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Demand Drives Home Green Technology
Solatube Tubular technology is a dome that installs on the roof and uses reflective surfaces to guide daylight inside, even at a 90-degree angle, something a traditional skylight cannot do.
(AP)
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Shaun Parvez badly wanted to include a solar energy-powered system or a wind power generator as part of the extensive expansion and remodel of his home in Washington Township, N.J., about 15 miles outside New York City.
But the structure, which is going from a one-story, 2,800 square-foot ranch house into a 2 1/2 -story, 10,000 square-foot home, is blanketed with shade from 100-year-old oak trees.
One of the many green-friendly options he chose to is a smart sprinkler system to help conserve water use. Such systems were traditionally used to manage water use in commercial properties, such as golf courses and nurseries. Now, manufacturers have been tailoring them for conscious home owners.
"It constantly measures rainfall to see if it had rained throughout the night . . . if it rained, there's no reason to run the sprinklers, Parvez said.
Jay Hall, a technical consultant for the U.S. Green Building Council, said homeowners looking to amp up their green credentials should be wary of spending thousands of dollars on high-end products before they consider cheaper upgrades, beginning with buying Energy Star-rated appliances, which can save as much as 30 percent off electricity costs.
Still, some products, including solar water heaters, are a great option, Hall said.
Solar water heaters were first invented in the 1970s and 1980s but are now becoming more widely available and more efficient.
One type, an evacuated tube solar water heater, uses glass cylinders to collect solar energy and heat a small copper pipe inside, which transfers heat to a manifold filled with water. It helps offset the use of a standard water heater.
Hoping it will help lower his electric bill, The Rev. Gordon Polenz acquired one for his home in Sidney, a small town about 95 miles south of Syracuse, N.Y.
"Up to now, if you're just going to talk financially, it wasn't worth it," Polenz said, noting that seeing the cost of home heating oil jump $1 a gallon helped change his mind.
The 40-gallon unit by Silicon Solar cost Polenz $1,000, plus another $2,000 to install because he opted to have a concrete slab poured to secure the unit.
Polenz hopes to make his money back within four years. If gas prices continue to go up, the payback could be a lot sooner.
