Building Free Energy Homes

[superjeff]

Hello All, I am looking at starting a company with some other people that build houses that run completely on natural energy (solar, wind, or geothermal specifically) I have been looking online but I can't seem to find very good information as to what costs to expect in building a house. Does anyone have an idea of where I should look? Or any books/references I can check out. Any information would be GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!

[waggin]

From what I've read, going completely self-sufficient energy-wise is challenging and often expensive for a house with all the amenities like refrigerators, dishwashers, televisions, computers, etc.  It's expensive to get free energy!  If you're looking at doing this as a business, then you're probably going to be working for folks that want all the amenities, rather than someone who is going to be using it as a recreational cabin and doesn't need as much.  I've read some articles about people that do it, and they are relying on multiple energy sources plus battery backup.  Of course, the way you live (or are willing to) will have a huge effect on how much energy you require.  Fine Homebuilding (magazine) profiled a couple in Ontario who used solar, wind, and their own custom wood stove/boiler.  It was a great article, as it talked about the expenses and challenges.  Even geothermal can be done several different ways: vertical loop, horizontal coils, in water such as a pond, etc.  Sorry I can't give specific sites, but a little web browsing might get you there, as well as what others here can offer.  Plug in "green building" to a search engine online or at your local library, and see where it takes you.  For example, I found the Country Plans website by typing "shed roof" into Google!

Wind:  From what I've heard, if there's enough wind to be annoying, then you have enough to get a return on investment for a windmill.  Keep in mind, there may be zoning or CC&R's to consider.
Passive solar: Start with the right initial design, and less energy is required.  Lots of tricks here like overhangs, window size/type/location, natural ventilation, heat sinks, house orientation, and much more.
Solar for electrical generation or heating hot water: Look into site analysis information online based on latitude and obstructions such as hills, trees, buildings at the site.  Food for thought: Seattle has 70% of the solar energy that LA does, however most of that is during the summer when the days are long and demand for light & heating is lower.  There are also companies & some utilities that offer site analysis.
Geothermal: Is there enough area to dig an open trench to lay coiled tubing, or will a vertical loop have to be drilled?  If digging a trench, how deep do you have to go to be enough below frost line to avoid freezing?  What are the soils like?  What is available at the site for groundwater or a pond?

For some solar FAQ's, go to: www.wintersundesign.com   
Good book on general green building; buy or borrow this book from your library: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Northwest-Green-Home-Primer/Kathleen-OBrien/e/9780881927979
Look up the article in Fine Homebuilding magazine on the couple in Ontario.  Sorry, I tried to find this online for you but couldn't.

Best of luck to you!  If you do find good specific resources, please share them with the rest of us.

[glenn kangiser]

Round numbers - for a moderate sized system using propane for a lot of the resistance heating needs - water heater and electric dryer as well as heating electrically are not used..use propane for those - I'd venture to guess around $30,000 ---Lots of variables.

Use the search function on the blue bar above to search here for off grid and solar  for more info.

http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?action=search

[MountainDon]

If many loads are simply shifted from electrical to propane there is no savings in many areas of the country, definitely nothing 'free'.

There is a builder in the Albuquerque area that offers zero cost energy efficient homes; Artistic Homes. They are LEED-H certified. ABQ has 310 sun days a year, pretty good.

They are insulated well, blown wet cellulose in walls, R-50 in the ceiling, use air/heat exchangers, low-e argon filled windows, etc. Each home is blower door tested. Every Home qualifies for the SBTC (Sustainable Building Tax Credit) for the Home Owner. Artistic Homes gives this Tax Credit back to the purchaser.

They have solar water pre-heating and tankless for delivery to the points of use. Heating/cooling ducts are in the conditioned space, not in the attic or floor.

They use grid tied solar PV panels in order to use the grid as a 'battery'. In my opinion most folks will prefer this over having the cost of batteries and the maintenance of batteries. Sure, there's no electricity when the grid goes down, however that is not an issue with many folks.

They don't build any cheap/inexpensive homes, or even what I consider reasonably sized homes, but they are energy efficient. The zero energy is an option; most of their sales are not equipped with the PV panels.

Anyhow, Google them and see what sort of thing they are offering; that'd the sort of thing you'd have to offer to be competitive. That's my opinion.