of carbon emissions. A small or medium-sized
home can be comfortable with one or two
“mini-split” units, depending on the climate
and the home’s heating needs.
5) ;e selection of a water-heating system depends on the frequency and amount of
your hot water use. No ma;er what system you
select, insulate your pipes and keep your shower
enclosed so you’re comfortable at a lower water
temperature. Also consider installing a demand
pump if you have to wait for hot water; the average American family wastes 10,000 gallons of
water a year just waiting for it to get hot.
For electric water heating, insulated plastic
tanks last longer and lose less heat than traditional steel tanks. Air-source heat pumps are
available to ;t on standard tanks, and they
improve on the e;ciency of ordinary electric
resistance. Tankless systems can be e;cient
where long draws of hot water are required, but
be sure to check on yearly maintenance costs.
Integrated systems combining space heating
with water heating can be a way to justify the
expense of a very high e;ciency water heater.
If you’re installing a ground-source heat pump,
an a;achment called a desuperheater will heat
your hot water as well.
6) Solar heating is great for domestic hot
water, particularly in nonfreezing climates. In
freezing climates, solar thermal panels must
be equipped to drain back to the tank and/
or must contain a glycol-based heat-exchange
;uid. Traditionally, the plumbing and maintenance costs of retro;t solar thermal systems
have limited their adoption, but that may be
changing as incentives remove cost barriers
“Carbon dioxide reduction, lower energy bills and comfort —
where these three things overlap, that’s where you work.”
— Doug Parker, Boulder County, Colo., sustainability examiner
and stimulate the industry to standardize systems and maintenance. Even though a solar
thermal system didn’t ;t into his home economics, Parker says you should always pre-plumb for a system that may become practical
sooner than you think.
7) Photovoltaics are in the spotlight as
rebates make them more a;ordable. Don’t buy
more modules than you need to cover your
loads. Most utilities that pay for overproduc-tion o;er only wholesale rates, so don’t think
of your house as a power plant just yet. Find
solar resources and local professionals at FindSolar.com.
Moving from Audit
to Implementation
“It’s a be;er investment than the stock
market right now,” says Parker, referring to
the energy savings he is already reaping from
his improvements. Remember that simple payback analyses usually don’t account for the cost
of borrowing money, the lifetime of equipment
purchased and the many noneconomic bene;ts of the improvements.
Rebates and incentives for e;ciency and
renewable energy are be;er than ever. Many
utilities have ratepayer-funded demand-side
management (DSM) initiatives, like the util-
Online Resources
Affordable Comfort Inc., for deep-energy-reduction and home-performance resources:
a; ordablecomfort.org
Building Performance Institute Inc., for BPI-accredited contractors: bpi.org
Building Science Corp., for information, consulting and seminars: buildingscience.com
Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency, including federal incentives:
dsireusa.org
Energy Star Home Improvements, with step-by-step projects: energystar.gov website
at tinyurl.com/ytnhxb
FindSolar.com, for information and local solar professionals: ; ndsolar.com
GreenBuildingAdvisor.com, green home resources: greenbuildingadvisor.com
Home Performance with Energy Star, for local efficiency audits: energystar.gov website
at tinyurl.com/yd4cgm
ity-operated “savers’ switch” on Parker’s air
conditioner. Howard Geller, executive director of the Southwest Energy E;ciency Project
( swenergy.org), says these incentives are worth
every penny: “;e cost to save energy is 2–3
cents per kilowa;-hour, while any new energy
source such as coal, natural gas, wind or solar
costs at least two to three times as much.”
Utility and government rebates and tax
incentives for renewable energy and e;ciency
are growing rapidly nationwide. In addition,
districts like Berkeley, Calif., and Boulder,
Colo., are pioneering bond-funded loan programs that tie the cost of green retro;ts to the
property they bene;t.
Federal tax credits can make projects
more a;ordable than you think, too. ;e economic stimulus law approved earlier this year
increased the tax credit for e;ciency upgrades
to 30 percent, with a maximum combined
credit of $1,500 for installations made in 2009
and 2010. In addition, renewable energy system installations are eligible for a 30 percent
tax credit. See details at dsireusa.org.
A;er cost, the single biggest obstacle to
home energy retro;ts is the hassle of arranging
the work. Some local entities have responded
by developing installation programs that
improve homes while creating jobs. Home
Performance with Energy Star is another
e;ciency program intended to follow intention with implementation ( energystar.gov
website at tinyurl.com/yd4cgm). It connects
homeowners with certi;ed contractors, and in
many cases, it has separate auditors who identify tasks at the beginning and inspect them
at the end.
One thing is certain about an energy
remodel: It will pay back at a higher rate as
time goes on, making it a great investment
compared to cosmetic ;nishes that depreciate with each passing trend. Parker, for one,
feels more secure in his low-energy home. “We
like the notion of passive survivability,” he
says. “;e power could go down and we’ll still
be warm.” ST
