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Going green, from ground up
New house uses green technology, Earth-friendly materials
Date published: 1/25/2008
BY RICHARD AMRHINE
It's a very attractive house, typical of modestly luxurious new homes you'd expect to see in the area's nicer subdivisions. Once it's completed, though, you'd have to look inside the mailbox for the utility bill to discover the big difference.
There, you'd discover that owners Barry and Cindy Robinson are paying a third, or even less, than what owners of other similarly sized homes are paying each month to heat or cool their homes.
The main reason they will be spending only $70 or $80 a month for heating and cooling is the geothermal climate control system that's built into their new house in Century Oak subdivision near Snell in Spotsylvania County. It's part of a whole-house package that is designed to be Earth-friendly from top to bottom, inside and out.
The three-bedroom house has 2,700 square feet of finished space, plus a full basement, unfinished for now, that could add a bedroom, bathroom and an expansive recreation area.
where it all begins
The geothermal unit works with new insulation technology to turn a house into a sealed envelope. But it is also designed to bring in and circulate fresh air throughout the house.
"Putting this technology to use is a no-brainer," said Barry Robinson, considering the energy it conserves and the money it saves. "The building industry is crazy not to do more of this."
As owner of the local ServisPros franchise, Robinson knows something about houses. He's made use of infrared technology to conduct whole-house thermal scans that reveal hidden pest infestations, electrical problems, energy loss, roofing issues and insulation gaps. He knows from conducting complete home energy audits just how much energy homeowners are wasting.
When he and Cindy decided to build a new home, he wanted to do it right--and "green." Accomplishing that was more difficult than he thought.
"After looking into it, I couldn't believe how far behind we are around here" on truly energy-efficient design, he said. "This should be routine, and eventually it will be."
Soon he was introduced to John Marcantoni, who had been working for developers and builders for the past 15 years, but had the itch to start his own construction company. Robinson found that Marcantoni had a grasp of the latest energy-conserving technology and the use of Earth-friendly and sustainable-source materials.
| The unit John Marcantoni and the Robinsons selected is made by WaterFurnace Geothermal. It is basically a heat pump that takes advantage of subsurface temperatures that hold steady at 55 degrees. This means that soil temperatures are usually warmer than the air in winter and cooler than the air in summer.
High-strength piping in long, coiled lengths is buried around the house and carries a nontoxic water/antifreeze solution that transfers heat to or from the Earth depending on the season.
While heat pumps generally lose heating efficiency in very cold weather, the advantage of the underground temperature makes that a non-issue.
The entire system has a life-expectancy of 50 years.
Surplus energy is used to provide all of the hot water the house-hold will need on a regular basis. A propane backup is there for rare occasions of extra-heavy hot water use.
For an online explanation by WaterFurnace CEO Bruce Ritchey of how the system works, visit youtube.com/watch?v= ybfVoiN14HE
--Richard Amrhine |
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Date published: 1/25/2008
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