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Toward Energy Self-Sufficiency In Some Surprisingly Simple Steps
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Disadvantages: Not necessarily less than high-efficiency heat pumps, especially when you factor in the cost of propane vs. the cost of electricity. Does not cool.
Water Heaters
A water heater is one of the biggest energy users in the house. Traditional systems keep a lot of water hot all the time using electricity or gas.
· On-demand hot water. On-demand systems heat water only as it is needed. They have been used throughout Europe since World War II. Important note: If the water needs to be treated, it must be treated before it enters the hot water heating system.
Advantages: Saves energy, cost-efficient.
Disadvantages: You are still on the power grid. The systems that run on electricity do not work nearly as well as those that use propane. Propane costs have almost doubled in the past year.
· Solar water heaters. A water system requires only a couple of solar panels and heats water throughout the year. Given the tax incentives, this system earns back the cost in three to seven years and then keeps going.
Advantages: Tax credits, heats water off the grid.
Disadvantage: Cloudy days mean your backup system, usually electric or propane, will turn on automatically to make sure you are never without hot water.
Making the Decisions
Many people consider solar-powered electricity too expensive to be viable now. However, the costs of traditional and alternative energy sources are predicted to converge in the coming years as the price of fossil fuels keeps going up and that of alternative sources, particularly solar, keeps coming down.
What does this mean for the home buyer with limited funds but a desire to one day go off the grid? One option is to build a home that is solar-ready. This means roughing in the pipes needed for solar energy and labeling them for later use. Cost? Just the price of the pipes, which is less than $100. This means that if a homeowner decides to convert, contractors do not need to tear down drywall to install the pipes. It is also recommended that the pipes for radiant energy be installed before the concrete is poured, for the same reason.
Cindy and Bob Evarts are fairly sure they will make sure their house's longest side faces a southern exposure, use the double wall system, the solar water heater and, as a minimum, rough in the pipes so the house is solar ready. "Mike actually changed the way we see our house being built," Cindy said. "He opened our eyes to a number of great possibilities."
