SanJoseGreenHome.com

So do green homes cost more? When comparing construction costs of green homes there seem to be all sorts of figures floating around.  Some builders say it does not cost much more to build sustainably, and some say it could cost anywhere from 5-20% more to build a truly green home.  Much of those added costs however, can be recouped via numerous rebates and long term operational costs as in the case of this newly build home in Menlo Park.  Come with me on a tour and meet Bill Lacs from Lacs Design and Construction and see this newly constructed property that boasts many elements of sustainable design and technology.  Perhaps you will be surprised why this home owner decided to spend a “few” extra bucks at the end…

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OK you tech geeks out there who like to build your own stuff, you must have considered building your own or shopping for used solar panels by now…. Why buy used solar panels?  If you are trying to save money on your residential solar electricity project, used solar panels may be a good investment.  Not only can they keep your initial cost low, but you will also be decreasing the waste at your local landfill by recycling.  But not all used solar panels can be effectively reused, so here are some tips to keep in mind before you buy. 

What to look for when buying used solar panels 

The ideal used solar panel can look almost new.  The glass will be clear, dry and intact with no cracks or holes.  The frame will be square and sturdy, and the solar cell connections will be securely soldered.  Older panels will typically be larger and heavier than the newer models that output the same amount of electricity.  But if the used panels are in good shape, the lower price will offset any size or weight disadvantage. 

Check the electrical output from used solar panels 

Don’t rely on the electrical output printed on the factory label.  Instead, use a multimeter and check the panel in direct sunlight to find out what its real output is.  The capacity for solar panels that have spent their lifespan in direct sunlight tends to degrade over the years.  But the decrease in output may not be significant.  A panel that is rated at 22 watts might only produce 18 watts after 20 years in the sun.  But if the price is right and the capacity is enough for your project, it could still be a good deal. 

Where to find used solar panels 

The best source of used solar panels will be one that is close enough that you can visit in person to inspect the panels for damage and electrical output (dig through Craigslist).  Also, try (more…)

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This was fun.  A beautiful day on a roof of an Eichler home in San Jose (off Meridian and Curtner).  I met up with my friend Jarom Ferriante and learned a few cool things about solar panels and foam roofs.  This is a home of a crafty clay artist – Harriet, who’s art is shortly featured in the video as well.  Hope you enjoy!

Jarom can be found on: www.dura-foam.com
More of Harriet’s art is featured on her website: www.AcrylicAndClay.com

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Did we even need to drill the Deepwater Horizon oil well to begin with?  Actually, no. There are over 100 million homes in the U.S. Most of them use energy inefficiently because they’re not well insulated, sealed and set up.  The energy contained in the biggest oil spill in U.S. history is equal to the energy that just 75,000 homes waste in a single year.

Seventy-five thousand homes represent less than 0.1 percent of all single-family homes in the U.S. or the number of homes in a single mid-sized U.S. city, like Providence, R.I., or Chattanooga, Tenn. Doing energy retrofits to make those homes efficient would save the equivalent of the entire Gulf Oil Spill every year on a permanent basis.

Comparing the Costs

No one really knows how much it’ll end up costing to clean up the disaster created by the Gulf Oil Spill. And when a final number is calculated, years from now, there’s no way that it’ll take into account the true extent of the environmental damage that the oil spill has created. But even in the preliminary estimates made before the oil has finished flowing, the cost is expected to exceed $40 billion.

How does that compare to doing 75,000 home energy retrofits? (more…)

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First off, a few burning questions… Have high upfront costs derailed your renewable energy or energy efficiency projects? Would receiving positive cash flow from day one make your clean energy project more attractive? Are you worried that it may be difficult to recoup your investment in clean energy if you sell your property?

To resolve these issues and accelerate the implementation of energy upgrades to commercial and residential property, cities and counties across the nation are offering PACE, a new financing model for clean energy projects.

To learn more about how PACE works and how it can benefit businesses and homeowners, I recently spoke with Dennis Tsu, who manages Business Development for Commercial PACE with Renewable Funding. Based in Oakland, Renewable Funding is the leader in the turnkey administration of PACE programs.

What is PACE?

William Dinkel: Could you please provide a brief summary of PACE programs for our readers?

Dennis Tsu: First off, PACE is an acronym for Property Assessed Clean Energy. The basic concept is to allow residential and commercial property owners to borrow money from their local governments to use for making energy efficiency or alternative energy improvements to their properties, and then to pay that money back through a (more…)

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Here is a great example how one can take an older home and make it more energy efficient with an element of smart design.  These home owners in San Jose could have built this sun room addition in an old fashion way but instead, they decided to incorporate a passive solar element that not only made their home more comfortable but also chipped off a few bucks off of their energy bills.  You will also learn a few more benefits of a cool roof and see a couple of them in action.

The technical info is fun and educational, however, your favorite part might just be the very end, where Sigmond shares a message with us all from his heart.  Enjoy.

If you have any questions for Sigmond feel free to leave a comment here or give him a call direct at 408-353-6727.

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Many of us have had a relationship with the stock market of some sorts at one time or another.  Maybe you had more luck but when I bought into the hype in 2001 and lost a chunk in one week, my enthusiasm evaporated like the morning’s dew.  Then I came across a statement by Scott Case from EnergySavvy that read: “Home Energy Retrofits are 3.5X More Valuable Than Microsoft Stock: The 5-Year Payback on Home Energy Retrofit vs. Buying Microsoft Stock.”  Hmmm… given the previously disappointing outcome with the stock market, this sounded like an interesting proposition so I asked him to elaborate for us all here:   

“To illustrate the impact of doing a home energy retrofit as an investment, here’s a simplified example. Let’s say 5 years ago, a homeowner in Philadelphia named Julie was deciding between buying $10,000 of Microsoft stock as an investment or spending that same amount of money on a home energy retrofit to reduce her utility bills. What would have been the better 5-year investment?

The Microsoft stock worth $10,000 in May 2005 would have turned into just over $12,100 five years later (a return of 21% over 5 years), including the increase in stock price and the dividends paid out over the course of the 5 years. But it turns out that (more…)

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When many of us think of a solar home we normally envision a specially designed, carefully crafted construction .  Hardly ever we can think of a modest 1,200 square foot tract home in South San Jose as being a model for passive solar benefits that almost all of us can achieve.  This is exactly what Frank Schiavo did when he retrofitted his 1978 home to harvest our greatest energy source – the Sun. 

Frank was an extraordinary man.  He was an enthusiastic passive solar home consultant, environmental educator at San Jose State and an avid social change advocate.  One of his most fascinating qualities was that he produced no trash.  That’s right; he composted everything and never bought anything that he couldn’t recycle.  He even stopped paying garbage bills to the city which was a highly controversial and highly publicized move.  Gotta love this spirit of sustainability! 

Unfortunately Frank passed away very unexpectedly last January, just a week before we planned to meet, but he leaves his solar legacy behind for all of us to marvel at and learn from.  He really wanted to use his house as a way of teaching others about benefits of a green solar home “on a budget”. 

As a very tiny way of repaying his years of kindness to the community I would like to share with you some of the things that Frank was able to accomplish in his home (more…)

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We all love a good myth. “Goldfish have a memory of only three seconds”, “Water drains backwards in the Southern Hemisphere due to the Earth’s rotation”, or maybe “A dog’s mouth is cleaner than a human’s”.  It’s all fun stuff until we actually spend cash on things that we thought will do us good but end up to be a complete waste of money.  This may come us no surprise but some very commonly believed energy upgrades seem to be just that – myths.

Rob Moddy is a fellow USGBC member who often whips out a masterful blog entry.  It’s just so hard not to share this one with you.  Here he highlights a talk given by building scientist Michael Blasnik at the Department of Energy’s National Weatherization Training Conference, particularly the problems with inaccurate computer models in determining weatherization strategies and effective home energy improvement measures. 

As originally posted on GreenBuildingAdvisor.com, this is a list of common strategies for home weatherization that don’t save much energy. If you don’t want to waste your time and money, these are the strategies to avoid or closely evaluate: (more…)

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Bay Area water suppliers expect there will not be enough water for their customers by 2018.

Water. It’s difficult to say we lack it during this el-nino year.  You look outside, nothing but rain.  You open your faucet, it doesn’t run out.  It seems like it’s always there in unlimited quantities.  Hence lies a dangerous illusion that water has always been there and always will.  However, there’s been a lot of buzz lately about the shortage of this precious commodity.  Some even call water the next gold.

After all, gold values have risen in the last several years. Will water too? Bay Area water suppliers expect there will not be enough water for their customers by 2018. So what does this mean for us and our homes? It means we can expect the water bill to get bigger.  Much bigger.

Have you seen all the hub-bub being made about the EPA filing on rainwater runoff? You can read the actual filing if you like.  Basically, the tax would be levied on new and newly redeveloped sites that do not meet certain requirements for control of storm water discharge. Closer to home, Deputy GM of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission Michael Carlin indicated that San Francisco Bay Area households that pay $63/mo for water can expect to pay $128 in 2018. To top it off, the cap on the water that can be drawn from the Hetch Hetchy in 2018 won’t be enough for residents – it will be short by (more…)

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