Top left, Shepler’s grid-tied 10-kilowatt SunPower
system includes two SPr-5000x inverters installed
in the mechanical room. right, the WaterFurnace
ground-source heat pump provides heating and
cooling and some hot water. A lifebreath heat-recovery ventilator (HrV) recovers up to 80 percent of the energy from outgoing tempered air.
Below, HrV panels in the bathrooms, laundry and
kitchen allow users to control humidity levels.
zero energy, Aebi found a new target for his passion in construction.
His initial success was the first Energy Star-certified net-zero-energy house built in New york
state, a 4,004-square-foot (373-square-meter)
home in Esopus. This luxury home included a
15-k W SunPower ( us.sunpowercorp.com) PV
system, a ground-source heat pump and many
high-end features.
Recognizing that this approach to building
might be of particular interest for those who wish
to live close to a town center, Aebi next turned
his attention to developing Green Acres. Situ-
ated in the beautiful Hudson Valley, Green Acres
is within the New Paltz village border, enabling
residents to walk to shops, theaters, a State Uni-
versity of New york campus, bus and train ser-
vices and restaurants. His first home was mine,
a 3,000-square-foot (280-square-meter), three-
story structure. He began construction in Sep-
tember 2008, and we moved in by March 2009.
Here are some of the energy-efficient features of
my home and the others in Green Acres.
The economics of this
construction approach
are increasingly favorable
for both the builder
and homebuyer.
50 July/August 2010 SOLAR TODAY solartoday.org
Copyright © 2010 by the American Solar Energy Society Inc. All rights reserved.
