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More than 60 people interested in learning more about what goes into a green home to make it energy-efficient and affordable got a crash course in how it’s done and why now is the time to do it.
The free seminar, presented by Lewes-based Zero Energy Homes on Feb. 7, at the Comfort Inn on Route 1 near Rehoboth Beach, was the first in a series of planned presentations.
Zero Energy is a two-year-old company that is affiliated with award-winning Echelon Custom Homes, also based in Lewes.
Lance Manlove, Zero Energy’s seminar presenter, said the technology to build energy-efficient homes has been available for years but recently incentives to use it have multiplied.
“This stuff now actually makes sense financially,” Manlove said.
He said as the price of energy has continued increasing, so too has the efficiency and affordability of solar-electric, geothermal and other renewable energy systems.
In addition to efficient systems, new building technologies and products that make a home tighter, such as improved insulating materials, are also being used.
Manlove said the goal in building an energy-efficient home or business is achieving net-zero energy consumption. “The home makes more energy than is consumed. It’s making the electric meter spin backwards,” he said.
Manlove detailed a dozen characteristics of the optimal zero energy home. Homes should always include a passive solar design that takes advantage of Earth’s free and natural heater – the sun.
Crawl and attic spaces should be “conditioned” so that heat loss or gain in those areas is minimized.
High-performance windows that use double or triple panes with argon or xenon gas between panes should be used.
Homes should make use of renewable energy systems such as solar-electric (photovoltaic), solar water heaters, wind turbines or micro-hydro systems that use the flow of a nearby stream.
Manlove said efficient lighting design and appliances, geothermal heating and cooling, air sealing and draft stopping, insulated concrete forms, improved plumbing and tankless water heating systems would also be included in the optimal energy-efficient home.
He said the time has never been better to build a new energy-efficient home or purchase energy-saving systems.
Manlove said money is available through Delaware’s Green Energy Fund for homeowners who purchase solar-electric systems. He said using a solar-electric system, on average, could slash $1,400 a year from total energy costs, with the state’s green energy program cutting out-of-pocket costs for the system by nearly half. Businesses that install a system could take advantage of larger savings.
For additional information on Zero Energy Homes, 34634 Bay Crossing Blvd., Lewes, phone 302-228-0901. The website is www.zeroenergybuilt.com
Contact Henry Evans at hevans@capegazette.com
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