Practical Eco

Giant solar coming to Davidson county

I was in Greensboro over the weekend and noticed that the News and Record on Monday May 26th was reporting the approval of a plan to build the nation's largest solar farm in Davidson County.

SunEdison, a Maryland company, plans for a 100-200 acre array of solar panels generating 16 megawatts of power. Duke Energy intends to buy all of the output under a 20-year deal, and anticipates selling the power by the end of 2010.

The exact site has not yet been selected but it should be announced within a few weeks. Davidson County commissioners approved $2 million in incentives SunEdison to built the plant there. 

See the full article in the Greensboro N&O here.

For a look at the world's largest photovoltaic power plants take a look here.

Habitats building greener

Just as my back starts to recover from Saturday's work at a Habitat home in Durham, I'm delighted to read in the N&O an article about how charity built homes are getting greener.  The N&O article says that 80% of these low income homes built by charities like Habitat for Humanity are now equipped with energy saving features. See the full article here.

The home I was working on, is being built by Durham Habitat and sponsored by the Eno River Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (ERUUF).  ERUUF member and green builder Tom O'Dwyer persuaded the Habitat team to build in a number of additional cost effective energy saving features and then encouraged several fellow members to cough up the extra $1200 - a paltry sum really for what was done. Tom's improvements to the design include increasing the overhangs, increased insulation to R60, radiant barrier roof deck and increased caulking of all joints. He also sealed all of the edges  of cabinetry wood components to minimize any off gassing.

And the really great news is that the Habitat team like the improvements so much that they're aiming to include them in future builds.

 

Key behaviors to maintaining a green and healthy home

Most people don't give much thought to how their behavior can impact the sustainability, health or energy efficiency of their homes. I was speaking with someone last night who I know to be a pretty green minded person and he was a bit surprised by some of the ideas I'm going to highlight here.  Granted he's not a building scientist or a builder but it showed me that it's time to shine a light on this subject.

There are two inter-related issues, health and energy efficiency. And much of it has to do with water or moisture - which is the number one energy of your home.

Health-wise the key points are:
1. Use extractor fans in kitchens and bathrooms. Particularly here in the South, these fans are there to remove moisture from the home - not just smells. Taking a shower? Use the fan! Boiling water? Use the fan! Humidity, particularly in the warm months, can lead to mold and mildew which is a serious health hazard. And it will increase the load on your air conditioner, so this is also an energy issue.
2. Be sure to get rid of any moisture quickly. This includes practices like wiping up spills immediately, drying yourself in the bath or shower to keep the water where it can run down a drain and using a squeegee to get water droplets off of shower walls and into the tub where they can run down the drain.

3. Maintain your HVAC return filters. Clean or replace them regularly to ensure you are breathing clean air in the home.

4. Remove your shoes in the house. This simple practice can really reduce the amount of dirt and dust in your home. This will not only keep your home cleaner for longer but is altogether healthier.

Energy-wise the key points are:
1. Maintain your HVAC return filters. Clean or replace them regularly to ensure the unit gets free-flowing air and doesn't have to struggle to intake air which will increase the load on your unit.

2. Maintain the HVAC units twice yearly to ensure they are performing optimally. This also helps avert breakdowns during peak heating or cooling seasons which will be extra inconvenient.

3. Turn off lights and ceiling fans when not in the room. They use energy and output heat which can add to the cooling load in Summer. Studies have shown that the energy used by the fan plus the energy needed to get rid of its heat is greater than the energy saved through circulating air. Enjoy its cool breeze when in the room, but turn it off if you leave.

4. Unplug external power supplies (wall-warts) as much as possible. These have been estimated to add about 10% extra electricity load to the typical home.

5. If you have a heat pump take care to avoid sharp temperature increases in Winter. Stick to 3 degrees or less when you change the temperature. Greater increases will trigger an electric heating strip in most units that uses markedly more energy.

Carolina Solar Energy's PV Picnic Area at the Zoo

I've just noticed over on Springboard, a Greensboro blog, a piece about the Solar PV Picnic area at the State Zoo. This was installed late last year by the good folks at Carolina Solar Energy, who were responsible for the 75.6 KW system at NC State among other great works.

The array has 9,600 sq ft of solar collectors mounted onto three large picnic pavilions.  Its total capacity is for 104 KW of electricity.  The electricity is being sold to the electric grid via Randolph Electric Membership Corporation with a subsidy from NC Green Power. The project began generating electricity last December. 

The Zoo rents the shelters out for catered events and they include interactive graphics explaining how solar power generation works. One of the things I like best is the web-based read out you can view here.

Progress Energy Seeks to Offer Rebates for Solar Hot Water

Progress Energy announced three new initiatives aimed at the construction industry.

Home Advantage, would pay builders and developers to build Energy Star qualified homes. The program would pay builders for installing efficiency equipment, and it includes a rebate of $1,000 for installing solar water-heating in new homes. Progress already has similar initiatives active in Florida.

Progress' other two initiatives are for commercial builders. They will provide "custom financial incentives" to help commercial builders recoup the costs of energy-efficiency measures they take. And they will pay customers to retrofit existing facilities for energy efficiency.

Progress Energy says its overall goal is to double the energy savings it gets through efficiency programs.

Earlier this week, Progress announced that it would upgrade its distribution lines and build in a capability to remotely control customer air conditioners during peak energy use times.

The plans must still be approved by the NC Utilities Commission.