The GO Home in Belfast, Maine is slated to be the first “Passive House” in Maine. ReVision designed and installed the solar electric and solar hot water systems.

Come see the new super-efficient GO Home — at a Talk-and-Tour at the Belfast Free Library on Thursday, April 8, 2010 at 7 p.m.

On track to become the first Passive House certified home in Maine, The GO Home is the affordable and super-energy efficient model for the 36-home Belfast Cohousing and Ecovillage slated to begin construction in the Spring of 2010.

Why Build A Passive House?

The GO Home is designed to solve the problems of energy consumption and greenhouse gases resulting from poorly built, drafty homes, which are increasingly more costly to heat and hazardous to the environment.

Among the energy efficient building elements of this remarkable home are triple glazed windows, doors with three air seals, foundation insulation and comprehensive air sealing – including sealing underneath the foundation and on the building envelope.

To offset what energy the GO Home does consume, GO Logic called in ReVision Energy to install solar electric and solar hot water systems. The solar electric system consists of 2.7KW of Canadian Solar panels, which will offset roughly 4,900 lbs. of CO2 emissions annually. The 60-tube Apricus solar hot water array is sized to meet the needs of a family of four, and will produce an estimated 14,200,000 BTUs of clean, renewable heat energy annually.

So far, we have received a report that in March the prototype has produced more energy than it has used. According to CMP we used 137KWH, and made 184KWH, with a surplus of 47KWH!

This Thursday’s event will feature an unveiling and discussion of The GO Home at the Belfast Free Library followed by a preview Tour at 83 Crocker Road, Belfast, on Saturday, April 10 at 11 a.m.

For more information, please contact Matt O’Malia or Alan Gibson at (207) 338-1566 or visit their website: www.gologichomes.com. To track construction and development on The GO Home, visit the prototype blog at: http://www.gologichomes.com/blog/category/prototype/.

What is a Passive House?

Similar to the LEED program, a Passive House (also known as the German “Passivhaus”) meets very strict requirements for building efficiency and performance, specifically regarding insulation values and energy consumption requirements.

More details of these requirements on the Passive House website.

In today’s Bangor Daily News, an article titled
“Small-scale windmills generate mixed reviews” documents the unimpressive results that some Mainers have received from residential windmill installations.

In the article, as well as in the particularly lively comments section, there is a lot of discussion about site and design being key to a successful wind installation. We agree, and add this: very few areas have the potential to be a successful and economically viable site for wind.

Maine’s Limited Wind Resources

A glance at Maine’s 50-Meter Wind Resource Map shows that most of the state of Maine is a poor or marginal wind resource.

A US-DOE wind map confirms this, by showing most of the state of Maine being in “Zone 2″ for wind, meaning roughly 10mph wind speeds under ideal conditions at 33 feet – barely the minimum speed require to turn most wind turbines.

Even if your home sits in a windy spot, you need to account for trees, neighboring homes, hills, etc., not to mention the building code challenges and aesthetics of erecting a windmill.

Compare this to solar, which is basically ubiquitous. Provided you have a clear space that receives sunlight from 9AM – 3PM, you can enjoy the benefits of a solar electric or solar hot water system.

And unlike wind, if your site is initially too shady, you can add to your solar resource just by doing some tree work!

Wind Vs. Solar: The Fine Print

An average small-scale windmill costs about $15,000, prior to any rebates and incentives. This windmill, if we go by the optimistic specifications provided by the manufacturer, will produce 4,800 kWh a year.

For roughly the same cost, we could install a 3KW grid-tied solar installation. Using real-world data (the PVWATTS tool for Maine’s solar insolation), we estimate that the solar array will produce 3,840 kWh a year of electricity.

So, why not choose wind and get an extra 1000 kWh/year?

The reality is: very rarely will wind live up to its expectations.

From the Bangor Daily News article cited above:

While wind may be the fastest-growing electric energy source, home windmills aren’t for everyone, according to Richard Hill, professor emeritus of mechanical engineering at the University of Maine.

“If you have a great deal of money, and you hate the public utility and if you think you live in a windy place, you’ll be very disappointed when you put up a windmill,” Hill said recently. “You may, however, be justified because you’re interested in principle.”

… his windmill hasn’t delivered more than 100 kilowatt-hours a month, although it was advertised as capable of generating 400 kilowatts-hours a month. “I can tell you it doesn’t generate anywhere near that,” he said. Arnold has found that the wind must blow at least 8 mph to get his windmill going.

We also got this testimonial from some Shelter Institute graduates who installed their own wind system as well as solar power:

I think the main lesson we have learned (and would like to pass along to others) is that PV panels (solar panels) are much more cost effective as a means of autonomous energy production than wind, unless the wind site is very unique …

We did our own informal wind survey and felt fairly confident we’d get at least 1 kWh of production daily in the winter months (but only when the prevailing winds shifted to northerlies), and we’ve met that.

However, many people we’ve spoken to have mistakenly used turbine specs rather than an integrated formula for wind speed and time to calculate what they will generate, only to be disappointed in the small amount of energy they actually are able to produce.

The bottom line? Dollar-per-dollar, a solar system will outperform a wind system in nearly all real-world applications.

A Word on Reliability

It’s also worth noting that the value of a long-term renewable energy is directly related to the reliability of that investment. Solar panels have no moving parts, are warranteed for 25 years, and are expected to last double that.

An average warranty for a wind power system, in contrast, is only five years.

The expected life of a wind mill, under the best of circumstances, is around 25 years, half that of a solar installation.

Over the life of the system, the solar array will generate roughly 200,000 kWh, nearly double that of the wind – should the wind system perform to optimistic specifications over an optimistic lifespan.

Reliability, Economics, and Aesthetics

While ultimately we want to encourage everyone to find their personal path off of oil, we also have a duty to ensure that we recommend reliable, economically smart choices for our customers – which is why ReVision chooses to recommend and install grid-tied solar electric and solar hot water systems, and not wind.

With superior life expectancy, more reliable performance, better aesthetics, and better rebates, solar is the clear choice for clean, renewable electricity.

April is here and the ample sun shining down is a great reminder that solar season is upon us!  Our solar hot water meter reads a toasty 147 degrees, reminding us that from now until September there will be little shortage of guilt-free hot water.

@SolarFred, AKA Tor Valenza, is kick-starting the solar industry by declaring that April is Solar Quote Month, and ReVision is here to support the effort.

If you aren’t in the process of getting a quote or installing a system, we encourage you to make April the month you choose to get started.

Here are three reasons why you should contact ReVision for a FREE solar evaluation (or have us refresh an existing quote!):

1. All Time Low Costs for Solar Tech – As we reported in January, costs for solar panels are at an all time low, which puts solar in the grasp of many more people.  If you’ve had us quote you a system a year or more ago, contact us again for a refreshed quote, you may be surprised at how much more affordable it is!
2. Great incentives are here – Federal tax credits and outstanding state rebates make it almost a no-brainer to go solar.  For both solar hot water and solar electric, you can expect an average $3,000 rebate from the federal government.  In Maine, additional incentives range from $1,000 (hot water) to $1,500 (PV).  In New Hampshire there is a $6,000 tax credit for PV, and up to $1,500 for hot water depending on where you live (contact us for details).  And last but not least, Sunpower is offering an additional $1,500 rebate of their own, valid only for the month of April!
3. The time is right! While incentives make solar financially viable for many more people, ultimately you’re investing in a better future for our planet.  We were staggered to realize that the last decade was the hottest on record, which reminds us how imperative it is that we change our relationship to energy NOW.

It’s never been a better time to invest in solar, and what better time than the present to get started?  You can be enjoying free hot water from the sun or offsetting your energy usage by the end of the summer!