Today was our final shoot day for "Green That House." What a day! We started at 9 am with an extensive walk thru, thinking about all the things we've done over the last 4 months. From pulling up carpet and refinishing floors, to painting, to retiling bathrooms, to updated electrical sytems, to tankless heaters and water filtration, to new floors and furniture, to wallpaper and solar panels whew...utter craziness. It's been a long 4 months but in revisiting it all, I am so totally impressed with what we have done here and how inexpensively we were able to do it. It helps to have a good interior designer with an eye for sustainabiliy on your side. Looking through my house today, I realized that while I did not have ONE piece of furniture when I moved in (I got rid of it all in an effort start from a clean slate), that in my entire house there is not one NEW piece. The hours of antiquing, vintage shopping, and cruising Craigslist really paid off. I really believe in the idea of getting a full life out of anything created-- not expending extra energy, fuel, and time to create new pieces when there are perfectly good old pieces out there waiting for an new home. And to me, there is something really comforting in the history of antiques and vintage furniture.
An additional plus is that by buying older stuff, you really reduce the possibility of off-gassing in your house. Most old furniture was either made before harsh, off-gassing chemicals were a part of the process or has already gone through it's heaviest cycle of off-gassing and emits low if no VOCs by the time it reaches you. All this and it's cheaper too!
So you can see me talk about all of this-- and see the house before and after-- sometime early next year on Planet Green (a Discovery network channel set to launch in December). Tell me what you think!
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Here Comes The Sun
Wow...that sun is cool stuffs. We just passed final inspection on our solar panels, and I can't begin to tell you how cool it is to go outside and watch the little dial spin backwards as we create energy. Today my five year old daughter Ruby went up on the roof with Joe and Alex, who live downstairs, and they all romped around checking out the panels. Ruby and I talked about why they are there and what they do, and I think she was wowed. It's been amazing knowing how much of all this Ruby is absorbing and I hope she carries it with her in the years to come.
If I were asked the one place where I had the biggest sticker shock during this entire process, I wouldn't hesitate before saying it was the solar panels. But, surprisingly, it wasn't because they were so expensive-- it was because they were so inexpensive! It seems like I am constantly hearing about how efficient and yet expensive solar panels are. I've heard that it can cost $30-50,000 to install solar panels on an average 2000 square foot house, making it a very un-cost-effective option for most people. I had written solar panels off as being too expensive for us, until I started researching them more. Actually, my downstairs neighbor Joe did all the grunt work...and then came to me with a figure closer to $8,000. Granted, this is still a lot of money-- but if you have the budget, it is a pretty cool option.
This is how it worked for us: The initial cost basis was about $23,000. However, I live in an area serviced by DWP, who offers extensive rebates for solar panels (if you don't get your power from DWP, check with whoever your electric provider is-- odds are, they offer rebates as well). In addition, we gathered together a group of people who were all interested in paneling their own homes and were able to talk our provider (Home Depot) into a group discount. Lastly, installing solar panels on a primary residence allows you a $2000 tax credit. This isn't a write-off-- it is a credit of the top of the taxes owed. So if you paid $15,000 in taxes, that number would be calculated then reduced by $2,000 for a total tax liability of $13,000. Once all these rebates were factored in, my total ended up being a little over $8,000. And to take it one step further, we applied for a Home Depot line of credit and put the solar panels on that credit, using their promotional "6 month no interest, no payment" option. Pretty cool, huh?
As an added bonus, the solar panels generate a large increase in value of our home. A recent appraisal put the value at about $150,000 more than we paid for it four months ago, largely due to improvements such as solar panels.
Here's the other thing about alternative energy options: it's not an "all or nothing" deal. You can install just a few panels at a reduced cost...or, for that matter, a wind turbine or two (at approximately $2,000 per turbine) if you live in an area that generates enough wind to make it an effective upgrade. It can be a piecemeal kind of thing, lowering your electric bill but not eradicating it, keeping it affordable and yet at the same time, helping to pull power off the conventional grid and do what you can to lower your carbon footprint. Baby steps, you know?
If I were asked the one place where I had the biggest sticker shock during this entire process, I wouldn't hesitate before saying it was the solar panels. But, surprisingly, it wasn't because they were so expensive-- it was because they were so inexpensive! It seems like I am constantly hearing about how efficient and yet expensive solar panels are. I've heard that it can cost $30-50,000 to install solar panels on an average 2000 square foot house, making it a very un-cost-effective option for most people. I had written solar panels off as being too expensive for us, until I started researching them more. Actually, my downstairs neighbor Joe did all the grunt work...and then came to me with a figure closer to $8,000. Granted, this is still a lot of money-- but if you have the budget, it is a pretty cool option.
This is how it worked for us: The initial cost basis was about $23,000. However, I live in an area serviced by DWP, who offers extensive rebates for solar panels (if you don't get your power from DWP, check with whoever your electric provider is-- odds are, they offer rebates as well). In addition, we gathered together a group of people who were all interested in paneling their own homes and were able to talk our provider (Home Depot) into a group discount. Lastly, installing solar panels on a primary residence allows you a $2000 tax credit. This isn't a write-off-- it is a credit of the top of the taxes owed. So if you paid $15,000 in taxes, that number would be calculated then reduced by $2,000 for a total tax liability of $13,000. Once all these rebates were factored in, my total ended up being a little over $8,000. And to take it one step further, we applied for a Home Depot line of credit and put the solar panels on that credit, using their promotional "6 month no interest, no payment" option. Pretty cool, huh?
As an added bonus, the solar panels generate a large increase in value of our home. A recent appraisal put the value at about $150,000 more than we paid for it four months ago, largely due to improvements such as solar panels.
Here's the other thing about alternative energy options: it's not an "all or nothing" deal. You can install just a few panels at a reduced cost...or, for that matter, a wind turbine or two (at approximately $2,000 per turbine) if you live in an area that generates enough wind to make it an effective upgrade. It can be a piecemeal kind of thing, lowering your electric bill but not eradicating it, keeping it affordable and yet at the same time, helping to pull power off the conventional grid and do what you can to lower your carbon footprint. Baby steps, you know?
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