently built a 4,000-square-foot traditional Cape Cod net-zero home in Concord, Mass., for $600,000. High-end finishes, she says, can “easily add $50 to $100 a square foot” to the price.
“In most buildings, you can lower energy usage by 40 to 50 percent by using existing off-the-shelf technology, if it’s selected properly, installed properly and maintained properly, and attention is given to detail,” Fanney says.
To reach net zero, the test house will have state-of the art energy-saving insulation, windows, ductwork, efficient heating and cooling units, Energy Star appliances, a solar photovoltaic array and solar thermal panels on the roof. They generate electricity by capturing energy from the sun during the day and feeding excess energy to the electricity grid. At night, the house can draw power from the electric grid.
Scientists and policymakers are zeroing in on buildings — commercial and residential — because they represent the biggest end user of energy, accounting for 40 percent of U.S. energy use, more than the transportation or industrial sectors. “People are taken aback when they learn this,” Fanney says.
Buildings are also the fastest-growing sector, according to government researchers. They account for “73 percent of all the electricity used in our nation,” electricity that could be better directed elsewhere, Fanney says. “It’s important that we cut down on consumption in general, and it’s even more important as we transition to electric cars that we free up electricity from buildings.”
Even if the United States moved toward using commercially available technology to cut energy use rather than net-zero, “it would make a huge difference,” says Jerry Therrien, president of contractor Therrien Waddell. “If you can get 70 percent of this, you’ve gone a long way.”
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