Toward Energy Self-Sufficiency In Some Surprisingly Simple Steps

Cindy and Bob Evarts are building their dream retirement home in West Virginia, on land Cindy's ancestors helped settle in the 1700s.

They have picked a scenic hilltop site and invested what she called "real money" in architectural plans for a 3,300-square-foot house with a front and back porch and an open great room with a stone fireplace. A couple in their forties, they recently moved from Columbia to Martinsburg, W.Va., to oversee the construction that will be taking place five miles over the mountain in Tomahawk.

As energy costs continue to soar, however, they have become concerned that those expenses could compromise their long-term plans.

"I want to build a house that I can live in till I die, but I don't want the energy costs to be what kills me," Cindy Evarts said.

"We're both teachers, so our fixed retirement is not going to leave a lot of room for skyrocketing energy costs," she said. "I want my dream house, but now that also means a house that is as off the grid as monetarily possible."

Going off the grid means building a house that doesn't connect to traditional utilities such as electric and gas lines. The Evartses probably won't accomplish that. But they, like others who are building or renovating homes now, want to ensure that the energy crisis does not become a financial crisis down the road.

They recently consulted Michael McKechnie, who along with his brother, Pete, owns Mountain View Builders in Berkeley Springs, W.Va. His company designs and builds energy-efficient homes that harness alternative energy sources.

"Most people, just like Cindy and Bob, draw up plans for their dream house, and the tonnage of the house -- how much energy it will take to keep the heating and cooling system running comfortably for the humans inside -- is an afterthought. Nowhere on Cindy and Bob's plans does it mention how much energy a house of this size and shape uses," McKechnie said. "Looking beyond whether or not it is good for the environment, traditional energy sources cost money that you never get back. And these costs are only going up."

McKechnie outlined the major steps to building a house with the lowest possible energy costs and perhaps an eye to going off the grid at some point: "Design your house so it uses the sun's passive energy to its fullest potential, make sure the envelope around your house is tight, invest in renewable energy systems that use the sun and the wind to make free energy, and buy heating and cooling systems that use energy more efficiently."

Here's a closer look at some of the options:

Passive Solar Energy

Passive solar design means orienting your house so that it takes advantage of the sun's light. The Evartses had been planning to have the front of their house face the driveway leading up the hill. At the site, McKechnie spread out the blueprints and then took out his compass. He pointed out that the long, window-filled side of the house, situated as planned, faced west.

"A house whose windows face west will heat up too much in the summer sun and not enough in the winter sun -- the opposite of what is desired," he said. "Better that the house's longest side faces a southern exposure. Put your windows on this side, and allow the winter's sun to help warm the house at a cost of zero dollars. Also, with the right awnings or shades on the windows, the high summer sun will be blocked."