Geo/solar heated homes (for Katrina Victims, and for the rest of us.) [View All]

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Habitat for Humanity has made green homes in the past (especially the Denver chapter,) but I've heard nothing in their Katrina-related pitch that suggests they with go the extra mile to do so rather than building cheap for expediency. Really they should make an explicit public statement on this at some point.

In the meantime, at least one guy is making the point:

Retired mechanical engineer Richard Delorme is combining a desire to help those displaced by Hurricane Katrina with his dream to create neighborhoods of solar-powered homes.

http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/myrtlebeachonline/12792919.htm


The above is just part of a rife of articles this week on home heating through alternative measures. Partly this is due to general interest in the face of rising costs, because after all, Americans are content to sit on their ass as long as their wallet isn't taking a hit and don't for the most part give a crap until energy prices go up -- screw the environment part of the deal.

The second reason is a push by those on the leading edge who promote the homes: there's a national "solar tour" that went on today holding open houses where the owners walked folks through and showed how they did things. (Some areas have events further into this week and the month, but the effort seems extremely loosly coordinated, so you have to Google around for a schedule in your area.) Yes, the tree-huggers do live in normal houses, not hollowed out redwoods, and they are more than willing to help the less tree-loving learn from what they have achieved.

Also despite the fact that it's a boondoggle of monumental proportions, the new energy bill coming into effect for the next tax year does have incentives in it that are in a few cases better than what was available earlier.

So, for those of you who haven't already squandered your home equity on DVD's and trips to see Mickey Mouse you might want to read this and consider geothermal:

The systems can cost about $7,500, according to the Department of Energy, much more than the price of a traditional heating and air conditioning system. But according to the DOE, if you include the costs in your mortgage, you'll be saving money from the get-go because your energy consumption will be reduced by 25 to 75 percent.

That's right, if you live on a suitable property, you'd actually save money by taking out a loan and installing such a system -- it would pay it's own interest and more.

Alternatively solar hot water or space heating might be more your speed:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05274/578689.stm

Or both. But anyway here are some more recent articles.

http://www.gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051001/LOCAL/210010325/1078/news
http://159.54.227.3/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051001/LIVING04/510010382/1004
http://www.news-record.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051001/NEWSREC0101/510010318/1001/NEWSREC0201

Of course the unsolved question is this: How do we get landlords to upgrade rental properties? By the time they are done with their own, they've eaten up their entire tax credit, and most of them are happy to let the tenants pay their utilities. Hell I can't even get mine to clean the damn gutters so the cellar will stop flooding in heavy rain. Maybe if next summer tenants started air conditioning by constantly running cold water from the pipes (the one utility bill which they cannot sign over in many places) they'll sit up and take notice. :-)