Toward Energy Self-Sufficiency In Some Surprisingly Simple Steps

By Louisa Jaggar
Special to The Washington Post
Saturday, June 28, 2008

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."

As Cindy took in her new potential view, she said, "Who would have thought that by orienting a house differently that you could make your house more efficient?"

Advantage: Energy that costs nothing, unless a couple of trees need to be cut down to allow the sunlight in.

Disadvantages: Most new houses are built in subdivisions where the front of the house faces the street. Passive solar design might mean your house would face the back yard or side yard, and many people would be uncomfortable with this.

Tight Building Envelope

Many building practices that have become routine focus on retaining heated or cooled air, such as installing efficient windows. But it's possible to make that envelope even tighter so that even less energy escapes.

· The double-wall system: The house, as planned, is a five- to six-ton house, meaning the energy it takes to heat and cool it would be substantial. McKechnie suggested using a double-wall system.

That means the house's skeleton is built with two exterior, parallel walls, 3 1/2 inches apart, using inexpensive two-by-four lumber. In a double-wall system, the outside wall is covered with plywood and then siding, such as vinyl or brick. The inner wall is covered with drywall, just as it would be in a standard house.

The space created between the walls is then filled with three layers of insulation. Generally, it's R13 formaldehyde-free fiberglass insulation, resulting in an R40 exterior wall. The R value indicates the degree of insulation, and the higher the number, the better-insulated the house. Exterior walls in a standard American house are typically insulated to an R13 level. The first and third layers run vertically, and the middle layer runs horizontally.

This doesn't change the design of the house, but it does tighten the envelope considerably. McKechnie estimated this will increase the cost of the house by only about $4,000 but will lower the heating and cooling energy cost by 40 to 50 percent.

Advantages: Allows a tight envelope to be formed around your house so little energy escapes. Creates deep window sills -- a real plus when decorating.

Disadvantage: Slightly higher initial cost.

Renewable Energy

Choosing a power source, heating and cooling system, or hot water heater can mean wading through a lot of often-contradictory information. There are two types of systems, those that convert natural energy (solar and wind) and those designed to use traditional energy sources at a higher efficiency rate (high-efficiency heat pumps, geothermal and radiant).

Also, there are tax incentives to consider, something that neither Cindy nor Bob Evarts was aware of.

Tax incentives help save money for those considering alternative energy sources. The federal government offers 30 percent of the cost of installation, up to $2,000, for both solar water heaters and photovoltaic solar electricity systems. These incentives go away at the end of the year unless Congress extends them.

Many states and localities offer incentives, too. (There's a searchable database of these incentives at http://www.dsireusa.org.) In the Washington area, Maryland leads the pack. It already offers up to $2,000 for solar water heaters and $3,000 for solar electricity. As of July 1, the state will also offer grants to homeowners for solar, geothermal and wind systems. Virginia and West Virginia don't offer such incentives. The District's Department of the Environment will be posting details of its Renewable Energy Demonstration Program in July on its Web site, http://www.ddoe.dc.gov. Homeowners can submit a proposal for funding to implement a renewable and replicable energy system.

Systems that use sun or wind to produce energy will take you at least partially off the grid.

· Solar. A photovoltaic system is expensive but an excellent way to go fairly far off the grid. Good, unobstructed southern sun is necessary for the system to work well. The electricity you generate from the sun powers anything in the house.

Advantages: Clean and, once paid off, an investment that keeps on producing. If you make more energy with the sun than you need, it can go into the utility grid, spinning your meter backward and generating a credit.

Disadvantages: Expensive: It would cost $40,000 to $60,000 to take an average American house completely off the grid with solar. The same size house with a double-wall system would cost $30,000 to $40,000. Panels are still a bit bulky.

· Wind. Wind energy has improved dramatically in the past few years. Systems are now quiet, and if the wind blows at more than 8 miles per hour, it creates energy that can be used for anything that requires electricity in your home, including heating or cooling.

Advantages: Takes your system 20 to 30 percent off the grid when there is a good wind. If you produce more energy than you need, it goes into the utility grid, spinning your meter backward and generating a credit.

Disadvantages: No wind, no energy. There are often ordinances on tower height.

Efficient Heating, Cooling

Standard heating and cooling systems rely on heat pumps, central air conditioning and gas- or oil-powered furnaces.

· Heat pumps. A high-efficiency heat-pump system provides the same comfort as its standard-efficiency brethren but uses 10 to 20 percent less energy. A heat pump is the most efficient system for the money invested. The expense is about 15 percent to 20 percent more than the cost of a standard system and, as a result, these pay for themselves in three to five years.

Advantages: Refrigerant that's less damaging to the environment than the refrigerant used in standard systems. Zoned systems put energy only where needed instead of everywhere. Why heat the whole house when you need the warmth only on the first floor? Will cool even when outside temperatures top 100 degrees.

Disadvantages: Costs more initially. Needs a backup heat source if temperature goes below 20 degrees outside. This backup can be electric or fossil fuel (propane, fuel oil) and is designed to kick in as needed.

· Geothermal. This system uses the natural heat of the earth to heat and cool a house. It works well in large and small homes but requires electricity to run.

Advantage: Extremely efficient.

Disadvantages: The initial outlay is sizable, and although it is efficient, you remain on the grid.

· Radiant heat. This system consists of pipes installed beneath the floor that heat the floor. Similar to hot water baseboard heat, it is a low-temperature radiator system that runs through every square foot of your floor. Electricity does not work well for this system and so is not recommended. Propane is the fuel of choice, though solar energy can complement this system.

Advantage: Less expensive than geothermal.

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."