Receiving the Leed for Homes Innovative Project Award
Photo courtesy Bright Built Barn blog

The Bright Built Barn recently won the prestigious 2009 LEED for Homes Innovative Project Award from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

The award recognizes projects, developers and home builders who have demonstrated leadership in the residential building marketplace.

Phil Kaplan from Kaplan Thompson Architects and Tedd Benson from Bensonwood went to Phoenix, Arizona to accept the award at GreenBuild, the USGBC Annual Conference, this past December.

A write-up of the event is available on the Bright Built Barn blog.

We also received this report of performance of Bright Built Barn‘s solar systems, one year later:

I’m happy to report that [BrightBuilt Barn] has exceeded all expectations.

On a subjective level, it has been a joy to live and work in – warm in the winter, cool in the summer, light and airy and lovely to look at all year round. I am also delighted to report that I have not had one minute of trouble with any of the systems – high praise indeed from a guy who hates maintenance and repair, and who has had his share of woes while living in a number of conventionally built houses over the years. The solar systems in the Barn are simple, with few moving parts, and highly reliable – so far, they just work.

BrightBuilt Barn Generated a surplus of more than 5000 KW/hrs in 2008-09

ReVision installed the solar hot water and solar power systems in this innovative, net-zero building.

In its first year, the home’s PV system generation a surplus of 5094 kilowatt-hours – or enough energy to power 5 conventional homes for a month.

Building owner Keith Collins goes on to say that “The Barn does, in fact, power my conventionally built main house (over 15 years old and no paragon of energy efficiency) which sits about 100 feet away, and has produced over 60% of that home’s electrical use.”

You can see real-time system performance of the Bright Built Barn online at brightbuiltbarn.com.

Ben Tipton’s house is smaller than many conventional homes, uses sustainable building materials, and has a PV and solar hot water system

Last year we discussed the construction of a sustainable four-person household built by the Tipton family in Woolwich, Maine.

Completed in October 2008, Ben Tipton recently shared data about his home’s energy performance with us.

Over the course of the year, Ben Tipton reports that his Maine solar power system generated about half of his family’s energy needs, and that his current home uses roughly 2800% less propane for heating and hot water than his previous home.

Here are some details:

Thank you to all that helped on our house. Even if you did not pound a nail your support, encouragement and friendship has been felt all along the way. I now have one year of data and the numbers look really good. No place to go from here but down. I have posted them here and on the blog. We could not have done it without all the help.

Here is the final first year tally…..

• Cost per day: $0.93
• Kw created on site: 1415
• Kw sent out to the grid: 700
• Kw purchased from grid: 2614 (wind and eco-friendly hydro power)
• Yearly Cost: $339.86
• Monthly utility Cost: $28.32
• Total Kw used: 3329
• Propane for cooking: 25 gal
• Wood: 1.5 cords sustainably harvested from the land

So what is a net carbon impact this year??? The only thing that wasn’t made on site or in Maine was the 25 gal of propane. Our last house used over 700 gallons propane, 3 cord of wood and 5000kw. I have to say that these number are impressive and have exceeded my expectations. I owe a huge Thank you to all that helped on this project.

Ben

As part of Ben’s and his family’s commitment to sustainability, they continue to look for ways to reduce their energy consumption and sustainably produce what energy they do use.

You can follow Ben’s story on his blog, Simple Living in Maine.
<h3>From our <a href=”http://www.revisionenergy.com/solar-projects/residential/”>Residential Solar Photo Gallery</a>:</h3>

See more installations on our <a href=”http://www.revisionenergy.com/blog/maine-solar-power-projects/”>Solar Projects Map</a>

The Redfern House in Portland, Maine Achieved a LEED Platinum rating

We were impressed when we heard that the designers of the Redfern House intended to build a home so efficient that it would not need a fossil fuel boiler (no oil nor gas) – even in Maine’s cold climate!

The finished product has exceeded everyone’s expectations, resulting in a Platinum rating from the US Green Building Council’s LEED for Homes Program.

LEED is an acronym for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and provides a set of standards for environmentally sustainable construction for new design or renovation.
Located on Victor Road in Portland, Redfern is another super-efficient creation of Catherine and Jonathan Culley of Redfern Properties in Portland.

The Culleys, who are refreshingly passionate about green design, set out to build a home that was both green and affordable.

Catherine explains that “green design doesn’t work if only a few people can afford it.  We wanted to make it so that it’s attainable for more people – so that sustainability is less ‘pie in the sky.”‘

Redfern Properties chose to work with LEED accredited architect Chris Briley to come up with the design of the home. Chris is the founding principal of Green Design Studio, based in Yarmouth.

Coming in at just under 2,000 s.f., the two-story, 3 BR, 2.5B Redfern House is built with resource efficient materials and incorporates low mass, high efficiency electric on-demand hot water heater which is powered by a 2 kilowatt grid-tied solar electric system.

Other features of this home include non toxic paints, cellulose insulation, a detached garage and resource efficient framing. Being located in the downtown region, it’s assessable to public transportation and to Greater Portland’s resources.

Horizon Residential provided consultation on insulation, ventilation, and heating performance. Horizon is also serving as the ‘rater’ for the home in a number of the LEED categories. Other sustainability partners that helped to make this project a success were Cuddledown, Furniturea, Green Designs, Ember Grove, Angela Adams, and Back Cove Yardscaping. Learn more at www.redfernproperties.com.

Flat plate solar hot water collectors, like the eight shown here atop the Camden Riverhouse Hotel, offer superior summertime performance compared to evacuated tubes. This feature makes flat plates a better choice for seasonal businesses like hotels and restaurants.

David Dickey, owner of the Camden Riverhouse, knows a good investment when he sees one. When he saw ReVision Energy’s financial analysis and projected returns on a solar hot water system, he decided to have us design and install a system that will produce roughly 60% of the hotel’s domestic hot water.

The recently installed system takes advantage of a 30% federal tax credit, accelerated depreciation, $1,000 state rebate and low interest financing from Efficiency Maine.

The end result is a solar investment that Dickey anticipates will be cash flow positive based on annual oil savings of roughly 750 gallons. As a nice bonus, the system will also reduce the hotel’s ‘carbon footprint,’ eliminating roughly 21,000 lbs. of CO2 emissions per year.

The system consists of eight Chromagen flat plate solar hot water collectors that heat two Stiebel Eltron super-insulated solar storage tanks. The tanks have 3″ of rigid foam insulation, reducing overnight heat losses to less than .5 degree F per hour. This means that there will be plenty of piping hot water available for the tourists’ morning showers!

Evacuated tube solar hot water collectors on the roof of the Boys and Girls Clubs in South Portland. This system will produce roughly 25 million BTUs of clean, renewable heat energy annually, significantly reducing the need to burn fossil fuels for hot water.

In an effort to achieve higher energy efficiency and lower overhead costs, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Maine contracted ReVision Energy to develop a strategy to reduce fossil fuel consumption and CO2 emissions at their South Portland Clubhouse location.

Pat Coon, one of ReVision’s founders and a leading efficiency expert, performed an evaluation of the facility’s mechanical systems and found that thousands of gallons of fuel oil were being wasted each year because the inefficient oil boiler was over-sized for the required job.

Pat recommended that the Boys & Girls Clubs replace their existing oil boiler with a high efficiency gas boiler, and install a solar hot water system.

By replacing the existing high mass oil boiler with the 95% efficient low mass gas boiler, and by integrating the solar hot water system, it is estimated that the Boys & Girl Clubs will save over 4,500 gallons of oil annually, as well as prevent over 100,000 pounds of CO2 emissions from entering our atmosphere each year.

By investing in energy efficiency for their buildings, the Boys & Girls Clubs, a non-profit organization focused on creating positive places for kids, intends to use the funds once spent on heating oil for their valuable youth programs.

From our Schools and Nonprofits Solar Photo Gallery:

See more installations in our Solar Projects Map

Since the April 2009 solar installation, Terry McIlveen has reduced his oil consumption by 83%. He is using a 120-tube Apricus solar hot water collector array to produce nearly 100% of domestic hot water and a significant portion of radiant space heating.

In the first half of 2008, as the price of oil started to rise without any sign of relief, energy consumption became part of our everyday consciousness

From driving to work to heating our homes to the cost of food, Americans across the country realized just how vulnerable we were to fluctuating energy costs. Long-term energy solutions were pushed to the forefront as we all re-evaluated our relationship with energy consumption.

Now, even though the price of fossil fuels has dropped, there are still numerous important reasons to consider renewable energy systems, including lower utility bills, a reduced carbon footprint, energy independence and control, a first-hand understanding of energy, how it is produced, and ownership over that process.

ReVision Energy is pleased to assist our clients as they move towards renewable energy, and we appreciate the various reasons why people do so. We also appreciate the feedback we receive from clients after an installation and were happy to receive the below from Terry McIlveen of East Waterboro.

In an effort to move away from oil dependency when prices reached record highs, Terry decided to install a solar hot water space heating system at his home.

Many thanks to Terry for sharing his story with us!

Tour this home during the Green Buildings Open House held October 3rd from 10am-4pm.

ReVision Energy team securing one of the 21 Chromagen solar hot water flat plate collectors

53 Danforth Street, a Maine State Housing complex recently constructed in Portland, is utilizing the sun to preheat the domestic hot water for all of its 47 units.

21 Chromagen solar hot water collectors sit on the roof and heat an 820 gallon thermal storage tank. The preheat system design moves cold water into the thermal storage tank before it enters the existing indirect hot water tanks. The system, backed by natural gas, is designed to produce over 190 million Btu’s of clean, renewable energy each year.

The building’s owner and developer is The Szanton Company of Portland. Wright-Ryan Architects were the general contractors working on the construction of the building. The mechanical contractor, who we worked for on this project, is Southern Maine Plumbing and Heating.

Maine State Housing requires all their developers to at least consider solar thermal as an option for new construction. Maine State Housing Authority has been a leader in the adoption of renewable energy; in 2006 ReVision Energy installed a 10kW grid tied solar electric system on their office building in Augusta.

Maine State Housing Authority finances the installation of solar hot water applications in multifamily housing, such as this one, and is using the anticipated revenue from the sale of carbon emission reductions to subsidize the lower interest rate of the solar loan.

Maine State Housing also offers a residential loan for energy efficient upgrades including the installation of solar hot water or solar electric systems. Their low interest loan program is called the Home Energy Loan Program, or HELP loan. View their website to learn more. www.mainehousing.org

More Photos from Our Gallery:

Kristen from the Center for Wildlife poses with non-releasable education falcon, Freyja, before the new solar hot water system at CFW’s main building.

The Center for Wildlife, a wildlife rehabilitation center based in Cape Neddick, Maine installed solar hot water collectors on their roof to supply the domestic hot water load of their main office building.

Two Chromagen flat plate solar hot water collectors are working to heat water in a 52 gallon solar storage tank. This tank acts to preheat their existing hot water tank. An electric component acts as a back up heat source for times when the solar is not able to meet the tank’s setpoint temperature. This ensures a consistent supply of hot water at the tap.

On a good sunny day, the solar system will produce a 60-80 degree temperature rise in both tanks, producing more than 14 million BTUs of clean renewable heat energy. By reducing the amount of electricity the Center will consume to heat water, over 4200 lbs of CO2 emissions will be eliminated on an annual basis.

The Center for Wildlife’s staff and volunteers provide medical care, safe sanctuary and humane treatment for sick, injured and orphaned wildlife until they can be released back into the wild. The Center has been established for 23 years and focuses on educating the general public and provides school programs to raise awareness of the many wonderful wild species that live among us.

Learn more by visiting www.yorkcenterforwildlife.org.

More Photos of the Solar Hot Water Installation: