Need viable info on passive solar heating for a home...

[IrateCitizen]

My wife and I may be purchasing our first house this summer, and I want to get started right away with making our home as energy efficient as possible. I'm looking to install the following, location allowing:
- Passive solar water heater
- Ground source heating/cooling pump
- PV panels on roof for power generation, linked to grid
- Passive solar heater for house

Anyone out there intimately familiar with any of the above, especially those who have built/installed such systems? If so, any advice and/or links you could provide to help me out would be greatly appreciated.

[jean]

1. I hope you get tons of substantive replies so I can pilfer the info!

:woohoo:

[IrateCitizen]

2. You can't pilfer something that's free to begin with!

:P

[blueheeler]

3. Here are some....

These are some sources I have found in the last few weeks of researching the same. There are lots of different states with incentives(tax breaks, loans, grants) so dig for that stuff.

http://www.ncgreenpower.org/

http://www.ncsc.ncsu.edu/default.cfm


http://www.realgoods.com/


http://www.homepower.com/

tax credits - http://www.dsireusa.org/library/includes/incentive2.cfm?Incentive_Code=NC20F&state=NC&CurrentPageID=1

http://www.dsireusa.org/library/includes/incentive2.cfm?Incentive_Code=NC09F&state=NC&CurrentPageID=1

http://www.eere.energy.gov/afdc/progs/search_state.cgi?afdc|NC

http://www.ncsc.ncsu.edu/

http://www.nrel.gov/ncpv/pdfs/26242.pdf

http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=bldrs_lenders_raters.pt_HowLndrWhatAreESMortgages

[GumboYaYa]

5. Here is one more:

http://www.buildinggreen.com/menus/subtopics.cfm?TopicID=3

Here is how I built my passive solar heater:

First I found an old window frame (with glazing) to use as the exterior frame. I nailed a 1" x 4" frame around that. Next I collected aluminum cans from my neighbors and friends and attached them in the shape of my frame using a non-toxic adhesive. I painted the cans black with a flat black paint and mounted my cans to 3/4" styrofoam insulation with a small exhaust vent hole cut in the top and set that in my frame. Next I attached a piece of wood panelling that I had left over from a home project onto the back and sealed it with caulk. I hung the heater facing south on the exterioe of my house and drilled a small hole through a bathroom window near where I hung the heater to run a dryer exhaust hose from the heater to the window. I attached an exhaust fan to the hole in the bathroom window that connected to an eletrical outlet in the bathroom. I built a similar system into an existing basement window. Total cost of both - about $60.00 each.

<ON EDIT> You can purchase a similar system that will likely perform even better than the one I built for about $500-$1,000.
We used 30% less gas this winter and reduced our bills significantly. If I had gotten my heaters completed earlier in the winter, we would have saved even more in gas. Next year I plan on adding solar powered exhaust fans and expanding the size of my heaters. We are also installing a wood burning stove. Given the inevitable gas shortgae I want to be prepared to keep my house warm without paying a fortune.

[rkc3]

4. Try your local electric company.

I did some research for a division of Allegheny Power a while back and found a number of utilities offered these types of services through their deregulated arms - particularly the geothermal heat exchangers/pumps.

These deregulated businesses often partner with firms providing these services and bundle them for large projects like new schools or office parks.

There are a number of links for the geothermal stuff on the web - good luck.

[hunter]

6. Don't overlook the easy stuff.

Put compact fluorescent (CF) bulbs in all your fixtures. If they don't fit, replace the fixtures. (I often hear complaints about CF color rendition, and, yes, some CFs are indeed bad. Find good ones.)

Purchase very efficient appliances. They will pay for themselves. Some of our appliances had "yellow sticker" energy ratings that were more efficient than the "most efficient" unit tested. (I have been especially happy with our freezer.) Your utility may give you a rebate on these.

Be aggressive about sealing up your house. Consider an air-to-air heat exchanger of some sort if you are worried about indoor pollution.

Learn to do your own work, especially if you are buying an older house! Even if you hire someone else to install things, you may be better able to judge the quality of their work.

(BTW, the Real Goods catalogs are like candy to me.)

[jpak]

8. I was just at Lowes checking out new Energy Star appliances

The new E-Star fridge I was looking at used only 432 kwh per year - it cost $667 (Older/cheaper fridges use 1000-1500 kwh per year)

The new Fisher-Paykel washer was a miser with water and juice - the washer used 300 kwh per year. It cost $797 but there was a $200 rebate if you bought the dryer. I forget how much the dryer used - but I think it was <300 kwh per year...and it was $797 also...

http://hem.dis.anl.gov/eehem/00/000708.html

http://www.fisherpaykel.co.nz/laundry/energy-saving-tips.cfm

I looked into tankless hot water heaters too (not many at Lowes but Paloma and Aquastar make some good gas and electric models...). They are much more efficient than tank heaters and you can plumb them directly into solar hot water systems.

[hunter]

9. A solar ready Aquastar is on my list, when our current water heater dies.

We have a plain old gas clothes dryer. In an entirely solar world this is the appliance I would miss the most, and this is probably why I want my synthetic natural gas or DME bottled gas...

Yes, I have used a clothes line, but I have never enjoyed it.

[Massacure]

7. Are you buying a already made house, or having one designed for you?

[jpak]

10. Talk to your state solar energy association - most states have them.

They can give you a lot of hands-on knowledge about what works in your climate.

Talk to all the solar vendors in your area (and look them up in the better business bureau).

Talk to your utility about grid-intertied PV - does your state/utility have a rebate program????? Same goes of roof-top hot water heaters.

Before you invest in a PV system, invest in the most efficient electrical appliances you can afford. If you can't afford PV right away, ask your utility if they offer a green-electricity option (it allows you to buy electricity generated from renewable sources).

If your want to add-on a sun space, attached greenhouse or building a new passive solar house design, talk to an architect that has done that type of work. He/she can tell you what to expect in reduced heating costs and up-front costs as well.

Make sure you get the highest-rated energy efficient windows for your climate that you can afford - a window dealer can help you decide what you need and what's best for your home.

When you build and/or install anything make sure the contractor knows what he/she's doing and ask lots of questions about his/her experience in that area.

Ask your home owners association if they allow roof-top PV panels solar hot water heaters in their community - a lot of them don't.

Subscribe to Home Power and check out the back issues too...

Best of luck with you new home!