Building 'Green,' A Dream at a Time

Owner's New Bungalow to be Powered by Earth, Sun

In Rosemont, Terry Hill has set his sights on building a zero-energy house, which will generate the power he needs, while being kind to planet Earth. (Preston Keres - Twp)

Terry Hill -- a big, burly, 63-year-old Aussie -- is a dreamer.

To the naked eye, 9 E. Walnut Ave. in the Rosemont section of Alexandria is just a big, ugly hole and a pile of construction debris enclosed by a chain-link fence. But through Hill's eyes, the site represents the future, the next big thing, his legacy. Hill is building what he hopes will be Alexandria's first "zero energy" house.

For 31 years, Hill worked as a budget analyst at the International Monetary Fund. Ages ago, when offices still used mimeograph machines, he pushed for copiers. He brought in the first word processors. He won some battles but lost many more.

"I spent most of my life at the IMF telling people what to do and no one listened," he said. There was no vision. People couldn't see further than the next year's budget. "Now, I've got the opportunity to do something creative and forward-thinking. I spent 30 years banging my head against a wall in frustration. And who knows, with this, I'm going to leave a legacy."

When all is said and done, his new house will look a lot like the old one, a boxy 1918 bungalow, except larger. What's revolutionary is how it will work. The new house will be as green and as energy-efficient as a building can be.

Hill's project comes as "green" and "energy efficient" have become the new buzzwords amid fears about global warming and the United States' dependence on foreign oil. Arlington, one of the first in the area to encourage energy-efficient building through its Green Home Choice program, started a major initiative in January to lower the county's greenhouse gas emissions. The Alexandria City Council is looking at legislation to promote energy efficiency. Several energy bills have been introduced in the Virginia General Assembly.

Alexandria's new $90.4 million T.C. Williams High School, under construction, incorporates design and construction features that are environmentally friendly, and the school is among the first in the country to apply for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification, awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council. Arlington's new Washington-Lee High School, also under construction, plans to apply for the designation, too.

By 2020, the U.S. Department of Energy wants all new houses to use 70 percent less energy than existing ones do. A zero-energy house is designed to not only be energy efficient, but to produce most, if not all, of its energy needs from alternative sources such as geothermal heating and solar power.

To heat and cool his house, Hill plans to dig four 100-foot wells to tap into underground reservoirs of water heated at Earth's core. He plans to spend big bucks on photovoltaic cells so the roof will be able to generate power from the sun. And he plans to strike a deal with Dominion Virginia Power for "net metering" -- meaning that on sunny days, when Hill's house produces more energy than he uses, his excess will go into Dominion's system to supply power to other customers. At night or on cloudy days, Hill may need to draw from the traditional grid. He will pay for the net of what he uses, less the amount of energy he has produced.

He also has plans for a system that will trap and filter rainwater for use in the house. "That'll save 50,000 gallons of runoff water from going to the storm sewer and the Chesapeake Bay every year," he said.

Instead of conventional framing and insulation, Hill will use a factory-built system of Structurally Insulated Panels, called SIPs. With rigid plastic foam packed between interior and exterior surfaces, the panels fit together seamlessly, "like an ice cream sandwich," he said.

The materials used to finish the house will be "green"-- or eco-friendly -- including reclaimed timber and low-emission paint. And when he is done, Hill hopes, he'll prove wrong those who have doubted him.